Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) and balloon-borne in situ measurements of methane in stratosphere and their relation to the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO)

Patra, Prabir K.; Lal, Shyam; Venkataramani, S.; Chand, D.

doi:10.5194/acp-3-1051-2003

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The second and third assumptions were that the CH 4 amount decreased with increasing altitude at the same rate as the a priori CH 4 amount in the stratosphere ("GRDapri") and as the AFGL CH 4 amount in the stratosphere ("GRDafgl"), respectively. In the stratosphere, the CH 4 vertical structure showed year-to-year variability induced by dynamical effects such as the quasi-biennial oscillation (e.g., Patra et al 2003). The range of the four types of stratospheric CH 4 mixing ratios was similar to that of the annual mean CH 4 profiles for 5 years from 2004 to 2008, as observed by the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE)-FTS (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Comparisons between XCH4 from GOSAT Shortwave and Thermal Infrared Spectra and Aircraft CH4 Measurements over Guam

Saitoh

Touno

Hayashida

et al. 2012

SOLA

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The Thermal and Near-infrared Sensor for Carbon Observation Fourier Transform Spectrometer (TANSO-FTS) on board the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) simultaneously observes column abundances and profiles of CH 4 in the same field of view, from the shortwave infrared (SWIR) and thermal infrared (TIR) bands, respectively. We compared CH 4 column-averaged dry-air mole fractions (XCH 4 ) derived from the SWIR band, XCH 4 calculated from the TIR CH 4 profiles, and XCH 4 calculated from the CH 4 data obtained over Guam airport by commercial aircraft. The difference between the SWIR-XCH 4 and aircraft XCH 4 values (SWIR − aircraft) was −8 ppbv on average, and the 1σ standard deviation was 10 ppbv. The average difference between the TIR-XCH 4 and aircraft XCH 4 values (TIR − aircraft) was −5 ppbv, and the 1σ standard deviation was 15 ppbv. The ranges of uncertainties in the calculated aircraft XCH 4 values were estimated to be 9, 3, and 2 ppbv, which came from stratospheric CH 4 assumption, tropopause height determination, and meteorological dataset used, respectively. Both the SWIR-and TIR-XCH 4 values agreed within 0.5% of the aircraft XCH 4 values, demonstrating that the GOSAT CH 4 data are both valid and consistent with each other over the tropical ocean.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Comparisons between XCH4 from GOSAT Shortwave and Thermal Infrared Spectra and Aircraft CH4 Measurements over Guam

Saitoh

Touno

Hayashida

et al. 2012

SOLA

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“…Together with the variation of the latitudinal velocities, this forms the QBO's secondary meridional circulation (SMC) that modulates the Brewer-Dobson circulation (BDC), which leads to the QBO imprint on the mass stream function (Plumb and Bell, 1982). It is clear that the secondary meridional circulation impacts any trace gases and substances with vertical or horizontal gradients and sufficiently long life time in the tropical stratosphere (Trepte and Hitchman, 1992;Chipperfield and Gray, 1992;Patra et al, 2003;Tian et al, 2006;Schoeberl et al, 2008).…”

Section: Model and Comparison To Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…QBO variations were found in satellite observations for many trace gases including ozone, methane and water vapor O'Sullivan and Dunkerton, 1997;Dunkerton, 2001;Patra et al, 2003;Randel et al, 2004). More recently, Schoeberl et al (2008) presented a comprehensive study of QBO signals in multiple trace gases from HALOE and Aura MLS observations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Net effect of the QBO in a chemistry climate model

Punge

Giorgetta

2008

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. The quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) of zonal wind is a prominent mode of variability in the tropical stratosphere. It affects not only the meridional circulation and temperature over a wide latitude range but also the transport and chemistry of trace gases such as ozone. Compared to a QBO less circulation, the long-term climatological means of these quantities are also different. These climatological net effects of the QBO can be studied in general circulation models that extend into the middle atmosphere and have a chemistry and transport component, so-called Chemistry Climate Models (CCMs). In this work we show that the CCM MAECHAM4-CHEM can reproduce the observed QBO variations in temperature and ozone mole fractions when nudged towards observed winds. In particular, it is shown that the QBO signal in transport of nitrogen oxides NO x plays an important role in reproducing the observed ozone QBO, which features a phase reversal slightly below the level of maximum of the ozone mole fraction in the tropics. We then compare two 20-year experiments with the MAECHAM4-CHEM model that differ by including or not including the QBO. The mean wind fields differ between the two model runs, especially during summer and fall seasons in both hemispheres. The differences in the wind field lead to differences in the meridional circulation, by the same mechanism that causes the QBO's secondary meridional circulation, and thereby affect mean temperatures and the mean transport of tracers. In the tropics, the net effect on ozone is mostly due to net differences in upwelling and, higher up, the associated temperature change. We show that a net surplus of up to 15% in NO x in the tropics above 10 hPa in the experiment that includes the QBO does not lead to significantly different volume mixing ratios of ozone. We also note a slight increase in the southern vortex strength as well as earlier vortex formation in northern Correspondence to: H. J. Punge (heinzjuergen.punge@zmaw.de) winter. Polar temperatures differ accordingly. Differences in the strength of the Brewer-Dobson circulation and in further trace gas concentrations are analysed. Our findings underline the importance of a representation of the QBO in CCMs.

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“…Shuckburgh et al, 2001;Haynes and Shuckburgh, 2000). Another approach that has been used to quantify transport across meridional barriers and stratospheric mixing is the use of finite-time Lyapunov exponents (Pierrehumbert and Yang, 1993;Bowman, 1993), a derivation of the more general concept of Lyapunov exponents. The latter give a measure of the separation of two trajectories with time from initially nearby starting points and are related to the local stretching deformation of the fluid following an air parcel (that is, they are a measure of local mixing rates).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The HALOE instrument was validated against a variety of correlative measurements (e.g. Patra et al, 2003), and through the use of remote sensors (e.g. Schoeberl et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Probability density functions of long-lived tracer observations from satellite in the subtropical barrier region: data intercomparison

et al. 2011

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Abstract.Past studies have shown that a clear relationship exists between the field of a passive tracer and the Probability Distribution Function (PDF) of tracer concentrations, which can be exploited to identify the position and variability of stratospheric barriers to isentropic mixing.In the present study, we focus on the dynamical barrier located in the subtropics. We calculate PDFs of the longlived tracers nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and methane (CH 4 ) from different satellite instruments: the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on board Aura, the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) on board Envisat, the Sub-Millimetre Radiometre (SMR) on board Odin and the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) on board UARS, overall covering the time period of 1992-2009.An analysis of the consistency among the different sets of data and their capability of identifying mixing regions and barrier-to-transport regions in the stratosphere and the subtropical barrier location is a prime aim of the present study. This is done looking at the morphological structure of the one-and two-dimensional PDFs of tracer concentrations measured by the different instruments. The latter differ in their spatial and temporal sampling and resolution, and there are some systematic differences in the determination of the subtropical barrier position that have been highlighted. However, the four satellite instruments offer an overall consistent picture of the subtropical barrier annual cycle. There is a strong seasonality consistently represented, characterized by the wintertime shift of the subtropical edge toward the summer hemisphere. However, the influence of the Quasi Correspondence to: E. Palazzi (e.palazzi@isac.cnr.it) Biennial Oscillation (QBO) on isentropic transport and mixing, and by consequence, on the position of the subtropical barrier, is not equally represented in all satellite data using the methodology proposed.

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Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) and balloon-borne in situ measurements of methane in stratosphere and their relation to the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO)

Cited by 14 publications

References 32 publications

Comparisons between XCH<sub>4</sub> from GOSAT Shortwave and Thermal Infrared Spectra and Aircraft CH<sub>4</sub> Measurements over Guam

Comparisons between XCH<sub>4</sub> from GOSAT Shortwave and Thermal Infrared Spectra and Aircraft CH<sub>4</sub> Measurements over Guam

Net effect of the QBO in a chemistry climate model

Probability density functions of long-lived tracer observations from satellite in the subtropical barrier region: data intercomparison

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