The climate research community uses reanalyses widely to understand atmospheric processes and variability in the middle atmosphere, yet different reanalyses may give very different results for the same diagnostics. For example, the global energy budget and hydrological cycle, the Brewer–Dobson circulation, stratospheric vortex weakening and intensification events, and large-scale wave activity at the tropical tropopause are known to differ among reanalyses.

The Stratosphere–troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate (SPARC) Reanalysis Intercomparison Project (S-RIP) is a coordinated activity to compare reanalysis data sets with respect to a variety of key diagnostics. The objectives of this project are

1. to understand the causes of differences among reanalyses;
2. to provide guidance on the appropriate usage of various reanalysis products in scientific studies;
3. to contribute to future improvements in the reanalysis products by establishing collaborative links between the reanalysis centres and the SPARC community.

The project focuses predominantly on differences among reanalyses (although studies that include operational analyses are welcome and studies comparing reanalyses with observations are encouraged), with an emphasis on diagnostics in the upper troposphere, stratosphere and mesosphere. This special issue serves to collect research with relevance to S-RIP in preparation for the publication of the S-RIP report in 2018. Although participation in S-RIP is not a prerequisite for submission to this special issue, authors contributing to this collection are encouraged to consider contributing to the preparation of the S-RIP report.