Lagrangian Analysis of the Northern Stratospheric Polar Vortex Split in April 2020

Curbelo, Jezabel; Chen, Gang; Mechoso, Carlos R.

doi:10.1029/2021gl093874

Cited by 12 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The zonal winds in both winters follow a constant velocity of about 30–40 ms –1 up to late March, which is not usually observed in the Arctic winters (see Lawrence et al). The uniformity in wind speed ensures a strong polar vortex, and the final warming with reversal of westerlies happened around mid-April in 2011 and late April in 2020 . The zonal wind speed at 100 hPa and 10 hPa in 2020 are the highest and third highest, respectively, when compared to the winters since 1959 .…”

Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Unprecedented Ozone Loss in the Arctic Winter and Spring of 2010/2011 and 2019/2020

Ardra

Kuttippurath

Roy

et al. 2022

ACS Earth Space Chem.

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Polar ozone depletion has been a major environmental threat for humanity since the late 1980s. The 2011 Arctic winter caught much global attention because of the amount of ozone loss (2.3–3.4 ppmv at 450–475 K potential temperature), and a similar loss was also observed in the 2020 winter (2.5–3.5 ppmv at 400–500 K). Since the difference between the winter of 2010/11 and 2019/20 in terms of ozone loss is small, we investigate the change in terms of polar processing in these years, as that would help future projections of ozone recovery in polar regions. The ozone loss estimated by different methods (passive tracer and vortex descent) shows the highest loss in April in both years 2011 and 2020, but the peak ozone loss altitude was different. The overall ozone loss was more extensive in the lower stratosphere in 2020, but a relatively large loss occurred at higher altitudes in 2011. Prolonged chlorine activation was evident in 2020, longer than that in 2011, which also enhanced loss in the lower stratosphere in 2020. The situation in 2020 resulted in very small values of column ozone, which were below 220 DU for more than 3 weeks, and a near-complete ozone loss (93%) at certain altitudes in the lower stratosphere. The ozone loss in 2020 was similar to that in the Antarctic and was triggered by the presence of a strong and stable polar vortex with zonal winds of constant velocity (40–45 ms–1) and temperature conditions favoring large areas of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) (10 million km2) for most of the winter. The relatively lower values of momentum flux suggest that the tropospheric forcing was lower in 2020. Therefore, both winters had less disturbed and long-lasting polar vortices allowing lower temperatures, large areas of PSCs, and longer periods of severe chlorine activation, which in turn led to the record-breaking ozone loss of the levels found in the Antarctic vortex for some days.

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Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Unprecedented Ozone Loss in the Arctic Winter and Spring of 2010/2011 and 2019/2020

Ardra

Kuttippurath

Roy

et al. 2022

ACS Earth Space Chem.

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“…In this study, we have examined the zonally asymmetric stratopause variability over the Arctic in winter-spring 2019/2020, when no SSW events occurred. Zonal wind reversal, which is typical for the SSW, was not observed until the end of April (Figure 1a) and stratospheric final warming came in late April-May [18,34]. Due to the less-active upward propagation of planetary waves, the Arctic stratospheric polar vortex was exceptionally strong, cold, and persistent.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The vortex did was not associated with a SSW event, but instead with a vortex split in April which was followed by a SFW in late April-May [18,34]. Due to zonal asymmetry of the polar vortex in spring 2020, the strongest ozone depletion and surface weather effects were also zonally asymmetric [18,34,35]. A further aspect of the conditions around this time was that the QBO displayed unusual behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…In the recent Arctic winter 2019/2020, an unusually strong, cold, and persistent polar vortex was formed. The vortex did was not associated with a SSW event, but instead with a vortex split in April which was followed by a SFW in late April-May [18,34]. Due to zonal asymmetry of the polar vortex in spring 2020, the strongest ozone depletion and surface weather effects were also zonally asymmetric [18,34,35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Zonal Asymmetry of the Stratopause in the 2019/2020 Arctic Winter

Shi¹,

Evtushevsky²,

Milinevsky³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The aim of this work is to study the zonally asymmetric stratopause that occurred in the Arctic winter of 2019/2020, when the polar vortex was particularly strong and there was no sudden stratospheric warming. Aura Microwave Limb Sounder temperature data were used to analyze the evolution of the stratopause with a particular focus on its zonally asymmetric wave 1 pattern. There was a rapid descent of the stratopause height below 50 km in the anticyclone region in mid-December 2019. The descended stratopause persisted until mid-January 2020 and was accompanied by a slow descent of the higher stratopause in the vortex region. The results show that the stratopause in this event was inclined and lowered from the mesosphere in the polar vortex to the stratosphere in the anticyclone. It was found that the vertical amplification of wave 1 between 50 km and 60 km closely coincides in time with the rapid stratopause descent in the anticyclone. Overall, the behavior contrasts with the situation during sudden stratospheric warmings when the stratopause reforms at higher altitudes following wave amplification events. We link the mechanism responsible for coupling between the vertical wave 1 amplification and this form of zonally asymmetric stratopause descent to the unusual disruption of the quasi-biennial oscillation that occurred in late 2019.

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“…Further, Curbelo et al. (2021) explored aspects of the evolution of and transport within the polar vortex during a vortex‐split event in the lower to middle stratosphere in the period preceding the springtime vortex breakup. They detailed the lower‐stratospheric vortex evolution and transfer of air from the main to offspring vortex during the split event, showing that air in the offspring vortex originated well inside the main vortex, but the air with lowest ozone values remained confined within the main vortex (which then persisted into mid‐May).…”

Section: Polar Processing and Arctic Ozone Loss In 2019/2020mentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to Special Collection “The Exceptional Arctic Stratospheric Polar Vortex in 2019/2020: Causes and Consequences”

et al. 2022

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This paper introduces the special collection in Geophysical Research Letters and Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres on the exceptional stratospheric polar vortex in 2019/2020. Papers in this collection show that the 2019/2020 stratospheric polar vortex was the strongest, most persistent, and coldest on record in the Arctic. The unprecedented Arctic chemical processing and ozone loss in spring 2020 have been studied using numerous satellite and ground‐based data sets and chemistry‐transport models. Quantitative estimates of chemical loss are broadly consistent among the studies and show profile loss of about the same magnitude as in the Arctic in 2011, but with most loss at lower altitudes; column loss was comparable to or larger than that in 2011. Several papers show evidence of dynamical coupling from the mesosphere down to the surface. Studies of tropospheric influence and impacts link the exceptionally strong vortex to reflection of upward propagating waves and show coupling to tropospheric anomalies, including extreme heat, precipitation, windstorms, and marine cold air outbreaks. Predictability of the exceptional stratospheric polar vortex in 2019/2020 and related predictability of surface conditions are explored. The exceptionally strong stratospheric polar vortex in 2019/2020 highlights the extreme interannual variability in the Arctic winter/spring stratosphere and the far‐reaching consequences of such extremes.

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Lagrangian Analysis of the Northern Stratospheric Polar Vortex Split in April 2020

Cited by 12 publications

References 31 publications

The Unprecedented Ozone Loss in the Arctic Winter and Spring of 2010/2011 and 2019/2020

The Unprecedented Ozone Loss in the Arctic Winter and Spring of 2010/2011 and 2019/2020

Zonal Asymmetry of the Stratopause in the 2019/2020 Arctic Winter

Introduction to Special Collection “The Exceptional Arctic Stratospheric Polar Vortex in 2019/2020: Causes and Consequences”

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