Some features of the structure of the tropical tropopause

Atticks, M. G.; Robinson, G. D.

doi:10.1002/qj.49710946004

Cited by 56 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Another feature of interest is that the tropical tropopause is situated several kilometers above the main convective outflow layer, and understanding the level of the tropopause (not just the tropical) remains an active topic of research [e.g., Manabe and Strickler , 1964; Held , 1982; Atticks and Robinson , 1983; Frederick and Douglass , 1983; Highwood and Hoskins , 1998; Thuburn and Craig , 2000]. Thuburn and Craig [2002] show that the aforementioned separation is mainly a radiative phenomenon and exists also in a model without convective overshoot and with a dynamically passive stratosphere.…”

Section: Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Tropical tropopause layer

Fueglistaler

Dessler

Dunkerton

et al. 2009

Reviews of Geophysics

973

1,001

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[1] Observations of temperature, winds, and atmospheric trace gases suggest that the transition from troposphere to stratosphere occurs in a layer, rather than at a sharp ''tropopause.'' In the tropics, this layer is often called the ''tropical tropopause layer'' (TTL). We present an overview of observations in the TTL and discuss the radiative, dynamical, and chemical processes that lead to its timevarying, three-dimensional structure. We present a synthesis definition with a bottom at 150 hPa, 355 K, 14 km (pressure, potential temperature, and altitude) and a top at 70 hPa, 425 K, 18.5 km. Laterally, the TTL is bounded by the position of the subtropical jets. We highlight recent progress in understanding of the TTL but emphasize that a number of processes, notably deep, possibly overshooting convection, remain not well understood. The TTL acts in many ways as a ''gate'' to the stratosphere, and understanding all relevant processes is of great importance for reliable predictions of future stratospheric ozone and climate.

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Section: Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Tropical tropopause layer

Fueglistaler

Dessler

Dunkerton

et al. 2009

Reviews of Geophysics

973

1,001

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“…The cold point tropopause marks a sharp increase in stability, above which the potential temperature profile is close to radiative equilibrium. The level of minimum stability marks the departure from the convective equilibrium and has been considered as the secondary tropical tropopause [ Palmén and Newton , ; Atticks and Robinson , ; Gettelman and de F . Forster , ].…”

Section: Temperature Ozone and Water Vapor Profilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alternatively, the TTL is also defined as the tropical transition layer [ Holton and Gettelman , ]. Note that the concept of the tropical transition layer has a longer history, extending almost two decades before the TTL was formally defined [ Atticks and Robinson , ; Highwood and Hoskins , ]. For the remainder of the paper, we will use the acronym “TTL” interchangeably to describe this region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this definition, the boundaries are identified by the temperature profiles and derived lapse rates: The cold point tropopause and the level of minimum stability are defined as the upper and lower boundaries, respectively. This definition follows the long history of tropical observations [ Palmén and Newton , ; Atticks and Robinson , ; Highwood and Hoskins , ; Haynes and Shepherd , ] that lead to the formal definition of the TTL. The boundaries in this case are locally defined and can be derived from instantaneous measurements.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identification of the tropical tropopause transition layer using the ozone-water vapor relationship

Pan

Paulik

Honomichl

et al. 2014

J. Geophys. Res. Atmos.

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We present a method of identifying the tropical tropopause transition layer (TTL) using chemical tracer-tracer relationships. Coincident ozone (O 3 ) and water vapor (H 2 O) measurements over Alajuela, Costa Rica (~10°N), in July and August 2007 are used to demonstrate the concept. In the tracer-tracer space, the O 3 and H 2 O relationship helps to separate the transition layer air mass from the background troposphere and stratosphere. This tracer relationship-based transition layer is found to span an approximately 40 K potential temperature range between 340 and 380 K and is largely confined between the level of minimum stability (LMS) and the cold point tropopause (CPT). This chemical composition-based transition layer is, therefore, consistent with a definition of the TTL based on the thermal structure, for which the LMS and CPT are the lower and upper boundaries of TTL, respectively. We also examine the transition layer over the region of Asian summer monsoon (ASM) anticyclone using the measurements over Kunming, China (~25°N), and compare its behavior with the TTL structure in the deep tropics. The comparison shows that the transition layer over the ASM is similar to the TTL, although the data suggest the ASM transition layer lies at higher potential temperature levels and is potentially prone to the influence of extratropical processes.

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“…In this new scheme, the tropopause is understood as a transition region of finite depth between the troposphere and the stratosphere with mixed characteristics of both spheres. Although not a new finding [e.g., Atticks and Robinson , ], the increasing number of airborne tracer measurements near the tropopause over the last decade have allowed great advances in the characterization of this transition layer referred to as the extratropical tropopause transition layer for midlatitudes [ Hoor et al , ; Pan et al , ; Zahn et al , ; Hegglin et al , ] and the tropical tropopause transition layer (TTL) in the tropics [ Gettelman and Forster , ; Gettelman and Birner , ; Fueglistaler et al , ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of the subtropical tropopause region based on long‐term highly resolved sonde records over Tenerife

Rodriguez-Franco

Cuevas

2013

JGR Atmospheres

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[1] This study examines the structure of the subtropical tropopause region over Tenerife (the Canary Islands, Spain; 28 ı N, 16 ı W) based on a 20 year (1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011) ozonesonde data and European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts ERA-Interim potential vorticity (PV) and zonal wind speed reanalysis. High-resolution vertical profiles allowed a detailed description of the subtropical tropopause break and the associated subtropical jet stream (STJ), where models fail to properly simulate the upper troposphere-lower stratosphere (UTLS). The subtropical UTLS is revealed as a complex atmospheric region with a thickness 8 km, which is examined through the analysis and evaluation of four different tropopause definitions: thermal (TT), cold point, ozone (OT), and dynamical (DT) tropopauses. A novel method to determine the DT based on the vertical gradient of Lait's modified PV is presented and the concept of a second DT has been introduced for the first time. Monthly climatologies of tropopause height and potential temperature are calculated for double and single tropopause events. The 14.3 km height level is used to differentiate between tropical and extratropical UTLS regimes, intimately linked to the position of the STJ. There is fairly good consistency between all the defined tropopauses under the double tropopause scheme, except in spring, when the OT is observed at lower levels due to frequent baroclinic instabilities in the upper troposphere. As concerns to single tropopause events, the same pattern is found from April to June, reflecting the influence of analogous processes during these months. In winter, altitude differences between OT, DT, and TT resulted from poleward STJ excursions forced by blocking systems over the North Atlantic. Analysis of the tropopause inversion layer showed distinctive features for tropical and midlatitude tropopauses.Citation: Rodriguez-Franco, J. J., and E. Cuevas (2013), Characteristics of the subtropical tropopause region based on long-term highly-resolved sonde records over Tenerife,

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Some features of the structure of the tropical tropopause

Cited by 56 publications

References 8 publications

Tropical tropopause layer

Tropical tropopause layer

Identification of the tropical tropopause transition layer using the ozone-water vapor relationship

Characteristics of the subtropical tropopause region based on long‐term highly resolved sonde records over Tenerife

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