Search results for "tropopause"

Determination of eddy diffusivity in the lowermost stratosphere

2005

[1] We present a 2D-advection-diffusion model that simulates the main transport pathways influencing tracer distributions in the lowermost stratosphere (LMS). The model describes slow diabatic descent of aged stratospheric air, vertical (cross-isentropic) and horizontal (along isentropes) diffusion within the LMS and across the tropopause using equivalent latitude and potential temperature coordinates. Eddy diffusion coefficients parameterize the integral effect of dynamical processes leading to small scale turbulence and mixing. They were specified by matching model simulations to observed CO distributions. Interestingly, the model suggests mixing across isentropes to be more important tha…

In situ detection of stratosphere-troposphere exchange of cirrus particles in the midlatitudes

2015

Airborne trace gas, microphysical, and radiation measurements were performed during the AIRcraft TOwed Sensor Shuttle - Inhomogeneous Cirrus Experiment over northern Germany in 2013. Based on high-precision nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon monoxide (CO) in situ data, stratospheric air could be identified, which contained cirrus cloud particles. Consistent with the stratospheric N2O data, backward trajectories indicate that the sampled air masses crossed the dynamical tropopause in the last 3 h before the measurement. These air masses contained cirrus particles, which were formed during slow ascent in the troposphere and subsequently mixed with stratospheric air. From the CO-N2O correlation th…

Stratosphere-troposphere exchange in the vicinity of a tropopause fold

2016

Abstract. Transport of air masses from the stratosphere to the troposphere along tropopause folds can lead to peaked ozone concentrations at ground level and hereby influence the long-term trend of tropospheric ozone. To improve the understanding of responsible processes and preferred regions of exchange, transient and reversible exchange processes in the vicinity of a tropopause fold are analysed on the basis of a case study. The global and regional atmospheric chemistry model system MECO(n), which couples the limited-area atmospheric chemistry and climate model COSMO-CLM/MESSy to the global model ECHAM5/MESSy for Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) is applied. Using similar process parametrisati…

Strong influence of lowermost stratospheric ozone on lower tropospheric background ozone changes over Europe

2007

[1] Using ozone measurements from two sounding sites and two high-altitude stations in Central Europe, we show evidence for a dominant influence of changes in lowermost stratospheric ozone on the variability and overall upward trend of background ozone in the lower troposphere (3000–3500 m asl) during the 1992–2004 period. Numerical simulations with a stratospheric chemistry transport model suggest that changes in lower stratospheric ozone were driven by dynamics rather than by changes in stratospheric chlorine loading. In addition, Lagrangian model simulations indicate that changes in downward transport of ozone from the stratosphere into the troposphere were dominated by changes in lowerm…

The potential of cirrus clouds for heterogeneous chlorine activation

1996

The ER-2 data from ascents and descents through layers of cirrus clouds are utilized to study the heterogeneous reactions of ClONO 2 with H 2 O, of HOCl and ClONO 2 with HCl, and their potential role for the activation of chlorine in the tropopause regions which could affect ozone there. Lacking measured data for the three chlorine containing molecules their abundances as a function of altitude have been calculated from a 2D model. The aerosol surface data measured by a Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP-300) on the ER-2 were corrected for the expected asphericity of cirrus cloud particles by means of a T-matrix method. The results indicate considerable potential of cirrus clouds f…

The Static Stability of the Tropopause Region in Adiabatic Baroclinic Life Cycle Experiments

2011

Abstract The tropopause inversion layer (TIL) is a region of enhanced static stability just above the WMO-defined thermal tropopause. It is a ubiquitous feature in midlatitudes and is well characterized by observations. However, it is still lacking a satisfactory theoretical explanation. This study utilizes adiabatic baroclinic life cycle experiments to investigate dynamical mechanisms that lead to TIL formation. As the baroclinic wave grows, a strong TIL forms above anticyclonic anomalies, while no TIL is found above cyclonic anomalies; this is consistent with previous results. However, during the early growth phase there is no TIL in the global or zonal average: positive and negative anom…

Can inertia-gravity waves persistently alter the tropopause inversion layer?

2014

Previous simulations of baroclinic life cycles have shown, among many other features, the evolution of a tropopause inversion layer (TIL) as well as the spontaneous emission of inertia-gravity waves (IGWs). This study suggests that the latter two are related to each other, i.e., that IGWs may affect the TIL in a persistent manner. The IGWs are emitted along the jet and grow to large amplitudes, leading to the appearance of low-gradient Richardson numbers that indicate Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. Ensuing energy dissipation, local heating, and turbulence may persistently alter the thermodynamical structure of the tropopause region and, therefore, contribute to TIL formation or alter an exis…

2009

Abstract. In-situ ice crystal size distribution measurements are presented within the tropical troposphere and lower stratosphere. The measurements were performed using a combination of a Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP-100) and a Cloud Imaging Probe (CIP), which were installed on the Russian high altitude research aircraft M55 "Geophysica" during the SCOUT-O3 campaign in Darwin, Australia. One of the objectives of the campaign was to characterise the Hector convective system, which appears on an almost daily basis during the pre-monsoon season over the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin. In total 90 encounters with ice clouds, between 10 and 19 km altitude were selected from the dat…

Stratosphere–Troposphere Exchange and Its Relation to Potential Vorticity Streamers and Cutoffs near the Extratropical Tropopause

2007

Abstract Two distinct dynamical processes near the dynamical tropopause (2-PVU surface) and their relation are discussed in this study: stratosphere–troposphere exchange (STE) and the formation of distinct potential vorticity (PV) structures in the form of stratospheric and tropospheric streamers and cutoffs on isentropic surfaces. Two previously compiled climatologies based upon the 15-yr European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Re-Analysis (ERA-15) dataset (from 1979 to 1993) are used to establish and quantify the link between STE and these PV structures. An event-based analysis reveals a strong relation between the two processes. For instance, on isentropes below 320 K, 30%–50%…

Resolution Dependence of the Tropopause Inversion Layer in an Idealized Model for Upper-Tropospheric Anticyclones

2009

Abstract This note investigates the dependence of the extratropical tropopause inversion layer (TIL) on numerical resolution in an idealized modeling framework. Axisymmetric upper-tropospheric anticyclones are constructed by specifying potential vorticity (PV) and solving the nonlinear PV-inversion problem. The PV distribution has a smooth but near-discontinuous change of PV across the tropopause in a transition zone with vertical depth δ. For fixed δ the strength of the TIL changes with changing resolution until the transition zone is resolved by a fairly large number of grid points. The quality-controlled numerical solutions are used to study the behavior for δ → 0. This limit can lead to…