Improved Middle Atmosphere Climate and Forecasts in the ECMWF Model through a Nonorographic Gravity Wave Drag Parameterization

Orr, Andrew; Bechtold, Peter; Scinocca, John; Ern, Manfred; Janisková, Marta

doi:10.1175/2010jcli3490.1

Cited by 161 publications

(191 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Strong background winds in the stratosphere tend to go along with unidirectional and increasing winds with height (Orr et al, 2010). In this case, wave refraction will result in long vertical wavelengths (Wu and Eckermann, 2008), which are best visible to AIRS.…”

Section: Temporal and Spatial Patterns Of Gravity Wave Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

A decadal satellite record of gravity wave activity in the lower stratosphere to study polar stratospheric cloud formation

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Atmospheric gravity waves yield substantial small-scale temperature fluctuations that can trigger the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). This paper introduces a new satellite record of gravity wave activity in the polar lower stratosphere to investigate this process. The record is comprised of observations of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite from January 2003 to December 2012. Gravity wave activity is measured in terms of detrended and noise-corrected 15 µm brightness temperature variances, which are calculated from AIRS channels that are the most sensitive to temperature fluctuations at about 17-32 km of altitude. The analysis of temporal patterns in the data set revealed a strong seasonal cycle in wave activity with wintertime maxima at mid-and high latitudes. The analysis of spatial patterns indicated that orography as well as jet and storm sources are the main causes of the observed waves. Wave activity is closely correlated with 30 hPa zonal winds, which is attributed to the AIRS observational filter. We used the new data set to evaluate explicitly resolved temperature fluctuations due to gravity waves in the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational analysis. It was found that the analysis reproduces orographic and non-orographic wave patterns in the right places, but that wave amplitudes are typically underestimated by a factor of 2-3. Furthermore, in a first survey of joint AIRS and Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) satellite observations, nearly 50 gravity-wave-induced PSC formation events were identified. The survey shows that the new AIRS data set can help to better identify such events and more generally highlights the importance of the process for polar ozone chemistry.

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Section: Temporal and Spatial Patterns Of Gravity Wave Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

A decadal satellite record of gravity wave activity in the lower stratosphere to study polar stratospheric cloud formation

et al. 2017

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“…It should also be noted that ERA-Interim simulates the effect of nonorographic gravity waves by Rayleigh friction. A parameterization of nonorographic gravity waves was only introduced in later ECMWF model versions in order to provide more realistic results particularly at higher altitudes (Orr et al, 2010).…”

Section: Era-interimmentioning

confidence: 99%

Satellite observations of middle atmosphere gravity wave absolute momentum flux and of its vertical gradient during recent stratospheric warmings

Ern¹,

Trinh²,

Kaufmann³

et al. 2016

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. Sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) are circulation anomalies in the polar region during winter. They mostly occur in the Northern Hemisphere and affect also surface weather and climate. Both planetary waves and gravity waves contribute to the onset and evolution of SSWs. While the role of planetary waves for SSW evolution has been recognized, the effect of gravity waves is still not fully understood, and has not been comprehensively analyzed based on global observations. In particular, information on the gravity wave driving of the background winds during SSWs is still missing.

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“…In this version, the mesospheric winds were significantly improved by using a nonorographic gravity wave scheme (Orr et al, 2010). A major operational upgrade occurred in the middle of the mission on 26 January 2010, when cycle 36 release 1 was introduced with an increase of the model resolution from T799 to T1279 from 25 km to 16 km.…”

Section: Data Selection and Ecmwf Wind Pairingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observation of horizontal winds in the middle-atmosphere between 30° S and 55° N during the northern winter 2009–2010

et al. 2013

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Abstract. Although the links between stratospheric dynamics, climate and weather have been demonstrated, direct observations of stratospheric winds are lacking, in particular at altitudes above 30 km. We report observations of winds between 8 and 0.01 hPa (~35–80 km) from October 2009 to April 2010 by the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) on the International Space Station. The altitude range covers the region between 35–60 km where previous space-borne wind instruments show a lack of sensitivity. Both zonal and meridional wind components were obtained, though not simultaneously, in the latitude range from 30° S to 55° N and with a single profile precision of 7–9 m s–1 between 8 and 0.6 hPa and better than 20 m s–1 at altitudes above. The vertical resolution is 5–7 km except in the upper part of the retrieval range (10 km at 0.01 hPa). In the region between 1–0.05 hPa, an absolute value of the mean difference < 2 m s–1 is found between SMILES profiles retrieved from different spectroscopic lines and instrumental settings. Good agreement (absolute value of the mean difference of ~2 m s–1) is also found with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) analysis in most of the stratosphere except for the zonal winds over the equator (difference > 5 m s−1). In the mesosphere, SMILES and ECMWF zonal winds exhibit large differences (> 20 m s–1), especially in the tropics. We illustrate our results by showing daily and monthly zonal wind variations, namely the semi-annual oscillation in the tropics and reversals of the flow direction between 50–55° N during sudden stratospheric warmings. The daily comparison with ECMWF winds reveals that in the beginning of February, a significantly stronger zonal westward flow is measured in the tropics at 2 hPa compared to the flow computed in the analysis (difference of ~20 m s–1). The results show that the comparison between SMILES and ECMWF winds is not only relevant for the quality assessment of the new SMILES winds, but it also provides insights on the quality of the ECMWF winds themselves. Although the instrument was not specifically designed for measuring winds, the results demonstrate that space-borne sub-mm wave radiometers have the potential to provide good quality data for improving the stratospheric winds in atmospheric models.

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Improved Middle Atmosphere Climate and Forecasts in the ECMWF Model through a Nonorographic Gravity Wave Drag Parameterization

Cited by 161 publications

References 65 publications

A decadal satellite record of gravity wave activity in the lower stratosphere to study polar stratospheric cloud formation

A decadal satellite record of gravity wave activity in the lower stratosphere to study polar stratospheric cloud formation

Satellite observations of middle atmosphere gravity wave absolute momentum flux and of its vertical gradient during recent stratospheric warmings

Observation of horizontal winds in the middle-atmosphere between 30° S and 55° N during the northern winter 2009–2010

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