An Atlantic streamer in stratospheric ozone observations and SD-WACCM simulation data

Abstract

Abstract. Observation and simulation of individual ozone streamers are important for the description and understanding of non-linear transport processes in the middle atmosphere. A sudden increase in mid-stratospheric ozone occurred above central Europe on 4 December 2015. The GROund-based Millimeter-wave Ozone Spectrometer (GROMOS) and the Stratospheric Ozone MOnitoring RAdiometer (SOMORA) in Switzerland measured an ozone enhancement of about 30 % at 34 km altitude (8.3 hPa) from 1 to 4 December. A similar ozone increase is simulated by the Specified Dynamics Whole Atmosphere Community Climate (SD-WACCM) model. Further, the global ozone fields at 34 km altitude (8.3 hPa) from SD-WACCM and the satellite experiment Aura/MLS show a remarkable agreement for the location and timing of an ozone streamer (large-scale tongue-like structure) extending from the subtropics in northern America over the Atlantic to central Europe. This agreement indicates that SD-WACCM can inform us about the wind inside the Atlantic ozone streamer. SD-WACCM shows an eastward wind of about 100 m s −1 inside the Atlantic streamer in the mid-stratosphere. SD-WACCM shows that the Atlantic streamer flows along the edge of the polar vortex. The Atlantic streamer turns southward at an erosion region of the polar vortex located above the Caspian Sea. The spatial distribution of stratospheric water vapour indicates a filament outgoing from this erosion region. The Atlantic streamer, the polar vortex erosion region and the water vapour filament belong to the process of planetary wave breaking in the socalled surf zone of the northern midlatitude winter stratosphere.

Investigation of Arctic middle-atmospheric dynamics using 3 years of H<sub>2</sub>O and O<sub>3</sub> measurements from microwave radiometers at Ny-Ålesund

“…The nudging is performed at every time step with a strength of 10 % and up to an altitude of 60 km. Hoffmann et al (2012) have shown that the nudging, although only 10 % and up to 60 km altitude, yields realistic variations of carbon monoxide (CO) in the higher mesosphere.…”

Gravity waves above the Northern Atlantic and Europe during streamer events using ADM-Aeolus

“…Streamers are large-scale tongue-like structures of meridionally deflected air masses (Hocke et al, 2017;Krüger et al, 2005;Offermann et al, 1999); they are linked to enhanced or breaking planetary waves (PWs). PWs are associated with the formation of pressure systems and influence the position of the tropospheric jet.…”