This study applied the modified spatial similarity coefficient method to define the seasonal transition(ST) from winter to summer in the extratropical stratosphere of the Northern Hemisphere.The features of the ST were examined using European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF) Interim reanalysis data;and the results showed that the time and duration of the ST,which is affected by the activity of planetary waves(PW) in the stratosphere,largely depended on the geophysical locations.This study also investigated the interannual variability of the ST and its relationship with stratospheric sudden warming(SSW) and the quasi-biennial oscillation(QBO).It was shown that the late-onset SSW events(after 22 January) are close to the start of the ST.An easterly(westerly) QBO hastens(delays) the onset of the ST in high and low latitudes,whereas it delays(hastens) the ST in midlatitudes.The duration of the ST is significantly affected by the QBO.The influence of SSW and the QBO have different significance in different latitudes,so they are both important and irreplaceable factors.
Using a state-of-the-art chemistry-climate model, we analyzed the atmospheric responses to increases in sea surface temperature(SST). The results showed that increases in SST and the SST meridional gradient could intensify the subtropical westerly jets and significantly weaken the northern polar vortex. In the model runs, global uniform SST increases produced a more significant impact on the southern stratosphere than the northern stratosphere, while SST gradient increases produced a more significant impact on the northern stratosphere. The asymmetric responses of the northern and southern polar stratosphere to SST meridional gradient changes were found to be mainly due to different wave properties and transmissions in the northern and southern atmosphere. Although SST increases may give rise to stronger waves, the results showed that the effect of SST increases on the vertical propagation of tropospheric waves into the stratosphere will vary with height and latitude and be sensitive to SST meridional gradient changes. Both uniform and non-uniform SST increases accelerated the large-scale Brewer–Dobson circulation(BDC), but the gradient increases of SST between 60°S and 60°N resulted in younger mean age-of-air in the stratosphere and a larger increase in tropical upwelling, with a much higher tropopause than from a global uniform 1.0 K SST increase.
HU DingzhuTIAN WenshouXIE FeiSHU JianchuanSandip DHOMSE
The quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) and semi-annual oscillation (SAO) characteristics of O3, NO2, and NO3 from 2002 to 2008 were analyzed using Global Ozone Monitoring by Occultation of Stars (GOMOS) satellite observations. From investigations of the vertical and latitudinal structures of interannual anomalies for O3 and the vertical velocity of the residual circulation (w-star), we conclude that dynamic transport is the principal factor controlling the QBO pattern of O3. Under the influence of vertical transport, the QBO signals of O3 originate in the middle stratosphere and propagate downward along with the wstar anomalies over the equator. The residual circulation has a significant role in tropical regions, regardless of altitude, while in extratropical regions, dynamic effects are important in some years in the lower stratosphere. In the middle stratosphere, dynamic transport is most efficient in the Southern Hemisphere. We also analyzed NO2 anomalies and found that their QBO pattern was deep and sta- tionary in the middle and upper stratosphere over the equator. This was due to the large depth over which w-star was anomalous. The latitudinal structure of NO2 was asymmetric in extratropical areas in the middle stratosphere, but in the upper layers, the QBO pattern and dynamic influences were only observed in tropical zones. The interannual anomalies of NO3 had an apparent SAO pattern in the tropical upper stratosphere because of different dynamic and chemical effects in different SAO phases. Chemical reactions may also have contributed to the QBO-type distribution of NO2 and the SAO-type distribution of NO3.
