The semi-annual oscillation in upper stratospheric and mesospheric water vapour as observed by HALOE

JACKSON, DR; BURRAGE, MD; HARRIES, JE; Gray, Lesley J.; RUSSELL, JM

doi:10.1256/smsqj.55115

Cited by 12 publications

(24 citation statements)

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“…In the Southern Hemisphere the amplitude of the SAO recovers at sub-tropical latitudes below 80 km. This effect has also been observed in the UARS/HALOE analysis of the mesospheric SAO in water vapour (Jackson et al, 1998) and is in agreement with the characteristics of the SAO in the zonal wind (Ray et al, 1998). Also the annual component of the water vapour variation shows clear inter-hemispheric differences in the subtropics with a higher amplitude in the Northern Hemisphere.…”

Section: Discussion and Summarysupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Other models, like COMMA-IAP -Cologne Model of the Middle Atmosphere -Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Kühlungsborn, Sonnemann et al (1998), do not show any phase shift at all (Körner, 2002;Körner and Sonnemann, 2001). In comparison to the HALOE analysis of the mesospheric SAO in water vapour (Jackson et al, 1998, their Fig. 3) the water vapour maxima observed by Odin/SMR occur one month earlier.…”

Section: Discussion and Summarymentioning

confidence: 70%

“…The SAO analysis by Jackson et al (1998) based on UARS/HALOE data is an important basis for the discussion of the Odin/SMR observations of the semi-annual oscillation (Sect. 4).…”

Section: Data Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The stratospheric SAO in water vapour has for example been observed by the MLS -Microwave Limb Sounder, Barath et al (1993), and the HALOE -Halogen Occultation Experiment, Russell et al (1993), instrument, both aboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) (Carr et al, 1995;Randel et al, 1998;Jackson et al, 1998). Signatures of the stratospheric SAO could be observed above 20 hPa (∼27 km).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…UARS/HALOE observations reported by Chandra et al (1997) showed a strong SAO in water vapour in the equatorial region at 80 km. Jackson et al (1998) provided, to our knowledge, the only complete analysis of the mesospheric SAO in water vapour in the tropics and sub-tropics, up to an altitude of 80 km. This analysis was based on HALOE measurements between the end of 1991 and the beginning of 1996.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Observations of the mesospheric semi-annual oscillation (MSAO) in water vapour by Odin/SMR

et al. 2008

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Abstract. Mesospheric water vapour measurements taken by the SMR instrument aboard the Odin satellite between 2002 and 2006 have been analysed with focus on the mesospheric semi-annual circulation in the tropical and subtropical region. This analysis provides the first complete picture of mesospheric SAO in water vapour, covering altitudes above 80 km where previous studies were limited. Our analysis shows a clear semi-annual variation in the water vapour distribution in the entire altitude range between 65 km and 100 km in the equatorial area. Maxima occur near the equinoxes below 75 km and around the solstices above 80 km. The phase reversal occurs in the small layer inbetween, consistent with the downward propagation of the mesospheric SAO in the zonal wind in this altitude range. The SAO amplitude exhibits a double peak structure in the equatorial region, with maxima at about 75 km and 81 km. The observed amplitudes show higher values than an earlier analysis based on UARS/HALOE data. The upper peak amplitude remains relatively constant with latitude. The lower peak amplitude decreases towards higher latitudes, but recovers in the Southern Hemisphere subtropics. On the other hand, the annual variation is much more prominent in the Northern Hemisphere subtropics. Furthermore, higher volume mixing ratios during summer and lower values during winter are observed in the Northern Hemisphere subtropics, as compared to the corresponding latitude range in the Southern Hemisphere.

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Section: Discussion and Summarysupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussion and Summarymentioning

confidence: 70%

“…The SAO analysis by Jackson et al (1998) based on UARS/HALOE data is an important basis for the discussion of the Odin/SMR observations of the semi-annual oscillation (Sect. 4).…”

Section: Data Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Observations of the mesospheric semi-annual oscillation (MSAO) in water vapour by Odin/SMR

et al. 2008

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Tropical water vapour in the lower stratosphere and its relationship to tropical/extratropical dynamical processes in ERA5

Wang

Zhang

Hannachi

et al. 2020

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

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Stratospheric water vapour (SWV), in spite of its low concentration in the stratosphere as compared to the troposphere, contributes significantly to the surface energy budget and can have an influence on the surface climate. This study investigates the dynamical processes that determine SWV on interannual to decadal time-scales. First, we evaluate two SWV reanalysis products and show that SWV is better represented in a new-generation reanalysis product, ERA5, than in its predecessor, ERA-Interim. In particular, it is shown that SWV in ERA5 is highly consistent with observational data obtained from the SPARC Data Initiative Multi-Instrument Mean (SDI MIM). Second, we investigate the variability of tropical SWV and its relationship to dynamical stratospheric variables. The analyses show that the interannual variability in the tropical lower-stratospheric water vapour is closely linked to the tropical Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO). When westerlies occupy the middle stratosphere and easterlies the lower stratosphere, a decrease is observed in lower-stratospheric water vapour due to a colder tropical tropopause and a QBO-induced enhanced residual circulation. On decadal time-scales, the composite analysis of the boreal winter in two typical periods shows that less SWV is related to a warm anomaly in the North Atlantic sea-surface temperature, which leads to stronger upward propagation of planetary wave activity at high latitudes, a weaker polar vortex and an enhanced residual circulation. The opposite occurs during periods with higher concentrations of SWV.

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Can changes in ENSO activity help to explain increasing stratospheric water vapor?

Scaife

Butchart

Jackson

et al. 2003

Geophysical Research Letters

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[1] Observational studies indicate that stratospheric water vapor has been increasing by 1% per year on average over the past few decades. The only well established mechanism for this increase is the increasing concentration of atmospheric methane and its oxidation in the stratosphere. However, this effect accounts for no more than half of the observed trend in water vapor. Here we use a middle atmosphere general circulation model (GCM) and the observed record of past El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity to test whether observed increases in water vapor can be explained by changes in ENSO activity. In our model, El Nino conditions typically result in about a 10% increase in the concentration of water vapor entering the stratosphere. The observed record also shows an increase of almost one extra year of El Nino conditions per decade over the past half century. The model and observational results taken together therefore imply a positive trend in water vapor of around 0.1% per year and ENSO effects appear to explain no more than about one tenth of the long term trend. We also find variability in the water vapor entry values related to the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) in our model. As ENSO and the QBO are variable in nature, this helps to explain some of the intermittency in the observed trend of increasing water vapor, particularly during periods such as the first part of the 1990s when ENSO was relatively active and water vapor increased rapidly despite a reduction in the rate of methane increase.

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The semi-annual oscillation in upper stratospheric and mesospheric water vapour as observed by HALOE

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

Observations of the mesospheric semi-annual oscillation (MSAO) in water vapour by Odin/SMR

Observations of the mesospheric semi-annual oscillation (MSAO) in water vapour by Odin/SMR

Tropical water vapour in the lower stratosphere and its relationship to tropical/extratropical dynamical processes in ERA5

Can changes in ENSO activity help to explain increasing stratospheric water vapor?

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