Tracer Transport by the Diabatic Circulation Deduced from Satellite Observations

Solomon, Susan; Kiehl, J. T.; García, Rolando R.; Grose, W. L.

doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1986)043<1603:ttbtdc>2.0.co;2

Cited by 123 publications

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“…Together, both mechanisms constitute the total or Brewer-Dobson circulation (BDC), generally having an upward component at low latitudes and a return, downward component at the extratropical latitudes of both the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere (e.g., Butchart, 2014;Plumb, 2007;Haynes et al, 1991). The dissipation of planetary (or Rossby) waves and gravity wave forcings tends to accelerate the BDC and to enhance mixing in the winter hemisphere (e.g., Solomon et al, 1986;Plumb, 2007;Shepherd, 2007;Okamoto et al, 2011). Thus, it is likely that there is some asymmetry for the BDC in the Northern Hemisphere versus the Southern Hemisphere stratosphere because winter wave forcing and mixing processes are more pronounced and frequent in the Northern Hemisphere (Shepherd, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methane as a diagnostic tracer of changes in the Brewer–Dobson circulation of the stratosphere

Remsberg

2015

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. This study makes use of time series of methane (CH 4 ) data from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) to detect whether there were any statistically significant changes of the Brewer-Dobson circulation (BDC) within the stratosphere during 1992-2005. The HALOE CH 4 profiles are in terms of mixing ratio versus pressure altitude and are binned into latitude zones within the Southern Hemisphere and the Northern Hemisphere. Their separate time series are then analyzed using multiple linear regression (MLR) techniques. The CH 4 trend terms for the Northern Hemisphere are significant and positive at 10 • N from 50 to 7 hPa and larger than the tropospheric CH 4 trends of about 3 % decade −1 from 20 to 7 hPa. At 60 • N the trends are clearly negative from 20 to 7 hPa. Their combined trends indicate an acceleration of the BDC in the middle stratosphere of the Northern Hemisphere during those years, most likely due to changes from the effects of wave activity. No similar significant BDC acceleration is found for the Southern Hemisphere. Trends from HALOE H 2 O are analyzed for consistency. Their mutual trends with CH 4 are anti-correlated qualitatively in the middle and upper stratosphere, where CH 4 is chemically oxidized to H 2 O. Conversely, their mutual trends in the lower stratosphere are dominated by their trends upon entry to the tropical stratosphere. Time series residuals for CH 4 in the lower mesosphere also exhibit structures that are anti-correlated in some instances with those of the tracer-like species HCl. Their occasional aperiodic structures indicate the effects of transport following episodic, wintertime wave activity. It is concluded that observed multi-year, zonally averaged distributions of CH 4 can be used to diagnose major instances of wave-induced transport in the middle atmosphere and to detect changes in the stratospheric BDC.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methane as a diagnostic tracer of changes in the Brewer–Dobson circulation of the stratosphere

Remsberg

2015

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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“…and is also found in many papers (Garcia and Solomon, 1983;Solomon et al, 1986;Brasseur et al, 1990, Garcia et al, 1992. Brasseur et al (1990) called ty2 as the "velocity" stream function contrast to the "mass" stream function of y,.…”

Section: Stream Functionsmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…However, y3 may look similar to y1 in the most region of the atmosphere (see Fig. 2 by Solomon et al, 1986).…”

Section: Stream Functionsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Likewise we can test y2 by the same method, which gives us which becomes identical to (C7) only when y2 = 0. The third stream function y3 is identical to Ti,, used in Garcia and Solomon (1983) and Solomon et al (1986). Garcia and Solomon (1983) noted that "isopleths of Zzms coincide with the streamlines of the velocity field in the meridional plane".…”

Section: Stream Functionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The definition of the "mass weighted stream function" in Solomon et al (1986) should also be corrected following (C10). Stream function (m2 sec-') solved from the Equation (11) with the thermal forcing in Fig.…”

Section: Stream Functionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Calculation of a residual mean meridional circulation for a zonal-mean tracer transport model: Revision 1

Choi¹,

Rotman²,

Wuebbles³

1995

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The Brewer‐Dobson circulation

2014

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One of the more robust results of greenhouse gas-induced climate change to emerge from chemistry-climate and climate model projections in the last decade is, depending on the greenhouse gas scenario, an ∼2.0-3.2% per decade acceleration of the global mass circulation of tropospheric air through the stratosphere. This circulation is generally known as the Brewer-Dobson circulation and is characterized by tropospheric air rising into the stratosphere in the Tropics, moving poleward before descending in the middle and high latitudes. The circulation is, however, poorly constrained by observations, and many fundamental questions about it remain. In this review, historical developments in observations, theory, and models describing the Brewer-Dobson circulation are presented along with a reexamination of the basis of the current understanding of the Brewer-Dobson circulation and the mechanisms driving it and its response to climate change. Impacts of anthropogenically driven changes in the Brewer-Dobson circulation are also reviewed.

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Tracer Transport by the Diabatic Circulation Deduced from Satellite Observations

Cited by 123 publications

References 0 publications

Methane as a diagnostic tracer of changes in the Brewer–Dobson circulation of the stratosphere

Methane as a diagnostic tracer of changes in the Brewer–Dobson circulation of the stratosphere

Calculation of a residual mean meridional circulation for a zonal-mean tracer transport model: Revision 1

The Brewer‐Dobson circulation

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