Physical processes in the tropical tropopause layer and their roles in a changing climate

Nature Geoscience

Volumn 6, Issue 3, 2013, Pages 169-176

  Randel, William J ^a   Jensen, Eric J ^b  

^a NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH   (United States)

^b NASA AMES RESEARCH CENTER   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

AEROSOL; AIR TEMPERATURE; CHEMICAL COMPOSITION; CLIMATE CHANGE; OZONE; RADIATION BALANCE; STRATOSPHERE; TEMPERATURE EFFECT; TROPICAL ENVIRONMENT; TROPOPAUSE; TROPOSPHERE; UPPER ATMOSPHERE; UPWELLING; WATER VAPOR;

ASIA;

EID: 84874602847     PISSN: 17520894     EISSN: 17520908     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1733     Document Type: Article

References (93)

1. Folkins, I. & Martin, R. V. The vertical structure of tropical convection and its impact on the budgets of water vapor and ozone. J. Atmos. Sci. 62, 1560-1573 (2005)
2. Danielsen, E. F. In situ evidence of rapid, vertical, irreversible transport of lower tropospheric air into the lower tropical stratosphere by convective cloud turrets and by larger-scale upwelling in tropical cyclones. J. Geophys. Res. 98, 8665-8681 (1993)
3. Zipser, E. J., Cecil, D. J., Liu, C., Nesbitt, S. W. & Yorty, D. P. Where are the most intense thunderstorms on earth? Bull. Am. Meteor. Soc. 87, 1057-1071 (2006)
4. De Reus, M. et al. Evidence for ice particles in the tropical stratosphere from in situ measurements. Atmos. Phys. Chem. 9, 6775-6792 (2009)
5. Gettelman, A. & Forster, P. M. de F. A climatology of the tropical tropopause layer. J. Met. Soc. Japan 80, 911-924 (2002)
6. Fu, Q., Hu, Y. X. & Yang, Q. Identifying the top of the tropical tropopause layer from vertical mass flux analysis and CALIPSO lidar cloud observations. Geophys. Res. Lett. 34, L14813 (2007)
7. Fueglistaler, S. et al. Tropical tropopause layer. Rev. Geophys. 47, 1-31 (2009)
8. Brewer, A. M. Evidence for a world circulation provided by the measurements of helium and water vapor distribution in the stratosphere. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 75, 351-363 (1949)
9. Mote, P. W. et al. An atmospheric tape recorder: The imprinting of tropical tropopause temperatures on stratospheric water vapor. J. Geophys. Res. 101, 3989-4006 (1996)
10. Rosenlof, K. H., Tuck, A. F., Kelly, K. K., Russell, J. M. & McCormick, M. P. Hemispheric asymmetries in water vapor and inferences about transport in the lower stratosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 102, 13213-13234 (1997)
11. Randel, W. J., Seidel, D. J. & Pan, L. L. Observational characteristics of double tropopauses. J. Geophys. Res. 112, D07309 (2007)
12. Pan, L. L. et al. Tropospheric intrusions associated with the secondary tropopause. J. Geophys. Res. 114, D10302 (2009)
13. Marcy, T. P. et al. Measurements of trace gases in the tropical tropopause layer. Atmos. Environ. 41, 7253-7261 (2007)
14. Santee, M. L. et al. Trace gas evolution in the lowermost stratosphere from Aura Microwave Limb Sounder measurements. J. Geophys. Res. 116, D18306 (2011)
15. Konopka, P., Grooss, J.-U., Plöger, F. & Müller, R. Annual cycle of horizontal in-mixing into the lower tropical stratosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 114, D19111 (2009)
16. Wang, P-H., Minnis, P., McCormick, M. P., Kent, G. S. & Skeens, K. M. A 6-year climatology of cloud occurrence frequency from Stratospheric Aerosol Gas Experiment II observations (1985-1990). J. Geophys. Res. 101, 29407-29429 (1996)
17. Sassen, K., Wang, Z. & Liu, D. Cirrus clouds and deep convection in the tropics: Insights from CALIPSO and CloudSat. J. Geophys. Res. 114, D00H06 (2009)
18. Stephens, G. L. Cloud feedbacks in the climate system: A critical review. J. Clim. 18, 237-273 (2005)
19. Winker, D. M., Hunt, W. H. & McGill, M. J. Initial performance assessment of CALIPSO. Geophys. Res. Lett. 34, L19803 (2007)
20. Pan, L. L. & Munchak, L. A. Relationship of cloud top to the tropopause and jet structure from CALIPSO data. J. Geophys. Res. 116, D12201 (2011)
21. Virts, K. S., Wallace, J. M., Fu, Q. & Ackerman, T. P. Tropical tropopause transition layer cirrus as represented by CALIPSO lidar observations. J. Atmos. Sci. 67, 3113-3129 (2010)
22. Virts, K. S. & Wallace, J. M. Annual, interannual and intraseasonal variability of tropical tropopause transition layer cirrus. J. Atmos. Sci. 67, 3097-3112 (2010)
23. Soden, B. J. et al. Quantifying climate feedbacks using radiative kernels. J. Clim. 21, 3504-3520 (2008)
24. Hartmann, D. L. & Larson, K. An important constraint on tropical cloud-climate feedback. Geophys. Res. Lett. 29, 1951 (2002)
25. Harrop, B. E. & Hartmann, D. L. Testing the role of radiation in determining tropical cloud top temperature. J. Clim. 25, 5731-5747 (2012)
26. Haynes, P. H., Marks, C. J., McIntyre, M. E., Shepherd, T. G. & Shine, K. P. On the "downward control" of extratropical diabatic circulations by eddy-induced mean zonal forces. J. Atmos. Sci. 48, 651-678 (1991)
27. Plumb, R. A. & Eluszkiewicz, J. The Brewer-Dobson circulation: dynamics of the tropical upwelling. J. Atmos. Sci. 56, 868-890 (1999)
28. Randel, W. J., Garcia, R. & Wu, F. Dynamical balances and tropical stratospheric upwelling. J. Atmos. Sci. 65, 3584-3595 (2008)
29. Calvo, N., Garcia, R. R., Randel, W. J. & Marsh, D. Dynamical mechanism for the increase in tropical upwelling in the lowermost tropical stratosphere during warm ENSO events. J. Atmos. Sci. 67, 2331-2340 (2010)
30. Garcia, R. R. & Randel, W. J. Acceleration of the Brewer-Dobson circulation due to increases in greenhouse gases. J. Atmos. Sci. 65, 2731-2739 (2008)
31. Shepherd, T. G. & McLandress, C. A robust mechanism for strengthening of the Brewer-Dobson circulation in response to climate change: critical-layer control of subtropical wave breaking. J. Atmos. Sci. 68, 784-797 (2011)
32. Yulaeva, E., Holton, J. R. & Wallace, J. M. On the cause of the annual cycle in the tropical lower stratospheric temperature. J. Atmos. Sci. 51, 169-174 (1994)
33. Holton, J. R. et al. Stratosphere-troposphere exchange. Rev. Geophys. 33, 403-439 (1995)
34. Taguchi, M. Wave driving in the tropical lower stratosphere as simulated by WACCM. Part I: annual cycle. J. Atmos. Sci. 66, 2029-2043 (2009)
35. Chen, G. & Sun, L. Mechanisms of the tropical upwelling branch of the Brewer-Dobson circulation: the role of extratropical waves. J. Atmos. Sci. 68, 2878-2892 (2011)
36. Garney, H., Dameris, M., Randel, W. J., Bodeker, G. E. & Deckert, R. Dynamically forced increase of tropical upwelling in the lower stratosphere. J. Atmos. Sci. 68, 1214-1233 (2011)
37. Boehm, M. T. & Lee, S. The implications of tropical Rossby waves for tropical tropopause cirrus formation and for the equatorial upwelling of the Brewer-Dobson circulation. J. Atmos. Sci. 60, 247-261 (2003)
38. Norton, W. A. Tropical wave driving of the annual cycle in tropical tropopause temperatures. Part II: Model results. J. Atmos. Sci. 63, 1420-1431 (2006)
39. Ryu, J.-H. & Lee, S. Effect of tropical waves on the tropical tropopause transition layer upwelling. J. Atmos. Sci. 67, 3130-3148 (2010)
40. Fueglistaler, S., Haynes, P. H. & and Forster, P. M. The annual cycle in lower stratospheric temperatures revisited. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 11, 3701-3711 (2011)
41. Polvani, L. M. & Solomon, S. The signature of ozone depletion on tropical temperature trends, as revealed by their seasonal cycle in model integrations with single forcings. J. Geophys. Res. 117, D17102 (2012)
42. Konopka, P. et al. Annual cycle of ozone at and above the tropical tropopause: observations versus simulations with the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS). Atmos. Chem. Phys. 10, 121-132 (2010)
43. Ploeger, F. et al. Horizontal transport affecting trace gas seasonality in the Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL). J. Geophys. Res. 117, D09303 (2012)
44. Gettelman, A. & Birner, T. Insights into Tropical Tropopause Layer processes using global models. J. Geophys. Res. 112, D23104 (2007)
45. James, R., Bonazzola, M., Legras, B., Subled, K. & Fueglistaler, K. Water vapor transport and dehydration above convective outflow during Asian monsoon. Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, L20810 (2008)
46. Bergman, J. W., Jensen, E. J., Pfister, L. & Yang, Q. Seasonal differences of vertical-transport efficiency in the tropical tropopause layer: On the interplay between tropical deep convection, large-scale vertical ascent, and horizontal circulations. J. Geophys. Res. 117, D05302 (2012)
47. Adler, R. F. & Mack, R. A. Thunderstorm cloud top dynamics as inferred from satellite observations and a cloud parcel model. J. Atmos. Sci. 43, 1945-1960 (1986)
48. Yang, Q., Fu, Q. & Hu, Y. Radiative impacts of clouds in the tropical tropopause layer. J. Geophys. Res. 115, D00H12 (2010)
49. Levine, J. G., Braesicke, P., Harris, N. R. P., Savage, N. H. & Pyle, J. A. Pathways and timescales for troposphere-to-stratosphere transport via the tropical tropopause layer and their relevance for very short lived substances. J. Geophys. Res. 112, D04308 (2007)
50. Aschmann, J., Sinnhuber, B. M., Atlas, E. L. & Schauffler, S. M. Modeling the transport of very short-lived substances into the tropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 9, 9237-9247 (2009)
51. Jensen, E. J., Ackerman, A. S. & Smith, J. A. Can overshooting convection dehydrate the tropical tropopause layer? J. Geophys. Res. 112, D11209 (2007)
52. Sherwood, S. C. & Dessler, A. E., On the control of stratospheric humidity. Geophys. Res. Lett. 27, 2513-2516 (2000)
53. Corti, T. et al. Unprecedented evidence for deep convection hydrating the tropical stratosphere. Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, L10810 (2008)
54. Khaykin, S. et al. Hydration of the lower stratosphere by ice crystal geysers over land convective systems. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 9, 2275-2287 (2009)
55. Hanisco, T. F. et al. Observations of deep convective influence on stratospheric water vapor and its isotopic composition. Geophys. Res. Lett. 34, L04814 (2007)
56. 2O ratios in the UTLS derived from ACE-FTS satellite measurements. J. Geophys. Res. 117, D06303 (2012)
57. Dessler, A. E. & Sherwood, S. C. A model of HDO in the tropical tropopause layer. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 3, 2173-2181 (2003)
58. Grosvenor, D. P., Choularton, T. W., Coe, H. & Held, G. A study of the effect of overshooting deep convection on the water content of the TTL and lower stratosphere from Cloud Resolving Model simulations. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 7, 4977-5002 (2007)
59. Schiller, C. et al. Hydration and dehydration at the tropical tropopause. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 9, 9647-9660 (2009)
60. Wright, J. S., Fu, R., Fueglistaler, S., Liu, Y. S. & Zhang, Y., The influence of summertime convection over Southeast Asia on water vapor in the tropical stratosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 116, D12302 (2011)
61. Pommereau, J-P. et al. An overview of the HIBISCUS campaign. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 11, 2309-2339 (2011)
62. Minnis, P., Yost, C. R., Sun-Mack, S. & Chen, Y. Estimating the top altitude of optically thick ice clouds from thermal infrared satellite observations using CALIPSO data. Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, L12801 (2008)
63. Liu, C. & Zipser, E. J. Global distribution of tropical deep convection: Different perspectives from TRMM infrared and radar data. J. Clim. 20, 489-503 (2007)
64. Takahashi, H. & Luo, Z. Where is the level of neutral buoyancy for deep convection? Geophys. Res. Lett. 39, L15809 (2012)
65. Fueglistaler, S., Bonazzola, M., Haynes, P. H. & Peter, T. Stratospheric water vapor predicted from the Lagrangian temperature history of air entering the stratosphere in the tropics. J. Geophys. Res. 110, D08107 (2005)
66. Schoeberl, M. R. & Dessler, A. E. Dehydration of the stratosphere. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 11, 8433-8446 (2011)
67. Liu, Y. S., Fueglistaler, S. & Haynes P. H. Advection-condensation paradigm for stratospheric water vapor. J. Geophys. Res. 115, D24307 (2010)
68. Ploeger, F., Konopka, P., Günther, G., Gross, J-U. & Müller, R. Impact of the vertical velocity scheme on modeling transport in the tropical tropopause layer. J. Geophys. Res. 115, D03301 (2010)
69. Hartmann, D. L., Holton, J. R. & Fu, Q. The heat balance of the tropical tropopause, cirrus, and stratospheric dehydration. Geophys. Res. Lett. 28, 1969-1972 (2001)
70. Corti, T., Luo, B. P., Fu, Q., Vömel, H. & Peter, T. The impact of cirrus clouds on tropical troposphere-to-stratosphere transport. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 6, 2539-2547 (2006)
71. Schoeberl, M. R., Dessler, A. E. & Wang, T. Simulation of stratospheric water vapor trends using three reanalyses. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 12, 6475-6487 (2012)
72. Park, M., Randel, W. J., Gettelman, A., Massie, S. T. & Jiang, J. H. Transport above the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone inferred from Aura Microwave Limb Sounder tracers. J. Geophys. Res. 112, D16309 (2007)
73. Baker, A. K. et al. Characterization of non-methane hydrocarbon in Asian summer monsoon outflow observed by the CARIBIC aircraft. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 11, 503-518 (2011)
74. Vernier, J.-P., Thomason, L. W. & Kar, J. CALIPSO detection of an Asian tropopause aerosol layer. Geophys. Res. Lett. 38, L07804 (2011)
75. Randel, W. J. et al. Asian monsoon transport of pollution to the stratosphere. Science 328, 611-613 (2010)
76. Bourassa, A. E. et al. Large volcanic aerosol load in the stratosphere linked to Asian monsoon transport. Science 337, 78-81 (2012)
77. Koop, T., Luo, B., Tsias, A. & Peter, T. Water activity as the determinant for homogeneous ice nucleation in aqueous solutions. Nature 406, 611-614 (2000)
78. Jensen, E. J. & Pfister, L. Transport and freeze-drying in the tropical tropopause layer. J. Geophys. Res. 109, D02207 (2004)
79. Krämer, M. et al. Ice supersaturation and cirrus cloud crystal numbers. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 9, 3305-3522 (2009)
80. DeMott, P. J. et al. Measurements of the concentration and composition of ice nuclei for cirrus formation. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 100, 14655-14660 (2003)
81. Lawson. et al. Aircraft measurements of microphysical properties of subvisible cirrus clouds in the tropical tropopause layer. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 8, 1609-1620 (2008)
82. Oltmans, S. J. & Rosenlof, K. H. SPARC Assessment of Upper Tropospheric and Stratospheric Water Vapor (eds Kley, D., Russell, J. M. & Phillips, C.) (World Climate Research Program, 2000).
83. Weinstock, E. M. et al. Validation of the Harvard Lyman-α in situ water vapor instrument: Implications for the mechanisms that control stratospheric water vapor. J. Geophys. Res. 114, D23301 (2009)
84. Vömel, H. et al. Balloon-borne observations of water vapor and ozone in the tropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 107, 4210 (2002)
85. Davis, S. et al. In situ and lidar observations of tropopause subvisible cirrus clouds during TC4. J. Geophys. Res. 115, D00J17 (2010)
86. Jensen, E. J. et al. Ice nucleation and dehydration in the tropical tropopause layer. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 110, 2041-2046 (2013)
87. Butchart, N. et al. Chemistry-climate model simulations of twenty-first century stratospheric climate and circulation changes. J. Clim. 23, 5349-5374 (2010)
88. Randel, W. J. & and Thompson, A. M. Interannual variability and trends in tropical ozone derived from SAGE II satellite data and SHADOZ ozonesondes. J. Geophys. Res. 116, D07303 (2011)
89. Free, M. The seasonal structure of temperature trends in the tropical lower stratosphere. J. Clim. 24, 859-866 (2011)
90. Hurst, D. F. et al. Stratospheric water vapor trends over Boulder, Colorado: Analysis of the 30 year Boulder record. J. Geophys. Res. 116, D02306 (2011)
91. Gettelman, A. et al. Multimodel assessment of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere: Tropics and global trends. J. Geophys. Res. 115, D00M08 (2010)
92. Wang, J. S., Seidel, D. J. & Free, M. How well do we know recent climate trends at the tropical tropopause? J. Geophys. Res. 117, D09118 (2012)
93. Randel, W. J. in The Stratosphere: Dynamics, Transport and Chemistry (eds Polvani, L. M., Sobel, A. H. & Waugh, D. W.) 123-135 (Geophysical Monograph Series 190, American Geophysical Union, 2010).