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KALSI, S. R., and S. R. HALDER. "Satellite observations of interaction between tropics and mid-latitudes." MAUSAM 43, no. 1 (December 30, 2021): 59–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.54302/mausam.v43i1.3318.
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In certain seasons and over certain locations, the mid-latitude westerlies invade subtropical and tropical areas. Short wave perturbations moving in the broad mid-latitude westerlies amplify the. long wave troughs creating new baroclinic zones in relatively southern latitudes. These. baroclinic zones Interact .with the low-latitude circulations thus leading to development of new circulation pattern .In which low level easterlies extend northward over the Peninsula, central and northwest .India. The paper describes the role of short waves in the interaction between tropics and mid-latitudes and presents satellite data of a few sequences In which such Interactions have actually taken place.
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Bosmans, J. H. C., F. J. Hilgen, E. Tuenter, and L. J. Lourens. "Obliquity forcing of low-latitude climate." Climate of the Past Discussions 11, no. 1 (February 11, 2015): 221–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/cpd-11-221-2015.
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Abstract. The influence of obliquity, the tilt of the Earth's rotational axis, on incoming solar radiation at low latitudes is small, yet many tropical and subtropical paleoclimate records reveal a clear obliquity signal. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain this signal, such as the remote influence of high-latitude glacials, the remote effect of insolation changes at mid- to high latitudes independent of glacial cyclicity, shifts in the latitudinal extent of the tropics, and changes in latitudinal insolation gradients. Using a sophisticated coupled ocean–atmosphere global climate model, EC-Earth, without dynamical ice sheets, we performed two experiments of obliquity extremes. Our results show that obliquity-induced changes in tropical climate can occur without high-latitude ice sheet fluctuations. Furthermore, the tropical circulation changes are consistent with obliquity-induced changes in the cross-equatorial insolation gradient, implying that this gradient may be used to explain obliquity signals in low-latitude paleoclimate records instead of the classic 65° N summer insolation curve.
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Bosmans, J. H. C., F. J. Hilgen, E. Tuenter, and L. J. Lourens. "Obliquity forcing of low-latitude climate." Climate of the Past 11, no. 10 (October 9, 2015): 1335–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1335-2015.
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Abstract. The influence of obliquity, the tilt of the Earth's rotational axis, on incoming solar radiation at low latitudes is small, yet many tropical and subtropical palaeoclimate records reveal a clear obliquity signal. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain this signal, such as the remote influence of high-latitude glacials, the remote effect of insolation changes at mid- to high latitudes independent of glacial cyclicity, shifts in the latitudinal extent of the tropics, and changes in latitudinal insolation gradients. Using a sophisticated coupled ocean–atmosphere global climate model, EC-Earth, without dynamical ice sheets, we performed two idealized experiments of obliquity extremes. Our results show that obliquity-induced changes in tropical climate can occur without high-latitude ice sheet fluctuations. Furthermore, the tropical circulation changes are consistent with obliquity-induced changes in the cross-equatorial insolation gradient, suggesting that this gradient may be used to explain obliquity signals in low-latitude palaeoclimate records instead of the classical 65° N summer insolation curve.
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Stone, Peter H., and Yuriy P. Krasovskiy. "An Interhemispheric Four-Box Model of the Meridional Overturning Circulation." Journal of Physical Oceanography 41, no. 3 (March 1, 2011): 516–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2009jpo4123.1.
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Abstract The authors introduce a four-box interhemispheric model of the meridional overturning circulation. A single box represents high latitudes in each hemisphere, and in contrast to earlier interhemispheric box models, low latitudes are represented by two boxes—a surface box and a deep box—separated by a thermocline in which a balance is assumed between vertical advection and vertical diffusion. The behavior of the system is analyzed with two different closure assumptions for how the low-latitude upwelling depends on the density contrast between the surface and deep low-latitude boxes. The first is based on the conventional assumption that the diffusivity is a constant, and the second on the assumption that the energy input to the mixing is constant. There are three different stable equilibrium states that are closely analogous to the three found by Bryan in a single-basin interhemispheric ocean general circulation model. One is quasi-symmetric with downwelling in high latitudes of both hemispheres, and two are asymmetric solutions, with downwelling confined to high latitudes in one or the other of the two hemispheres. The quasi-symmetric solution becomes linearly unstable for strong global hydrological forcing, while the two asymmetric solutions do not. The qualitative nature of the solutions is generally similar for both the closure assumptions, in contrast to the solutions in hemispheric models. In particular, all the stable states can be destabilized by finite amplitude perturbations in the salinity or the hydrological forcing, and transitions are possible between any two states. For example, if the system is in an asymmetric state, and the moisture flux into the high-latitude region of downwelling is slowly increased, for both closure assumptions the high-latitude downwelling decreases until a critical forcing is reached where the system switches to the asymmetric state with downwelling in the opposite hemisphere. By contrast, in hemispheric models with the energy constraint, the downwelling increases and there is no loss of stability.
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Black, Robert X., and Brent A. McDaniel. "Interannual Variability in the Southern Hemisphere Circulation Organized by Stratospheric Final Warming Events." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 64, no. 8 (August 2007): 2968–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas3979.1.
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A composite observational analysis is presented demonstrating that austral stratospheric final warming (SFW) events provide a substantial organizing influence upon the large-scale atmospheric circulation in the Southern Hemisphere. In particular, the annual weakening of high-latitude westerlies in the upper troposphere and stratosphere is accelerated during SFW onset. This behavior is associated with a coherent annular circulation change with zonal wind decelerations (accelerations) at high (low) latitudes. The high-latitude stratospheric decelerations are induced by the anomalous wave driving of upward-propagating tropospheric waves. Longitudinally asymmetric circulation changes occur in the lower troposphere during SFW onset with regionally localized height increases (decreases) at subpolar (middle) latitudes. Importantly, the tropospheric and stratospheric circulation change patterns identified here are structurally distinct from the Southern Annular Mode. It is concluded that SFW events are linked to interannual atmospheric variability with potential bearing upon weather and climate prediction.
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Blackport, Russell, and Paul J. Kushner. "Isolating the Atmospheric Circulation Response to Arctic Sea Ice Loss in the Coupled Climate System." Journal of Climate 30, no. 6 (March 6, 2017): 2163–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-16-0257.1.
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Abstract In this study, coupled ocean–atmosphere–land–sea ice Earth system model (ESM) simulations driven separately by sea ice albedo reduction and by projected greenhouse-dominated radiative forcing are combined to cleanly isolate the sea ice loss response of the atmospheric circulation. A pattern scaling approach is proposed in which the local multidecadal mean atmospheric response is assumed to be separately proportional to the total sea ice loss and to the total low-latitude ocean surface warming. The proposed approach estimates the response to Arctic sea ice loss with low-latitude ocean temperatures fixed and vice versa. The sea ice response includes a high northern latitude easterly zonal wind response, an equatorward shift of the eddy-driven jet, a weakening of the stratospheric polar vortex, an anticyclonic sea level pressure anomaly over coastal Eurasia, a cyclonic sea level pressure anomaly over the North Pacific, and increased wintertime precipitation over the west coast of North America. Many of these responses are opposed by the response to low-latitude surface warming with sea ice fixed. However, both sea ice loss and low-latitude surface warming act in concert to reduce subseasonal temperature variability throughout the middle and high latitudes. The responses are similar in two related versions of the National Center for Atmospheric Research Earth system models, apart from the stratospheric polar vortex response. Evidence is presented that internal variability can easily contaminate the estimates if not enough independent climate states are used to construct them.
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Zhai, Xiaoming, Helen L. Johnson, and David P. Marshall. "A Model of Atlantic Heat Content and Sea Level Change in Response to Thermohaline Forcing." Journal of Climate 24, no. 21 (November 1, 2011): 5619–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-10-05007.1.
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Abstract The response of ocean heat content in the Atlantic to variability in the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) at high latitudes is investigated using a reduced-gravity model and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) general circulation model (MITgcm). Consistent with theoretical predictions, the zonal-mean heat content anomalies are confined to low latitudes when the high-latitude MOC changes rapidly, but extends to mid- and high latitudes when the high-latitude MOC varies on decadal or multidecadal time scales. This low-pass-filtering effect of the mid- and high latitudes on zonal-mean heat content anomalies, termed here the “Rossby buffer,” is shown to be associated with the ratio of Rossby wave basin-crossing time to the forcing period at high northern latitudes. Experiments using the MITgcm also reveal the importance of advective spreading of cold water in the deep ocean, which is absent in the reduced-gravity model. Implications for monitoring ocean heat content and sea level changes are discussed in the context of both models. It is found that observing global sea level variability and sea level rise using tide gauges can substantially overestimate the global-mean values.
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Simpson, Isla R., Michael Blackburn, and Joanna D. Haigh. "A Mechanism for the Effect of Tropospheric Jet Structure on the Annular Mode–Like Response to Stratospheric Forcing." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 69, no. 7 (July 1, 2012): 2152–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-11-0188.1.
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Abstract For many climate forcings the dominant response of the extratropical circulation is a latitudinal shift of the tropospheric midlatitude jets. The magnitude of this response appears to depend on climatological jet latitude in general circulation models (GCMs): lower-latitude jets exhibit a larger shift. The reason for this latitude dependence is investigated for a particular forcing, heating of the equatorial stratosphere, which shifts the jet poleward. Spinup ensembles with a simplified GCM are used to examine the evolution of the response for five different jet structures. These differ in the latitude of the eddy-driven jet but have similar subtropical zonal winds. It is found that lower-latitude jets exhibit a larger response due to stronger tropospheric eddy–mean flow feedbacks. A dominant feedback responsible for enhancing the poleward shift is an enhanced equatorward refraction of the eddies, resulting in an increased momentum flux, poleward of the low-latitude critical line. The sensitivity of feedback strength to jet structure is associated with differences in the coherence of this behavior across the spectrum of eddy phase speeds. In the configurations used, the higher-latitude jets have a wider range of critical latitude locations. This reduces the coherence of the momentum flux anomalies associated with different phase speeds, with low phase speeds opposing the effect of high phase speeds. This suggests that, for a given subtropical zonal wind strength, the latitude of the eddy-driven jet affects the feedback through its influence on the width of the region of westerly winds and the range of critical latitudes on the equatorward flank of the jet.
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Rajaram, R., and S. Gurubaran. "Seasonal variabilities of low-latitude mesospheric winds." Annales Geophysicae 16, no. 2 (February 28, 1998): 197–204. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00585-998-0197-4.
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Abstract. Observations of mesospheric winds over a period of four years with the partial reflection radar at Tirunelveli (8.7°N, 77.8°E), India, are presented in this study. The emphasis is on describing seasonal variabilities in mean zonal and meridional winds in the altitude region 70–98 km. The meridional winds exhibit overall transequatorial flow associated with differential heating in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. At lower altitudes (70–80 km) the mean zonal winds reveal easterly flow during summer and westerly flow during winter, as expected from a circulation driven by solar forcing. In the higher altitude regime (80–98 km) and at all altitudes during equinox periods, the mean zonal flow is subjected to the semi-annual oscillation (SAO). The interannual variability detected in the occurrence of SAO over Tirunelveli has also been observed in the data sets obtained from the recent UARS satellite mission. Harmonic analysis results over a period of two years indicate the presence of long-period oscillations in the mean zonal wind at specific harmonic periods near 240, 150 and 120 days. Results presented in this study are discussed in the context of current understanding of equatorial wave propagation.Key words. Meteorological and atmospheric dynamics · General circulation · Middle atmosphere dynamics · waves and tides.
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Bailey, G. J., Y. Z. Su, and K. I. Oyama. "Yearly variations in the low-latitude topside ionosphere." Annales Geophysicae 18, no. 7 (July 31, 2000): 789–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00585-000-0789-0.
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Abstract. Observations made by the Hinotori satellite have been analysed to determine the yearly variations of the electron density and electron temperature in the low-latitude topside ionosphere. The observations reveal the existence of an equinoctial asymmetry in the topside electron density at low latitudes, i.e. the density is higher at one equinox than at the other. The asymmetry is hemisphere-dependent with the higher electron density occurring at the March equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and at the September equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. The asymmetry becomes stronger with increasing latitude in both hemispheres. The behaviour of the asymmetry has no significant longitudinal and magnetic activity variations. A mechanism for the equinoctial asymmetry has been investigated using CTIP (coupled thermosphere ionosphere plasmasphere model). The model results reproduce the observed equinoctial asymmetry and suggest that the asymmetry is caused by the north-south imbalance of the thermosphere and ionosphere at the equinoxes due to the slow response of the thermosphere arising from the effects of the global thermospheric circulation. The observations also show that the relationship between the electron density and electron temperature is different for daytime and nighttime. During daytime the yearly variation of the electron temperature has negative correlation with the electron density, except at magnetic latitudes lower than 10°. At night, the correlation is positive.Key words: Ionosphere (equatorial ionosphere; ionosphere-atmosphere interactions; plasma temperature and density)
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Chen, Yiding, Libo Liu, Huijun Le, Hui Zhang, and Ruilong Zhang. "Responding trends of ionospheric F2-layer to weaker geomagnetic activities." Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate 12 (2022): 6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/swsc/2022005.
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Geomagnetic activities frequently occur in varying degrees. Strong geomagnetic activities, which have been widely investigated, occur occasionally; they can cause distinguishable and significant disturbances in the ionosphere. Weaker geomagnetic activities frequently appear, whereas their effects are generally difficult to be distinguished from complex ionospheric variations. Weaker geomagnetic activities play important roles in ionospheric day-to-day variability thus should deserve further attention. In this study, long-term (longer than one solar cycle) measurements of the F2-layer critical frequency (foF2) were collected to statistically investigate ionospheric responses to weaker geomagnetic activities (Ap < 60). The responding trends of low- to high-latitude foF2 to increasing geomagnetic activity are presented for the first time; they are statistically evident. Both increasing and decreasing trends can occur, depending on latitudes and seasons. The trend gradually transits from high-latitude decreasing trends to equatorial increasing trends with decreasing latitude, and this transition is seasonally dependent. As a result, the trend has a seasonal difference at mid-latitudes. The responding trend is generally more distinct at higher latitudes and in the equatorial region than at mid-latitudes, and the responding intensity is largest at higher latitudes. Although theoretically, geomagnetic activities can disturb the ionosphere through multiple mechanisms, the morphology of the trend suggests that the frequent weaker geomagnetic activities modulate the high- to low-latitude ionosphere mainly through disturbing high-latitude thermospheric composition and further altering the thermospheric background circulation.
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Salby, Murry L., and Patrick F. Callaghan. "Systematic Changes of Northern Hemisphere Ozone and Their Relationship to Random Interannual Changes." Journal of Climate 17, no. 23 (December 1, 2004): 4512–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/3206.1.
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Abstract Northern Hemisphere ozone underwent a monotonic decline during the 1980s and 1990s. Systematic changes associated with that trend are shown to have a close relationship to random changes of ozone. These two components of interannual variability share a common structure. In it, ozone changes at high latitude are compensated at low latitude by changes of opposite sign. The out-of-phase relationship between ozone changes at high and low latitudes is consistent with a change of the residual mean circulation of the stratosphere, and so is the seasonality of systematic changes. Compensating trends at high and low latitudes amplify simultaneously—during winter, when the polar-night vortex is disturbed by planetary waves that force residual motion. Analogous relationships are obeyed by Northern Hemisphere temperature. The strong resemblance between systematic and random changes of Northern Hemisphere ozone implies that a major portion of its decline during the 1980s and 1990s involved a systematic weakening of the residual circulation. Anomalous forcing of the residual circulation is strongly correlated to random changes of ozone, which in turn have the same structure as systematic changes. The magnitude and structure of the ozone trend are broadly consistent with the climate sensitivity of ozone with respect to a change of the residual circulation. Derived from random changes over a large population of winters, the climate sensitivity implies an ozone trend quite similar to the observed trend, but with about two-thirds of its magnitude. When account is taken of both the anomalous residual circulation and anomalous photochemistry, the climate sensitivity of ozone reproduces the major structure as well as the magnitude of the observed trend.
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Spall, Michael A., and David Nieves. "Wind-Forced Variability of the Remote Meridional Overturning Circulation." Journal of Physical Oceanography 50, no. 2 (February 2020): 455–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-19-0190.1.
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AbstractThe mechanisms by which time-dependent wind stress anomalies at midlatitudes can force variability in the meridional overturning circulation at low latitudes are explored. It is shown that winds are effective at forcing remote variability in the overturning circulation when forcing periods are near the midlatitude baroclinic Rossby wave basin-crossing time. Remote overturning is required by an imbalance in the midlatitude mass storage and release resulting from the dependence of the Rossby wave phase speed on latitude. A heuristic theory is developed that predicts the strength and frequency dependence of the remote overturning well when compared to a two-layer numerical model. The theory indicates that the variable overturning strength, relative to the anomalous Ekman transport, depends primarily on the ratio of the meridional spatial scale of the anomalous wind stress curl to its latitude. For strongly forced systems, a mean deep western boundary current can also significantly enhance the overturning variability at all latitudes. For sufficiently large thermocline displacements, the deep western boundary current alternates between interior and near-boundary pathways in response to fluctuations in the wind, leading to large anomalies in the volume of North Atlantic Deep Water stored at midlatitudes and in the downstream deep western boundary current transport.
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Teng, Chen-Ke-Min, Sheng-Yang Gu, Yusong Qin, and Xiankang Dou. "Impact of Solar Activity on Global Atmospheric Circulation Based on SD-WACCM-X Simulations from 2002 to 2019." Atmosphere 12, no. 11 (November 19, 2021): 1526. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos12111526.
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In this study, a global atmospheric model, Specified Dynamics Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere and ionosphere eXtension (SD-WACCM-X), and the residual circulation principle were used to study the global atmospheric circulation from the lower to upper atmosphere (~500 km) from 2002 to 2019. Our analysis shows that the atmospheric circulation is clearly influenced by solar activity, especially in the upper atmosphere, which is mainly characterized by an enhanced atmospheric circulation in years with high solar activity. The atmospheric circulation in the upper atmosphere also exhibits an ~11 year period, and its variation is highly correlated with the temporal variation in the F10.7 solar index during the same time series, with a maximum correlation coefficient of up to more than 0.9. In the middle and lower atmosphere, the impact of solar activity on the atmospheric circulation is not as obvious as in the upper atmosphere due to some atmospheric activities such as the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO), El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), sudden stratospheric warming (SSW), volcanic forcing, and so on. By comparing the atmospheric circulation in different latitudinal regions between years with high and low solar activity, we found the atmospheric circulation in mid- and high-latitude regions is more affected by solar activity than in low-latitude and equatorial regions. In addition, clear seasonal variation in atmospheric circulation was detected in the global atmosphere, excluding the regions near 10−4 hPa and the lower atmosphere, which is mainly characterized by a flow from the summer hemisphere to the winter hemisphere. In the middle and low atmosphere, the atmospheric circulation shows a quasi-biennial oscillatory variation in the low-latitude and equatorial regions. This work provides a referable study of global atmospheric circulation and demonstrates the impacts of solar activity on global atmospheric circulation.
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Bae, Jungeun, Hyun-Joon Sung, Eun-Hyuk Baek, Ji-Hun Choi, Hyo-Jung Lee, and Baek-Min Kim. "Reduction in the Arctic Surface Warm Bias in the NCAR CAM6 by Reducing Excessive Low-Level Clouds in the Arctic." Atmosphere 14, no. 3 (March 8, 2023): 522. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos14030522.
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High-latitude low clouds in the Northern winter have been known to be closely related to the Arctic surface air temperature by controlling downward longwave radiation, but Earth system models often fail to accurately simulate this relationship. In this study, we conducted a series of model experiments to examine the role of winter high-latitude low-level clouds in determining the Arctic surface temperature. Our findings show that low-level clouds play a significant role in regulating the Arctic surface temperature. We used the NCAR CAM6 model and compared the results of an unforced simulation run with those of an experiment using an empirical low-level cloud scheme to alleviate the typical overestimation of the low cloud fraction of state-of-the-art general circulation models at high latitudes. The unforced simulation exhibited excessive downward longwave radiation in the Arctic, resulting in a significant warm bias compared to reanalysis data. On the other hand, the experiment using a modified scheme more closely resembled the reanalysis data in terms of low-level cloud simulation. Overall, our study underscores the importance of accurately representing low-level clouds in high-latitude regions to reduce surface temperature bias in the model.
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Kinnersley, Jonathan S. "Seasonal Asymmetry of the Low- and Middle-Latitude QBO Circulation Anomaly." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 56, no. 9 (May 1999): 1140–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1999)056<1140:saotla>2.0.co;2.
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Bergman, John W., and Harry H. Hendon. "Cloud Radiative Forcing of the Low-Latitude Tropospheric Circulation: Linear Calculations." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 57, no. 14 (July 2000): 2225–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2000)057<2225:crfotl>2.0.co;2.
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Knox, R. A., and D. L. T. Anderson. "Recent advances in the study of the low-latitude ocean circulation." Progress in Oceanography 14 (January 1985): 259–317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0079-6611(85)90014-x.
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Li, Muyuan, Yao Yao, Dehai Luo, and Linhao Zhong. "The Linkage of the Large-Scale Circulation Pattern to a Long-Lived Heatwave over Mideastern China in 2018." Atmosphere 10, no. 2 (February 20, 2019): 89. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos10020089.
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In this study, the large-scale circulation patterns (a blocking high, wave trains and the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH)) associated with a wide ranging and highly intense long-lived heatwave in China during the summer of 2018 are examined using both observational data and reanalysis data. Four hot periods are extracted from the heatwave and these are related to anticyclones (hereafter referred to as heatwave anticyclone) over the hot region. Further analysis shows a relationship between the heatwave anticyclone and a synthesis of low, mid- and high latitude circulation systems. In the mid-high latitudes, a midlatitude wave train and a high latitude wave train are associated with a relay process which maintains the heatwave anticyclone. The midlatitude wave train acts during 16–21 July, whereas the high latitude wave train takes affect during 22–28 July. The transition between the two wave trains leads to the northward movement of the hot region. With the help of a wave flux analysis, it was found that both wave trains originate from the positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO+) which acts as an Atlantic wave source. Serving as a circulation background, the blocking situated over the Scandinavia-Ural sector is maintained for 18 days from 14 to 15 August, which is accompanied by the persistent wave trains and the heatwave anticyclone. Additionally, the abnormal northward movement of the WPSH and its combination with the high latitude wave train lead to the occurrence of extreme hot weather in north-eastern China occurring during the summer of 2018.
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Palter, Jaime B., Stephen M. Griffies, Bonita L. Samuels, Eric D. Galbraith, Anand Gnanadesikan, and Andreas Klocker. "The Deep Ocean Buoyancy Budget and Its Temporal Variability." Journal of Climate 27, no. 2 (January 15, 2014): 551–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-13-00016.1.
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Abstract Despite slow rates of ocean mixing, observational and modeling studies suggest that buoyancy is redistributed to all depths of the ocean on surprisingly short interannual to decadal time scales. The mechanisms responsible for this redistribution remain poorly understood. This work uses an Earth system model to evaluate the global steady-state ocean buoyancy (and related steric sea level) budget, its interannual variability, and its transient response to a doubling of CO2 over 70 years, with a focus on the deep ocean. At steady state, the simple view of vertical advective–diffusive balance for the deep ocean holds at low to midlatitudes. At higher latitudes, the balance depends on a myriad of additional terms, namely mesoscale and submesoscale advection, convection and overflows from marginal seas, and terms related to the nonlinear equation of state. These high-latitude processes rapidly communicate anomalies in surface buoyancy forcing to the deep ocean locally; the deep, high-latitude changes then influence the large-scale advection of buoyancy to create transient deep buoyancy anomalies at lower latitudes. Following a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, the high-latitude buoyancy sinks are suppressed by a slowdown in convection and reduced dense water formation. This change is accompanied by a slowing of both upper and lower cells of the global meridional overturning circulation, reducing the supply of dense water to low latitudes beneath the pycnocline and the commensurate flow of light waters to high latitudes above the pycnocline. By this mechanism, changes in high-latitude buoyancy are communicated to the global deep ocean on relatively fast advective time scales.
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Piecuch, Christopher G., and Rui M. Ponte. "Importance of Circulation Changes to Atlantic Heat Storage Rates on Seasonal and Interannual Time Scales." Journal of Climate 25, no. 1 (January 1, 2012): 350–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-11-00123.1.
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Abstract Ocean heat budgets and transports are diagnosed to elucidate the importance of general circulation changes to Atlantic Ocean heat storage rates. The focus is on low- and midlatitude regions and on seasonal and interannual time scales. An estimate of the ocean state over 1993–2004, produced by a coarse-resolution general circulation model fit to observations via the method of Lagrange multipliers, is used. Meridional heat transports are first decomposed into contributions from time-mean and time-variable velocity and temperature and second from zonally symmetric baroclinic (overturning, including Ekman) and zonally asymmetric (gyre and other spatially correlated) circulations. Heat storage rates are then ascribed to ocean–atmosphere heat exchanges, diffusive mixing, and advective processes related to the various components of the meridional heat transport. Results show that seasonal heat storage changes generally represent a local response to surface heat inputs, but seasonal advective changes are also important near the equator. Interannual heat storage rate anomalies are mostly due to advection in tropical regions, whereas both surface heat fluxes and advection contribute at higher latitudes. Low-latitude advection can be primarily attributed to zonally symmetric baroclinic circulations, but temperature variations and zonally asymmetric flows can contribute elsewhere. A relationship between interannual heat storage rates in the equatorial Atlantic’s top 100 m and meridional heat transport associated with the zonally symmetric baroclinic flow is observed; however, due in part to the role of shallow advective processes at these latitudes, any direct relationship between sea surface temperature variability and heat transport changes associated with intermediate or deep meridional overturning circulations is not clear.
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Sanabia, Elizabeth R., Bradford S. Barrett, and Caitlin M. Fine. "Relationships between Tropical Cyclone Intensity and Eyewall Structure as Determined by Radial Profiles of Inner-Core Infrared Brightness Temperature." Monthly Weather Review 142, no. 12 (December 1, 2014): 4581–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/mwr-d-13-00336.1.
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Abstract Radial profiles of infrared brightness temperature for 2405 different satellite observations from 14 western North Pacific tropical cyclones (TCs) from the 2012 season were analyzed and compared to intensity and changes in intensity. Four critical points along the inner core of each infrared (IR) brightness temperature (BT) profile were identified: coldest cloud top (CCT), first overshooting top (FOT), and lower (L45) and upper (U45) extent of the inner eyewall. Radial movement of the mean CCT point outward with increasing TC intensity, combined with subsequent warming of the mean L45 point with intensity, highlighted structure changes that are consistent with eye and eyewall development. When stratified by latitude and vertical wind shear, the CCT point moved radially outward for all cases, notably at higher intensities for lower-latitude TCs and at lower intensities for higher-latitude TCs. The majority of the warming of the L45 point with increasing intensity occurred for low-latitude and low-shear cases. Slopes of IR BT between the four critical points were statistically significantly negatively correlated with intensity, indicating that stronger (weaker) TCs had more (less) negative slopes of IR BT and more (less) vertical eyewall profiles. Furthermore, except in high-shear cases, the most negative correlations were found in the inner eyewall, consistent with results from recent studies based on radar reconnaissance data. Finally, 12-h changes in slope were found to lead 12-h changes in intensity most often at higher latitudes, providing evidence that changes in the secondary TC circulation may lead changes in the primary TC circulation for both strengthening and weakening TCs.
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Wolfe, Christopher L., and Paola Cessi. "Multiple Regimes and Low-Frequency Variability in the Quasi-Adiabatic Overturning Circulation." Journal of Physical Oceanography 45, no. 6 (June 2015): 1690–708. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-14-0095.1.
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AbstractWhen interior mixing is weak, the ocean can support an interhemispheric overturning circulation on isopycnals that outcrop in both the Northern Hemisphere and a high-latitude southern circumpolar channel. This overturning cell participates in a salt–advection feedback that counteracts the precipitation-induced surface freshening of the northern high latitudes. The net result is an increase in the range of isopycnals shared between the two hemispheres, which strengthens the overturning circulation. However, if precipitation in the Northern Hemisphere sufficiently exceeds that in the Southern Hemisphere, the overturning cell collapses and is replaced by a cell circulating in the opposite direction, whose southern end point is equatorward of the channel. This reversed cell is shallower and weaker than its forward counterpart and is maintained diffusively. For a limited range of parameters, freshwater hysteresis occurs and multiple overturning regimes are found for the same forcing. These multiple regimes are, by definition, unstable with regard to finite-amplitude disturbances, since a sufficiently large perturbation can affect a transition from one regime to the other. Both overturning regimes show pronounced, nearly periodic thermohaline variability on multidecadal and multicentennial time scales. The multidecadal oscillation is expressed in the North Hemisphere gyre and driven by a surface thermohaline instability. The multicentennial oscillation has the character of an interhemispheric loop oscillation. These oscillations mediate transitions between overturning regimes by providing an internal source of finite-amplitude disturbances. As the diffusivity is reduced, the reverse cell becomes weaker and thus less stable to a given perturbation amplitude. This causes the width of the hysteresis to decrease with decreasing diffusivity.
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Beveridge, N. A. S., H. Elderfield, and N. J. Shackleton. "Deep thermohaline circulation in the low-latitude Atlantic during the Last Glacial." Paleoceanography 10, no. 3 (June 1995): 643–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/94pa03353.
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Vellinga, Michael, and Peili Wu. "Low-Latitude Freshwater Influence on Centennial Variability of the Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation." Journal of Climate 17, no. 23 (December 1, 2004): 4498–511. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/3219.1.
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Abstract Variability of the thermohaline circulation (THC) has been analyzed in a long control simulation by the Met Office's Third Hadley Centre Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere General Circulation Model (HadCM3). It is shown that internal THC variability in the coupled climate system is concentrated at interannual and centennial time scales, with the centennial mode being dominant. Centennial oscillations of the THC can impact surface climate via an interhemispheric SST contrast of 0.1°C in the Tropics and more than 0.5°C in mid- and high latitudes. A mechanism is proposed based on detailed process analysis involving large-scale air–sea interaction on multidecadal time scales. Anomalous northward ocean heat transport associated with a strong phase of the Atlantic THC generates a cross-equatorial SST gradient. This causes the ITCZ to move to a more northerly position with increased strength. The extra rainfall resulting from the anomalous ITCZ imposes a freshwater flux and produces a salinity anomaly in the tropical North Atlantic. Such sustained salinity anomalies slowly propagate toward the subpolar North Atlantic at a lag of 5–6 decades. The accumulated low-salinity water lowers upper-ocean density, which causes the THC to slow down. The oscillation then enters the opposite phase.
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Jingzhi, Su, Li Mingkui, Hou Yijun, Yin Baoshu, and Fang Guohong. "Surface circulation derived from drifting buoys in mid-and low-latitude Pacific." Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology 24, no. 4 (December 2006): 333–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf02842846.
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Scott, R. K., and P. H. Haynes. "Internal interannual variability of the extratropical stratospheric circulation: The low-latitude flywheel." Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 124, no. 550 (July 1998): 2149–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/qj.49712455016.
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Handorf, Dörthe, Klaus Dethloff, Sabine Erxleben, Ralf Jaiser, and Michael V. Kurgansky. "Arctic-Mid-Latitude Linkages in a Nonlinear Quasi-Geostrophic Atmospheric Model." Advances in Meteorology 2017 (2017): 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/2691368.
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A quasi-geostrophic three-level T63 model of the wintertime atmospheric circulation of the Northern Hemisphere has been applied to investigate the impact of Arctic amplification (increase in surface air temperatures and loss of Arctic sea ice during the last 15 years) on the mid-latitude large-scale atmospheric circulation. The model demonstrates a mid-latitude response to an Arctic diabatic heating anomaly. A clear shift towards a negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation (AO−) during low sea-ice-cover conditions occurs, connected with weakening of mid-latitude westerlies over the Atlantic and colder winters over Northern Eurasia. Compared to reanalysis data, there is no clear model response with respect to the Pacific Ocean and North America.
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Kumar, Edwin A., and Sushil Kumar. "Geomagnetic Storm Effect on F2-Region Ionosphere during 2012 at Low- and Mid-Latitude-Latitude Stations in the Southern Hemisphere." Atmosphere 13, no. 3 (March 15, 2022): 480. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos13030480.
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The ionospheric effects of six intense geomagnetic storms with Dst index ≤ −100 nT that occurred in 2012 were studied at a low-latitude station, Darwin (Geomagnetic coordinates, 21.96° S, 202.84° E), a low-mid-latitude station, Townsville (28.95° S, 220.72° E), and a mid-latitude station, Canberra (45.65° S, 226.30° E), in the Australian Region, by analyzing the storm–time variations in the critical frequency of the F2-region (foF2). Out of six storms, a storm of 23–24 April did not produce any ionospheric effect. The storms of 30 September–3 October (minimum Dst = −122 nT) and 7–10 October (minimum Dst = −109 nT) are presented as case studies and the same analysis was done for the other four storms. The storm of 30 September–3 October, during its main phase, produced a positive ionospheric storm at all three stations with a maximum percentage increase in foF2 (∆foF2%) of 45.3% at Canberra whereas during the recovery phase it produced a negative ionospheric storm at all three stations with a maximum ∆foF2% of −63.5% at Canberra associated with a decrease in virtual height of the F-layer (h’F). The storm of 7–10 October produced a strong long-duration negative ionospheric storm associated with an increase in h’F during its recovery phase at all three stations with a maximum ∆foF2% of −65.1% at Townsville. The negative ionospheric storms with comparatively longer duration were more pronounced in comparison to positive storms and occurred only during the recovery phase of storms. The storm main phase showed positive ionospheric storms for two storms (14–15 July and 30 September–3 October) and other three storms did not produce any ionospheric storm at the low-latitude station indicating prompt penetrating electric fields (PPEFs) associated with these storms did not propagate to the low latitude. The positive ionospheric storms during the main phase are accounted to PPEFs affecting ionospheric equatorial E × B drifts and traveling ionospheric disturbances due to joule heating at the high latitudes. The ionospheric effects during the recovery phase are accounted to the disturbance dynamo electric fields and overshielding electric field affecting E × B drifts and the storm-induced circulation from high latitudes toward low latitudes leading to changes in the natural gas composition [O/N2] ratio.
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Feldl, Nicole, Bruce T. Anderson, and Simona Bordoni. "Atmospheric Eddies Mediate Lapse Rate Feedback and Arctic Amplification." Journal of Climate 30, no. 22 (November 2017): 9213–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-16-0706.1.
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Projections of amplified climate change in the Arctic are attributed to positive feedbacks associated with the retreat of sea ice and changes in the lapse rate of the polar atmosphere. Here, a set of idealized aquaplanet experiments are performed to understand the coupling between high-latitude feedbacks, polar amplification, and the large-scale atmospheric circulation. Results are compared to CMIP5. Simulated climate responses are characterized by a wide range of polar amplification (from none to nearly 15-K warming, relative to the low latitudes) under CO2 quadrupling. Notably, the high-latitude lapse rate feedback varies in sign among the experiments. The aquaplanet simulation with the greatest polar amplification, representing a transition from perennial to ice-free conditions, exhibits a marked decrease in dry static energy flux by transient eddies. Partly compensating for the reduced poleward energy flux is a contraction of the Ferrel cell and an increase in latent energy flux. Enhanced eddy energy flux is consistent with the upper-tropospheric warming that occurs in all experiments and provides a remote influence on the polar lapse rate feedback. The main conclusions are that (i) given a large, localized change in meridional surface temperature gradient, the midlatitude circulation exhibits strong compensation between changes in dry and latent energy fluxes, and (ii) atmospheric eddies mediate the nonlinear interaction between surface albedo and lapse rate feedbacks, rendering the high-latitude lapse rate feedback less positive than it would be otherwise. Consequently, the variability of the circulation response, and particularly the partitioning of energy fluxes, offers insights into understanding the magnitude of polar amplification.
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Wilson, Aaron B., David H. Bromwich, and Keith M. Hines. "Simulating the Mutual Forcing of Anomalous High Southern Latitude Atmospheric Circulation by El Niño Flavors and the Southern Annular Mode*." Journal of Climate 29, no. 6 (March 15, 2016): 2291–309. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-15-0361.1.
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Abstract Numerical simulations using the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) are conducted based on tropical forcing of El Niño flavors. Though these events occur on a continuum, two general types are simulated based on sea surface temperature anomalies located in the central (CP) or eastern (EP) tropical Pacific. The goal is to assess whether CAM adequately represents the transient eddy dynamics associated with each of these El Niño flavors under different southern annular mode (SAM) regimes. CAM captures well the wide spatial and temporal variability associated with the SAM but only accurately simulates the impacts on atmospheric circulation in the high southern latitudes when the observed SAM phase is matched by the model. Composites of in-phase (El Niño–SAM−) and out-of-phase (El Niño–SAM+) events confirm a seasonal preference for in-phase (out of phase) events during December–February (DJF) [June–August (JJA)]. Modeled in-phase events for both EP (during DJF) and CP (during JJA) conditions support observations of anomalous equatorward momentum flux on the equatorward side of the eddy-driven jet, shifting this jet equatorward and consistent with the low phase of the SAM. Out-of-phase composites show that the El Niño–associated teleconnection to the high southern latitudes is strongly modulated by the SAM, as a strong eddy-driven jet is well maintained by high-latitude transient eddy convergence despite the tropical forcing. A regional perspective confirms that this interaction takes place primarily over the Pacific Ocean, with high-latitude circulation variability being a product of both tropical and high-latitude forcing.
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Smith, Roger K., Gerard Kilroy, and Michael T. Montgomery. "Why Do Model Tropical Cyclones Intensify More Rapidly at Low Latitudes?" Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 72, no. 5 (May 1, 2015): 1783–804. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-14-0044.1.
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Abstract The authors examine the problem of why model tropical cyclones intensify more rapidly at low latitudes. The answer to this question touches on practically all facets of the dynamics and thermodynamics of tropical cyclones. The answer invokes the conventional spin-up mechanism, as articulated in classical and recent work, together with a boundary layer feedback mechanism linking the strength of the boundary layer inflow to that of the diabatic forcing of the meridional overturning circulation. The specific role of the frictional boundary layer in regulating the dependence of the intensification rate on latitude is discussed. It is shown that, even if the tangential wind profile at the top of the boundary layer is held fixed, a simple, steady boundary layer model produces stronger low-level inflow and stronger, more confined ascent out of the boundary layer as the latitude is decreased, similar to the behavior found in a time-dependent, three-dimensional numerical model. In an azimuthally averaged view of the problem, the most prominent quantitative differences between the time-dependent simulations at 10° and 30°N are the stronger boundary layer inflow and the stronger ascent of air exiting the boundary layer, together with the much larger diabatic heating rate and its radial gradient above the boundary layer at the lower latitude. These differences, in conjunction with the convectively induced convergence of absolute angular momentum, greatly surpass the effects of rotational stiffness (inertial stability) and evaporative-wind feedback that have been proposed in some prior explanations.
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Yeager, Stephen, and Gokhan Danabasoglu. "Sensitivity of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Variability to Parameterized Nordic Sea Overflows in CCSM4." Journal of Climate 25, no. 6 (March 14, 2012): 2077–103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-11-00149.1.
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Abstract The inclusion of parameterized Nordic Sea overflows in the ocean component of the Community Climate System Model version 4 (CCSM4) results in a much improved representation of the North Atlantic tracer and velocity distributions compared to a control CCSM4 simulation without this parameterization. As a consequence, the variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) on decadal and longer time scales is generally lower, but the reduction is not uniform in latitude, depth, or frequency–space. While there is dramatically less variance in the overall AMOC maximum (at about 35°N), the reduction in AMOC variance at higher latitudes is more modest. Also, it is somewhat enhanced in the deep ocean and at low latitudes (south of about 30°N). The complexity of overturning response to overflows is related to the fact that, in both simulations, the AMOC spectrum varies substantially with latitude and depth, reflecting a variety of driving mechanisms that are impacted in different ways by the overflows. The usefulness of reducing AMOC to a single index is thus called into question. This study identifies two main improvements in the ocean mean state associated with the overflow parameterization that tend to damp AMOC variability: enhanced stratification in the Labrador Sea due to the injection of dense overflow waters and a deepening of the deep western boundary current. Direct driving of deep AMOC variance by overflow transport variations is found to be a second-order effect.
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McLandress, Charles, and Theodore G. Shepherd. "Simulated Anthropogenic Changes in the Brewer–Dobson Circulation, Including Its Extension to High Latitudes." Journal of Climate 22, no. 6 (March 15, 2009): 1516–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2008jcli2679.1.
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Abstract Recent studies using comprehensive middle atmosphere models predict a strengthening of the Brewer–Dobson circulation in response to climate change. To gain confidence in the realism of this result it is important to quantify and understand the contributions from the different components of stratospheric wave drag that cause this increase. Such an analysis is performed here using three 150-yr transient simulations from the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (CMAM), a Chemistry–Climate Model that simulates climate change and ozone depletion and recovery. Resolved wave drag and parameterized orographic gravity wave drag account for 60% and 40%, respectively, of the long-term trend in annual mean net upward mass flux at 70 hPa, with planetary waves accounting for 60% of the resolved wave drag trend. Synoptic wave drag has the strongest impact in northern winter, where it accounts for nearly as much of the upward mass flux trend as planetary wave drag. Owing to differences in the latitudinal structure of the wave drag changes, the relative contribution of resolved and parameterized wave drag to the tropical upward mass flux trend over any particular latitude range is highly sensitive to the range of latitudes considered. An examination of the spatial structure of the climate change response reveals no straightforward connection between the low-latitude and high-latitude changes: while the model results show an increase in Arctic downwelling in winter, they also show a decrease in Antarctic downwelling in spring. Both changes are attributed to changes in the flux of stationary planetary wave activity into the stratosphere.
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Vineeth, C., T. Kumar Pant, and R. Sridharan. "Equatorial counter electrojets and polar stratospheric sudden warmings – a classical example of high latitude-low latitude coupling?" Annales Geophysicae 27, no. 8 (August 12, 2009): 3147–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-27-3147-2009.
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Abstract. Favored occurrences of Equatorial Counter Electrojets (CEJs) with a quasi 16-day periodicity over Trivandrum (8.5° N, 76.5° E, 0.5° N diplat.) in association with the polar Stratospheric Sudden Warming (SSW) events are presented. It is observed that, the stratospheric temperature at ~30 km over Trivandrum shows a sudden cooling prior to the SSWs and the CEJs of maximum intensity which occurs around this time. In general stronger CEJs are associated with more intense SSW events. The stratospheric zonal mean zonal wind over Trivandrum also exhibits a distinctly different pattern during the SSW period. These circulation changes are proposed to be conducive for the upward propagation of the lower atmospheric waves over the equatorial latitudes. The interaction of such waves with the tidal components at the upper mesosphere and its subsequent modification are suggested to be responsible for the occurrence of CEJs having planetary wave periods.
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Tang, Qiong, Haiyang Sun, Zhitao Du, Jiaqi Zhao, Yi Liu, Zhengyu Zhao, and Xueshang Feng. "Unusual Enhancement of Midlatitude Sporadic-E Layers in Response to a Minor Geomagnetic Storm." Atmosphere 13, no. 5 (May 16, 2022): 816. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos13050816.
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This study investigates the variations of middle and low latitude sporadic-E (Es) layers in response to a geomagnetic storm. Es layers are observed by five ionosondes located in the Eastern Asian sector. The critical frequencies of Es layers (foEs) at six stations increased in sequence from high latitude stations to low latitude stations after IMF/Bz turning southward. Lomb–Scargle analysis shows the amplification of semidiurnal oscillation amplitude in the vertical height of Es layers during geomagnetic disturbance. Modeling results of the NCAR Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIEGCM) show the enhancement of the wind field in the mesosphere and the lower thermosphere (MLT) region. Our study provides evidence that the enhanced wind field in the MLT region during the storm period could result in the enhancement of Es layers at middle and low latitude.
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O’Neill, Morgan E., and Daniel R. Chavas. "Inertial Waves in Axisymmetric Tropical Cyclones." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 77, no. 7 (July 1, 2020): 2501–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-19-0330.1.
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AbstractThe heat engine model of tropical cyclones describes a thermally direct overturning circulation. Outflowing air slowly subsides as radiative cooling to space balances adiabatic warming, a process that does not consume any work. However, we show here that the lateral spread of the outflow is limited by the environmental deformation radius, which at high latitudes can be rather small. In such cases, the outflowing air is radially constrained, which limits how far downward it can subside via radiative cooling alone. Some literature has invoked the possibility of “mechanical subsidence” or “forced descent” in the storm outflow region in the presence of high inertial stability, which would be a thermally indirect circulation. Mechanical subsidence in the subsiding branch of a tropical cyclone has not before been observed or characterized. A series of axisymmetric tropical cyclone simulations at different latitudes and domain sizes is conducted to study the impact of environmental inertial stability on storm dynamics. In higher-latitude storms in large axisymmetric domains, the outflow acts as a wavemaker to excite an inertial wave at the environmental inertial (Coriolis) frequency. This inertial wave periodically ventilates the core of a high-latitude storm with its own low-entropy exhaust air. The wave response is in contrast to the presumed forced descent model, and we hypothesize that this is because inertial stability provides less resistance than buoyant stability, even in highly inertially stable environments.
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Qiu, Bo, Shuiming Chen, Daniel L. Rudnick, and Yuji Kashino. "A New Paradigm for the North Pacific Subthermocline Low-Latitude Western Boundary Current System." Journal of Physical Oceanography 45, no. 9 (September 2015): 2407–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-15-0035.1.
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AbstractSubthermocline western boundary circulation along the low-latitude North Pacific Ocean (2°–25°N) is investigated by using profiling float and historical CTD/expendable CTD (XCTD) data and by analyzing an eddy-resolving global OGCM output. In contrast to the existing paradigm depicting it as a reversed pattern of the wind-driven circulation above the ventilated thermocline (i.e., depth < 26.8 σθ), the subthermocline western boundary circulation is found to comprise two components governed by distinct dynamical processes. For meridional scales shorter than 400 km, the boundary flows along the Philippine coast exhibit convergent patterns near 7°, 10°, 13°, and 18°N, respectively. These short-scale boundary flows are driven by the subthermocline eastward zonal jets that exist coherently across the interior North Pacific basin and are generated by the triad instability of wind-forced annual baroclinic Rossby waves. For meridional scales longer than 400 km, a time-mean Mindanao Undercurrent (MUC) is observed from 6° to 13°N together with another northward-flowing boundary flow beneath the Kuroshio from 16° to 24°N. Rather than remote eddy forcing from the interior Pacific Ocean, both of these broad-scale subthermocline boundary flows are induced by baroclinic instability of the overlying wind-driven western boundary currents, the Mindanao Current, and Kuroshio.
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Overland, James E., Jennifer Miletta Adams, and Nicholas A. Bond. "Decadal Variability of the Aleutian Low and Its Relation to High-Latitude Circulation*." Journal of Climate 12, no. 5 (May 1999): 1542–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1999)012<1542:dvotal>2.0.co;2.
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Graff, Lise Seland, and J. H. LaCasce. "Changes in the Extratropical Storm Tracks in Response to Changes in SST in an AGCM." Journal of Climate 25, no. 6 (March 14, 2012): 1854–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-11-00174.1.
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Abstract A poleward shift in the extratropical storm tracks has been identified in observational and climate simulations. The authors examine the role of altered sea surface temperatures (SSTs) on the storm-track position and intensity in an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) using realistic lower boundary conditions. A set of experiments was conducted in which the SSTs where changed by 2 K in specified latitude bands. The primary profile was inspired by the observed trend in ocean temperatures, with the largest warming occurring at low latitudes. The response to several other heating patterns was also investigated, to examine the effect of imposed gradients and low- versus high-latitude heating. The focus is on the Northern Hemisphere (NH) winter, averaged over a 20-yr period. Results show that the storm tracks respond to changes in both the mean SST and SST gradients, consistent with previous studies employing aquaplanet (water only) boundary conditions. Increasing the mean SST strengthens the Hadley circulation and the subtropical jets, causing the storm tracks to intensify and shift poleward. Increasing the SST gradient at midlatitudes similarly causes an intensification and a poleward shift of the storm tracks. Increasing the gradient in the tropics, on the other hand, causes the Hadley cells to contract and the storm tracks to shift equatorward. Consistent shifts are seen in the mean zonal velocity, the atmospheric baroclinicity, the eddy heat and momentum fluxes, and the atmospheric meridional overturning circulation. The results support the idea that oceanic heating could be a contributing factor to the observed shift in the storm tracks.
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Black, Robert X., Brent A. McDaniel, and Walter A. Robinson. "Stratosphere–Troposphere Coupling during Spring Onset." Journal of Climate 19, no. 19 (October 1, 2006): 4891–901. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli3907.1.
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Abstract The authors perform an observational study of the relation between stratospheric final warmings (SFWs) and the boreal extratropical circulation. SFW events are found to provide a strong organizing influence upon the large-scale circulation of the stratosphere and troposphere during the period of spring onset. In contrast to the climatological seasonal cycle, SFW events noticeably sharpen the annual weakening of high-latitude circumpolar westerlies in both the stratosphere and troposphere. A coherent pattern of significant westerly (easterly) zonal wind anomalies is observed to extend from the stratosphere to the earth’s surface at high latitudes prior to (after) SFW events, coinciding with the polar vortex breakdown. This evolution is associated with a bidirectional dynamical coupling of the stratosphere–troposphere system in which tropospheric low-frequency waves induce annular stratospheric circulation anomalies, which in turn, are followed by annular tropospheric circulation anomalies. The regional tropospheric manifestation of SFW events consists of a North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)-like phase transition in the near-surface geopotential height field, with height rises over polar latitudes and height falls over the northeast North Atlantic. This lower-tropospheric change pattern is distinct from the climatological seasonal cycle, which closely follows seasonal trends in thermal forcing at the lower boundary. Although broadly similar, the tropospheric anomaly patterns identified in the study do not precisely correspond to the canonical northern annular mode (NAM) and NAO patterns as the primary anomaly centers are retracted northward toward the pole. The results here imply that (i) high-latitude climate may be particularly sensitive to long-term trends in the annual cycle of the stratospheric polar vortex and (ii) improvements in the understanding and simulation of SFW events may benefit medium-range forecasts of spring onset in the extratropics.
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Wang, Yongdi, Fei Wang, and Xinyu Sun. "Sinuosity of Atmospheric Circulation over Southeastern China and Its Relationship to Surface Air Temperature and High Temperature Extremes." Atmosphere 12, no. 9 (September 4, 2021): 1139. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos12091139.
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Linking sinuosity, a fairly recently developed metric, with high temperature extremes (HTEs) can be both useful and insightful to better understand the physical mechanisms behind HTEs. However, it is not clear whether there exists a relationship between the sinuosity changes and HTE changes in present and future climate conditions over southeastern China. In this paper, the anomalous characteristics of the atmospheric circulation are quantified by sinuosity. Three sinuosity metrics are used in this study: individual sinuosity (SIN), aggregate sinuosity (ASIN), and comprehensive sinuosity (CSIN). Furthermore, we examine the relationship between sinuosity changes and HTE changes in present and future climate conditions. ASIN is strongly correlated with surface air temperature (SAT). We find that the influence of individual sinuosity (SIN) at different latitudes on the SAT of southeastern China is different. The SIN of low (middle) latitude isohypses has significant positive (negative) correlations with the SAT of southeastern China. The SIN of high-latitude isohypses is rather limited and can therefore be ignored. The projected relationship between the sinuosity changes and HTE changes in the late 21st century suggests similar results. The change in SAT is related to the changes in climate variables over southeastern China in the future, and these changes increase with the increase in Z500 or V850 and the decrease in U500. Moreover, the frequencies of large (small) comprehensive sinuosity (CSIN) values at low (mid) latitudes will increase. At the end of the 21st century, Z500 isohypses at different latitudes will have an obvious poleward shift. Our results indicate that measuring the aggregate waviness of the midtropospheric flow (via sinuosity) can provide insight regarding HTEs, and the climate model output can be used to examine the future likelihood of increased HTE.
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Rapp, M., E. Becker, B. Strelnikov, and F. J. Lübken. "The latitude dependence and probability distribution of polar mesospheric turbulence." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions 6, no. 6 (November 28, 2006): 12199–216. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acpd-6-12199-2006.
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Abstract. We consider in-situ observations and results from a global circulation model to study the latitude dependence and probability distribution of polar mesospheric turbulence. A comparison of summer observations at 69° N and 79° N shows that mesospheric turbulence weakens towards the summer pole. Furthermore, these data suggest that at both latitudes in about ~70% of all samples there are non-turbulent altitude bins in the considered altitude range between 70 and 95 km. The remaining 30% with detectable turbulence show an approximately log-normal distribution of dissipation rates. A low-resolution model version with a gravity wave (GW) parameterization explains the observed latitude dependence as a consequence of a downshift of the breaking levels towards the summer pole and an accompanying decay of turbulent heating per unit mass. When we do not use a GW parameterization but employ a high spatial resolution instead to simulate GW effects explicitly, the model predicts a similar latitudinal dependence with weakening turbulence towards the summer pole. In addition, the model also produces a log-normal distribution of dissipation rates. The simulated probability distribution is more narrow than in the observations since the model resolves at most mid-frequency GWs, whereas real turbulence is also excited by smaller-scale disturbances. The GW resolving simulation suggests a weaker tropospheric GW source at polar latitudes as the dominating mechanism for the latitudinal dependence.
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Agosta, Eduardo Andrés, and Pablo Osvaldo Canziani. "Austral Spring Stratospheric and Tropospheric Circulation Interannual Variability." Journal of Climate 24, no. 11 (June 1, 2011): 2629–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2010jcli3418.1.
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Abstract The relationship between the October (spring) total ozone column (TOC) midlatitude zonal asymmetry over the Southern Hemisphere (SH) and the stratospheric quasi-stationary wave 1 (QSW1) interannual phase variability is analyzed. Once contributions to the TOC from known global predictors, estimated with a multiregression model, are removed, the residual TOC interannual variability is observed to be dynamically coupled to the stratospheric QSW1 phase behavior. The stratospheric QSW1 interannual phase variability, when classified according to specifically designed indices, yields different circulation patterns in the troposphere and stratosphere. High (upper quartile) index values correspond to a westward rotation of the midlatitude ozone trough and the stratospheric QSW1 phase, while low (lower quartile) index values represent their eastward-rotated state. These values can be associated with statistically different tropospheric circulation patterns: a predominantly single poleward tropospheric jet structure for high index values and a predominantly double-jet structure for low index values. For the latter, there is a higher daily probability of double-jet occurrence in the troposphere and a stronger stratospheric jet. These jet structures and their daily behavior are supported by significant synoptic-scale activity anomalies over SH mid- to high latitudes as well as changes in tropospheric quasi-stationary waves 1–3. The wave activity flux (W flux) diagnosis shows the contribution of active quasi-stationary waves in the observed tropospheric anomalies associated with high and low index values. With low index values, the quasi-stationary waves lead to a self-sustaining state of the stratospheric–tropospheric coupled system. With high index values, the overall mid- to high latitude circulation is associated with wave energy propagation from the tropical central Pacific into higher latitudes. Thus, during the austral spring, there are interactions between the troposphere and stratosphere, leading to the locally well-defined upward and downward propagation of wave anomalies, that is, significant upper troposphere (UT)–lower stratosphere (LS) interactions can occur within a spring month itself.
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Xia, Yicong, Suxiang Yao, Tianle Sun, and Ziyi Guo. "Role of the Low-Latitude Quasi-Biweekly Oscillation in the Extreme Persistent Heavy Rainfall in the Mei-Yu Season over the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River." Journal of Climate 36, no. 11 (June 1, 2023): 3817–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-22-0343.1.
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Abstract Persistent heavy rainfall events (PHREs), as a result of the interaction among multiscale systems, are prone to continuously affect the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River valley (MLYR). Based on the observation and reanalysis data, a total of 41 PHREs during the mei-yu seasons of 1979–2020 are first identified over the MLYR and divided into prolonged (over 5 days) and normal (3–5 days) groups. The contributions of quasi-biweekly-scale and synoptic-scale components to the abovementioned two types of PHREs are analyzed. Prolonged PHREs are dominated by the quasi-biweekly component of precipitation (QBW_Pr), while normal PHREs depend on synoptic-scale components (SS_Pr). The quantitative moisture budget indicates that the favorable environment for the QBW_Pr of prolonged PHREs is associated with the interaction between background moisture and quasi-biweekly circulation disturbances. Approximately 80% of prolonged PHREs occurred in phases 6–8 of the boreal summer QBWO (BSISO2) life cycle. The large-scale meridional vertical circulation along the South China Sea (SCS)–MLYR, and the westward-propagating suppressed convection at low latitudes, accompanied by the substantial northward and upward moisture supply, significantly promotes and maintains the QBW_Pr for prolonged PHREs. In contrast, the QBWO signals are relatively insignificant in the evolution of normal PHREs. The impact of the low-latitude QBWO on the prolonged PHREs is further confirmed by sensitivity experiments with RegCM4.9. As the QBWO are weakened on the southeast lateral boundary near the SCS, the vertical circulation and moisture transport clearly diminish along the SCS–MLYR. Consequentially, precipitation reduces visibly during prolonged PHREs. Significance Statement Persistent heavy rainfall events (PHREs), as the reflection of the interaction among multiscale circulation systems, characterized by high intensity and wide coverage, are prone to cause severe flooding and death in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River valley (MLYR). This study aims to investigate the connection between PHREs and different time scales of atmospheric variability, thus elucidating the crucial factors and the influencing mechanisms for the prolonged PHREs during the mei-yu season. Our results reveal that the prolonged PHREs are dominated by the quasi-biweekly component of precipitation, while normal PHREs depend on the synoptic-scale component. The quasi-biweekly precipitation of prolonged PHREs is promoted and maintained by the meridional vertical circulation along the South China Sea (SCS)–MLYR, which is accompanied by the westward-propagating SCS QBWO-related suppressed convection at low latitudes. This study highlights the specific role of the low-latitude QBWO to the formation of prolonged PHREs relative to normal PHREs.
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Lucarini, Valerio, and Peter H. Stone. "Thermohaline Circulation Stability: A Box Model Study. Part I: Uncoupled Model." Journal of Climate 18, no. 4 (February 15, 2005): 501–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-3278.1.
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Abstract A thorough analysis of the stability of the uncoupled Rooth interhemispheric three-box model of thermohaline circulation (THC) is presented. The model consists of a northern high-latitude box, a tropical box, and a southern high-latitude box, which correspond to the northern, tropical, and southern Atlantic Ocean, respectively. Restoring boundary conditions are adopted for the temperature variables, and flux boundary conditions are adopted for the salinity variables. This paper examines how the strength of THC changes when the system undergoes forcings that are analogous to those of global warming conditions by applying the equilibrium state perturbations to the moisture and heat fluxes into the three boxes. In each class of experiments, using suitably defined metrics, the authors determine the boundary dividing the set of forcing scenarios that lead the system to equilibria characterized by a THC pattern similar to the present one from those that drive the system to equilibria with a reversed THC. Fast increases in the moisture flux into the northern high-latitude box are more effective than slow increases in leading the THC to a breakdown, while the increases of moisture flux into the southern high-latitude box strongly inhibit the breakdown and can prevent it, as in the case of slow increases in the Northern Hemisphere. High rates of heat flux increase in the Northern Hemisphere destabilize the system more effectively than low ones; increases in the heat fluxes in the Southern Hemisphere tend to stabilize the system.
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Haslinger, Klaus, Michael Hofstätter, Wolfgang Schöner, and Günter Blöschl. "Changing summer precipitation variability in the Alpine region: on the role of scale dependent atmospheric drivers." Climate Dynamics 57, no. 3-4 (April 10, 2021): 1009–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00382-021-05753-5.
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AbstractSummer precipitation totals in the Alpine Region do not exhibit a systematic trend over the last 120 years. However, we find significant low frequency periodicity of interannual variability which occurs in synchronization with a dominant two-phase state of the atmospheric circulation over the Alps. Enhanced meridional flow increases precipitation variability through positive soil moisture precipitation feedbacks on the regional scale, whereas enhanced zonal flow results in less variability through constant moisture flow from the Atlantic and suppressed feedbacks with the land surface. The dominant state of the atmospheric circulation over the Alps in these periods appears to be steered by zonal sea surface temperature gradients in the mid-latitude North Atlantic. The strength and the location of the westerlies in the mid-latitude Atlantic play an important role in the physical mechanisms linking atmosphere and oceanic temperature gradients and the meridional/zonal circulation characteristics.
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Arhan, M., A. M. Treguier, B. Bourlès, and S. Michel. "Diagnosing the Annual Cycle of the Equatorial Undercurrent in the Atlantic Ocean from a General Circulation Model." Journal of Physical Oceanography 36, no. 8 (August 1, 2006): 1502–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jpo2929.1.
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Abstract Ten-year-long output series from a general circulation model forced by daily realistic winds are used to analyze the annual cycle of the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) in the Atlantic Ocean. Two well-defined transport maxima are found: One, present during boreal summer and autumn in the central part of the basin, is generally recognized and regarded as a near-equilibrium response to the equatorial easterly trades that culminate in this period. Another one, most pronounced near the western boundary, occurs in April–May when the trades relax. This second maximum is less patent in the observations, but concomitant signals in previously published analyses of the North Brazil Current and surface velocity seasonal variations might be indirect manifestations of its reality. Because this intensification appears at periods when the boundary between the tropical and equatorial gyres nears the equator, the authors relate its existence to wind stress curl variations at subequatorial latitudes. A link between the interannual variability of the spring transport maximum and that of the low-latitude wind stress curl is, indeed, found in the model. This diagnostic approach suggests that two different dynamical regimes shape up the EUC seasonal cycle: in summer and autumn, local forcing by the equatorial zonal wind component and main supply from the ocean interior; in winter and spring, remote forcing by the low-latitude rotational wind component and supply from the western boundary currents.
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Brunner, D., J. Staehelin, J. A. Maeder, I. Wohltmann, and G. E. Bodeker. "Variability and trends in total and vertically resolved stratospheric ozone." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions 6, no. 4 (July 12, 2006): 6317–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acpd-6-6317-2006.
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Abstract. Trends in ozone columns and vertical distributions were calculated for the period 1979–2004 based on the three-dimensional ozone data set CATO (Candidoz Assimilated Three-dimensional Ozone) using a multiple linear regression model. CATO has been reconstructed from TOMS, GOME and SBUV total column ozone observations in an equivalent latitude and potential temperature framework and offers a pole to pole coverage of the stratosphere on 15 potential temperature levels. The regression model includes explanatory variables describing the influence of the quasi-biennial oscillation, volcanic eruptions, the solar cycle, the Brewer-Dobson circulation, Arctic ozone depletion, and the increase in stratospheric chlorine. The effects of displacements of the polar vortex and jet streams due to planetary waves, which may significantly affect trends at a given geographical latitude, are eliminated in the equivalent latitude framework. Ozone variability is largely explained by the QBO and stratospheric aerosol loading and the spatial structure of their influence is in good agreement with previous studies. The solar cycle signal peaks at about 30 to 35 km altitude which is lower than reported previously, and no negative signal is found in the tropical lower stratosphere. The Brewer-Dobson circulation shows a dominant contribution to interannual variability at both high and low latitudes and accounts for some of the ozone increase seen in the northern hemisphere since the mid-1990s. Arctic ozone depletion significantly affects the high northern latitudes between January and March and extends its influence to the mid-latitudes during later months. The vertical distribution of the ozone trend shows distinct negative trends at about 18 km in the lower stratosphere with largest declines over the poles, and above 35 km in the upper stratosphere. A narrow band of large negative trends extends into the tropical lower stratosphere. Assuming that the observed negative trend before 1995 continued to 2004 cannot explain the ozone changes since 1996. A model accounting for recent changes in EESC, aerosols and Eliassen-Palm flux, on the other hand, closely tracks ozone changes since 1995.
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Brunner, D., J. Staehelin, J. A. Maeder, I. Wohltmann, and G. E. Bodeker. "Variability and trends in total and vertically resolved stratospheric ozone based on the CATO ozone data set." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 6, no. 12 (October 31, 2006): 4985–5008. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-6-4985-2006.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Trends in ozone columns and vertical distributions were calculated for the period 1979–2004 based on the ozone data set CATO (Candidoz Assimilated Three-dimensional Ozone) using a multiple linear regression model. CATO has been reconstructed from TOMS, GOME and SBUV total column ozone observations in an equivalent latitude and potential temperature framework and offers a pole to pole coverage of the stratosphere on 15 potential temperature levels. The regression model includes explanatory variables describing the influence of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), volcanic eruptions, the solar cycle, the Brewer-Dobson circulation, Arctic ozone depletion, and the increase in stratospheric chlorine. The effects of displacements of the polar vortex and jet streams due to planetary waves, which may significantly affect trends at a given geographical latitude, are eliminated in the equivalent latitude framework. The QBO shows a strong signal throughout most of the lower stratosphere with peak amplitudes in the tropics of the order of 10–20% (peak to valley). The eruption of Pinatubo led to annual mean ozone reductions of 15–25% between the tropopause and 23 km in northern mid-latitudes and to similar percentage changes in the southern hemisphere but concentrated at altitudes below 17 km. Stratospheric ozone is elevated over a broad latitude range by up to 5% during solar maximum compared to solar minimum, the largest increase being observed around 30 km. This is at a lower altitude than reported previously, and no negative signal is found in the tropical lower stratosphere. The Brewer-Dobson circulation shows a dominant contribution to interannual variability at both high and low latitudes and accounts for some of the ozone increase seen in the northern hemisphere since the mid-1990s. Arctic ozone depletion significantly affects the high northern latitudes between January and March and extends its influence to the mid-latitudes during later months. The vertical distribution of the ozone trend shows distinct negative trends at about 18 km in the lower stratosphere with largest declines over the poles, and above 35 km in the upper stratosphere. A narrow band of large negative trends extends into the tropical lower stratosphere. Assuming that the observed negative trend before 1995 continued to 2004 cannot explain the ozone changes since 1996. A model accounting for recent changes in equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine, aerosols and Eliassen-Palm flux, on the other hand, closely tracks ozone changes since 1995.