Reanalysis comparisons of upper tropospheric–lower stratospheric jets and multiple tropopauses
The representation of upper tropospheric–lower stratospheric (UTLS) jet and tropopause characteristics is compared in five modern high-resolution reanalyses for 1980 through 2014. Climatologies of upper tropospheric jet, subvortex jet (the lowermost part of the stratospheric vortex), and multipl...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2017-09-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| Online Access: | https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/17/11541/2017/acp-17-11541-2017.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818197095930134528 |
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| author | G. L. Manney G. L. Manney M. I. Hegglin Z. D. Lawrence K. Wargan K. Wargan L. F. Millán M. J. Schwartz M. L. Santee A. Lambert S. Pawson B. W. Knosp R. A. Fuller W. H. Daffer |
| author_facet | G. L. Manney G. L. Manney M. I. Hegglin Z. D. Lawrence K. Wargan K. Wargan L. F. Millán M. J. Schwartz M. L. Santee A. Lambert S. Pawson B. W. Knosp R. A. Fuller W. H. Daffer |
| author_sort | G. L. Manney |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The representation of upper tropospheric–lower stratospheric
(UTLS) jet and tropopause characteristics is compared in five modern
high-resolution reanalyses for 1980 through 2014. Climatologies of upper
tropospheric jet, subvortex jet (the lowermost part of the stratospheric
vortex), and multiple tropopause frequency distributions in MERRA (Modern-Era
Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications), ERA-I (ERA-Interim; the European Centre for
Medium-Range Weather Forecasts,
ECMWF, interim reanalysis), JRA-55 (the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis), and CFSR (the
Climate Forecast System Reanalysis) are compared with those in MERRA-2.
Differences between alternate products from individual reanalysis systems are
assessed; in particular, a comparison of CFSR data on model and pressure
levels highlights the importance of vertical grid spacing. Most of the
differences in distributions of UTLS jets and multiple tropopauses are
consistent with the differences in assimilation model grids and resolution –
for example, ERA-I (with coarsest native horizontal resolution) typically
shows a significant low bias in upper tropospheric jets with respect to
MERRA-2, and JRA-55 (the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis) a more modest one, while CFSR (with finest native
horizontal resolution) shows a high bias with respect to MERRA-2 in both
upper tropospheric jets and multiple tropopauses. Vertical temperature
structure and grid spacing are especially important for multiple tropopause
characterizations. Substantial differences between MERRA and MERRA-2 are seen
in mid- to high-latitude Southern Hemisphere (SH) winter upper tropospheric jets
and multiple tropopauses as well as in the upper tropospheric jets associated with
tropical circulations during the solstice seasons; some of the largest
differences from the other reanalyses are seen in the same times and places.
Very good qualitative agreement among the reanalyses is seen between the
large-scale climatological features in UTLS jet and multiple tropopause
distributions. Quantitative differences may, however, have important
consequences for transport and variability studies. Our results highlight the
importance of considering reanalyses differences in UTLS studies, especially
in relation to resolution and model grids; this is particularly critical when
using high-resolution reanalyses as an observational reference for evaluating
global chemistry–climate models. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T01:44:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-837b3e5ee1694bf3afe5a455c50d6167 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1680-7316 1680-7324 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T01:44:32Z |
| publishDate | 2017-09-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-837b3e5ee1694bf3afe5a455c50d61672022-12-22T00:42:37ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics1680-73161680-73242017-09-0117115411156610.5194/acp-17-11541-2017Reanalysis comparisons of upper tropospheric–lower stratospheric jets and multiple tropopausesG. L. Manney0G. L. Manney1M. I. Hegglin2Z. D. Lawrence3K. Wargan4K. Wargan5L. F. Millán6M. J. Schwartz7M. L. Santee8A. Lambert9S. Pawson10B. W. Knosp11R. A. Fuller12W. H. Daffer13NorthWest Research Associates, Socorro, NM, USADepartment of Physics, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM, USADepartment of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UKDepartment of Physics, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM, USANASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USAScience Systems and Applications Inc., Lanham, Maryland, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USANASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USAThe representation of upper tropospheric–lower stratospheric (UTLS) jet and tropopause characteristics is compared in five modern high-resolution reanalyses for 1980 through 2014. Climatologies of upper tropospheric jet, subvortex jet (the lowermost part of the stratospheric vortex), and multiple tropopause frequency distributions in MERRA (Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications), ERA-I (ERA-Interim; the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, ECMWF, interim reanalysis), JRA-55 (the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis), and CFSR (the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis) are compared with those in MERRA-2. Differences between alternate products from individual reanalysis systems are assessed; in particular, a comparison of CFSR data on model and pressure levels highlights the importance of vertical grid spacing. Most of the differences in distributions of UTLS jets and multiple tropopauses are consistent with the differences in assimilation model grids and resolution – for example, ERA-I (with coarsest native horizontal resolution) typically shows a significant low bias in upper tropospheric jets with respect to MERRA-2, and JRA-55 (the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis) a more modest one, while CFSR (with finest native horizontal resolution) shows a high bias with respect to MERRA-2 in both upper tropospheric jets and multiple tropopauses. Vertical temperature structure and grid spacing are especially important for multiple tropopause characterizations. Substantial differences between MERRA and MERRA-2 are seen in mid- to high-latitude Southern Hemisphere (SH) winter upper tropospheric jets and multiple tropopauses as well as in the upper tropospheric jets associated with tropical circulations during the solstice seasons; some of the largest differences from the other reanalyses are seen in the same times and places. Very good qualitative agreement among the reanalyses is seen between the large-scale climatological features in UTLS jet and multiple tropopause distributions. Quantitative differences may, however, have important consequences for transport and variability studies. Our results highlight the importance of considering reanalyses differences in UTLS studies, especially in relation to resolution and model grids; this is particularly critical when using high-resolution reanalyses as an observational reference for evaluating global chemistry–climate models.https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/17/11541/2017/acp-17-11541-2017.pdf |
| spellingShingle | G. L. Manney G. L. Manney M. I. Hegglin Z. D. Lawrence K. Wargan K. Wargan L. F. Millán M. J. Schwartz M. L. Santee A. Lambert S. Pawson B. W. Knosp R. A. Fuller W. H. Daffer Reanalysis comparisons of upper tropospheric–lower stratospheric jets and multiple tropopauses Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| title | Reanalysis comparisons of upper tropospheric–lower stratospheric jets and multiple tropopauses |
| title_full | Reanalysis comparisons of upper tropospheric–lower stratospheric jets and multiple tropopauses |
| title_fullStr | Reanalysis comparisons of upper tropospheric–lower stratospheric jets and multiple tropopauses |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reanalysis comparisons of upper tropospheric–lower stratospheric jets and multiple tropopauses |
| title_short | Reanalysis comparisons of upper tropospheric–lower stratospheric jets and multiple tropopauses |
| title_sort | reanalysis comparisons of upper tropospheric lower stratospheric jets and multiple tropopauses |
| url | https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/17/11541/2017/acp-17-11541-2017.pdf |
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