Previous work has examined the Brewer-Dobson circulation (BDC) changes for 1980-2009 based on satellite Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU/AMSU) lower-stratospheric temperature (T LS ) observations and ERA-Interim reanalysis data. Here we examine the BDC changes for the longer period now available , which also allows analysis of both the ozone depletion (1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999) and ozone healing (2000-2018) periods. We provide observational evidence that the annual mean BDC accelerated for 1980-1999 but decelerated for 2000-2018, with the changes largely driven by the Southern Hemisphere (SH), which might be partly contributed by the effects of ozone depletion and healing. We also show that the annual mean BDC has accelerated in the last 40 years (at the 90% confidence level) with a relative strengthening of ∼1.7% per decade. This overall acceleration was driven by both Northern Hemisphere (40%) and SH (60%) cells. Significant SH radiative warming is also identified in September for 2000-2018 after excluding the year 2002 when a very rare SH stratospheric sudden warming occurred, supporting the view that healing of the Antarctic ozone layer has now begun to occur during the month of September.

The dynamics and momentum budget of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) are examined in the ERA5 reanalysis. Because of ERA5’s higher spatial resolution compared to its predecessors, it is capable of resolving a broader spectrum of atmospheric waves and allows for a better representation of the wave-mean flow interactions, both of which are of crucial importance for QBO studies. It is shown that the QBO-induced mean meridional circulation, which is mainly confined to the winter hemisphere, is strong enough to interrupt the tropical upwelling during the descent of the westerly shear zones. Since the momentum advection tends to damp the QBO, the wave forcing is responsible for both the downward propagation and for the maintenance of the QBO. It is shown that half the required wave forcing is provided by resolved waves during the descent of both westerly and easterly regimes. Planetary-scale waves account for most of the resolved wave forcing of the descent of westerly shear zones and small-scale gravity (SSG) waves with wavelengths shorter than 2000 km account for the remainder. SSG waves account for most of the resolved forcing of the descent of the easterly shear zones. The representation of the mean fields in the QBO is very similar in ERA5 and ERA-I but the resolved wave forcing is substantially stronger in ERA5. The contributions of the various equatorially-trapped wave modes to the QBO forcing are documented in Part II.

This paper describes stratospheric waves in ERA5 reanalysis and evaluates the contributions of different types of waves to the driving of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO). Because of its higher spatial resolution compared to its predecessors, ERA5 is capable of resolving a broader spectrum of waves. It is shown that the resolved waves contribute to both eastward and westward accelerations near the equator, mainly by the way of the vertical flux of zonal momentum. The eastward accelerations by the resolved waves are mainly due to Kelvin waves and small-scale gravity (SSG) waves with zonal wavelengths smaller than 2000 km, whereas the westward accelerations are forced mainly by SSG waves, with smaller contributions from inertio-gravity and mixed-Rossby-gravity waves. Extratropical Rossby waves disperse upward and equatorward into the tropical region and impart a westward acceleration to the zonal flow. They appear to be responsible for at least some of the irregularities in the QBO cycle.

The Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) is the main mode of variability in the tropical lower stratosphere and is characterized by descending regions of alternating zonal winds and temperature anomalies connected through thermal wind balance (