Simulation of the Effect of Water-vapor Increase on Temperature in the Stratosphere

To analyze the mechanism by which water vapor increase leads to cooling in the stratosphere, the effects of water-vapor increases on temperature in the stratosphere were simulated using the two-dimensional, interactive chemical dynamical radiative model (SOCRATES) of NCAR. The results indicate that increases in stratospheric water vapor lead to stratospheric cooling, with the extent of cooling increasing with height, and that cooling in the middle stratosphere is stronger in Arctic regions. Analysis of the radiation process showed that infrared radiative cooling by water vapor is a pivotal factor in middle-lower stratospheric cooling. However, in the upper stratosphere (above 45 km), infrared radiation is not a factor in cooling; there, cooling is caused by the decreased solar radiative heating rate resulting from ozone decrease due to increased stratospheric water vapor. Dynamical cooling is important in the middle-upper stratosphere, and dynamical feedback to temperature change is more distinct in the Northern Hemisphere middle-high latitudes than in other regions and signiffcantly affects temperature and ozone in winter over Arctic regions. Increasing stratospheric water vapor will strengthen ozone depletion through the chemical process. However, ozone will increase in the middle stratosphere. The change in ozone due to increasing water vapor has an important effect on the stratospheric temperature change.     

未来甲烷排放增加对平流层水汽和全球臭氧的影响

利用一个耦合的大气化学-气候模式(WACCM3)研究了地表甲烷排放增加对平流层水汽和全球臭氧变化的影响.结果表明,如果地表甲烷的排放量在2000年的基础上增加50%(达到政府间气候变化专门委员会A1B排放情景中2050年的值),平流层水汽体积分数将平均增加约0.8×10^-6.南半球平流层甲烷转化为水汽的效率比北半球高.在北半球平流层中,1mol甲烷分子可以转化为约1.63mol的水汽分子,而在南半球1mol甲烷分子大概可以转化为约1.82mol的水汽分子.甲烷排放增加50%将使全球中低纬度地区以及北半球高纬度地区的臭氧柱总量增加1%-3%,使南半球高纬度地区臭氧柱总量增加近8%,而秋季(南半球春季)南极地区臭氧柱总量增加幅度可高达20%,南极臭氧的这种显着增加主要是由于甲烷增加造成的化学反馈所致.在北半球中高纬度地区,甲烷增加引起的臭氧变化主要与甲烷氧化导致的水汽增加有关.研究还表明,未来甲烷排放增加对臭氧的恢复作用其实与溴化物排放的减少一样重要.     

平流层臭氧变化对对流层气候影响的研究进展

平流层对对流层的作用是准确评估、预测对流层气候变化的一个重要方面。其中平流层成分尤其是臭氧的变化,可以改变平流层乃至对流层的辐射平衡,从而影响平流层、对流层的热动力过程。本文从辐射、动力2个角度介绍了平流层臭氧影响对流层气候变化的若干研究进展。平流层臭氧可以通过长短波辐射的方式对对流层大气造成辐射强迫,利用大气化学气候模式可以定量计算平流层臭氧变化引起的辐射强迫,但是辐射强迫的估算受模式中辐射传输模块本身缺陷的影响存在不确定性。动力方面,平流层臭氧变化产生的辐射效应可以改变温度的垂直和经向梯度,造成波折射指数的变化,进而影响平流层甚至对流层内波的折射与反射,通过上对流层下平流层区域内的波—流相互作用,对对流层气候产生影响。另外,南极臭氧损耗可通过大气环状模影响冬春季中高纬度对流层的天气气候,但是其影响的强度大小以及物理机制仍需进一步的确认。值得注意的是,北极平流层臭氧的变化与北半球中高纬度气候变化之间的关系相比南半球要更加复杂,需要更为深入的研究。     

Chemistry–Climate Interactions of Stratospheric and Mesospheric Ozone in EMAC Long-Term Simulations with Different Boundary Conditions for CO2, CH4, N2O,and ODS

Abstract

To evaluate future climate change in the middle atmosphere and the chemistry–climate interaction of stratospheric ozone, we performed a long-term simulation from 1960 to 2050 with boundary conditions from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change A1B greenhouse gas scenario and the World Meteorological Organization Ab halogen scenario using the chemistry–climate model ECHAM5/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC). In addition to this standard simulation we performed five sensitivity simulations from 2000 to 2050 using the rerun files of the simulation mentioned above. For these sensitivity simulations we used the same model setup as in the standard simulation but changed the boundary conditions for carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and ozone-depleting substances (ODS). In the first sensitivity simulation we fixed the mixing ratios of CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O in the boundary conditions to the amounts for 2000. In each of the four other sensitivity simulations we fixed the boundary conditions of only one of CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, or ODS to the year 2000.

In our model simulations the future evolution of greenhouse gases leads to significant cooling in the stratosphere and mesosphere. Increasing CO₂ mixing ratios make the largest contributions to this radiative cooling, followed by increasing stratospheric CH₄, which also forms additional H₂O in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere. Increasing N₂O mixing ratios makes the smallest contributions to the cooling. The simulated ozone recovery leads to warming of the middle atmosphere.

In the EMAC model the future development of ozone is influenced by several factors. 1) Cooler temperatures lead to an increase in ozone in the upper stratosphere. The strongest contribution to this ozone production is cooling due to increasing CO₂ mixing ratios, followed by increasing CH₄. 2) Decreasing ODS mixing ratios lead to ozone recovery, but the contribution to the total ozone increase in the upper stratosphere is only slightly higher than the contribution of the cooling by greenhouse gases. In the polar lower stratosphere a decrease in ODS is mainly responsible for ozone recovery. 3) Higher NO_x and HO_x mixing ratios due to increased N₂O and CH₄ lead to intensified ozone destruction, primarily in the middle and upper stratosphere, from additional NO_x; in the mesosphere the intensified ozone destruction is caused by additional HO_x. In comparison to the increase in ozone due to decreasing ODS, ozone destruction caused by increased NO_x is of similar importance in some regions, especially in the middle stratosphere. 4) In the stratosphere the enhancement of the Brewer-Dobson circulation leads to a change in ozone transport. In the polar stratosphere increased downwelling leads to additional ozone in the future, especially at high northern latitudes. The dynamical impact on ozone development is higher at some altitudes in the polar stratosphere than the ozone increase due to cooler temperatures. In the tropical lower stratosphere increased residual vertical upward transport leads to a decrease in ozone.     

Stratospheric Temperature Changes and Ozone Recovery in the 21st Century

Increasing greenhouse gases and likely ozone recovery will be the two most important factors influencing changes in stratospheric temperatures in the 21st century. The radiative effect of increasing greenhouse gases will cause cooling in the stratosphere, while ozone recovery will lead to stratospheric warming. To investigate how stratospheric temperatures change under the two opposite forcings in the 21st century, we use observed ozone and reanalysis data as well as simulation results from four coupled oceanic and atmo- spheric general circulation models （GISS-ER, GFDL-CM20, NCAR-CCSM3, and UKMO-HadCM3） used in the IPCC （Intergovernment Panel for Climate Change） Fourth Assessment Report （AR4）. Observational analysis shows that total column ozone and lower stratospheric temperatures all show increasing in the past 10 years, while middle stratospheric temperatures demonstrate cooling. IPCC AR4 simulations show that greenhouse forcing alone will lead to stratospheric cooling. However, with forcing of both increasing greenhouse gases and ozone recovery, the middle stratosphere will be cooled, while the lower stratosphere will be warmed. Warming magnitudes vary from one model to another. UKMO-HadCM3 generates relatively strong warming for all three greenhouse scenarios, and warming extends to 40 hPa. GFDL-CM20 and NCAR-CCSM3 produce weak warming, and warming mainly exists at lower levels, below about 60 hPa. In addition, we also discuss the effect of temperature changes on ozone recovery.     

The Role of Ozone Depletion in the Lack of Cooling in the Antarctic Upper Stratosphere during Austral Winter

Temperature trends in the upper stratosphere are investigated using satellite measurements from Stratospheric Sounding Unit(SSU) outputs and simulations from chemistry–climate models(CCMs) and the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6(CMIP6). Observational evidence shows a lack of cooling in the Antarctic, in contrast to strong cooling at other latitudes, during austral winter over 1979–97. Analysis of CCM simulations for a longer period of1961–97 also shows a significant contrast in the...     

The effect of ozone photochemistry on atmospheric and surface temperature changes due to increased CO2, N2O,CH4 and volcanic aerosols in the atmosphere

Abstract

A coupled 1‐D radiative‐convective and photochemical diffusion model is used to study the influence of ozone photochemistry on changes in the vertical temperature structure and surface climate resulting from the doubling of atmospheric CO₂, N₂O, CH₄ and increased stratospheric aerosols owing to the El Chichón volcanic eruption. It is found when CO₂ alone is doubled, that the total ozone column increases by nearly 6% and the resulting increase in the solar heating contributes a smaller temperature decrease in the stratosphere (up to 4 K near the stratopause level). When the concentration of CO₂, N₂O and CH₄ are simultaneously doubled, the total ozone column amount increases by only 2.5% resulting in a reduced temperature recovery in the stratosphere. Additional results concerning the effect of the interaction of ozone photochemistry with the stratospheric aerosol cloud produced by the El Chichón eruption show that it leads to a reduction in stratospheric ozone, which in turn has the effect of increasing the cooling at the surface and above the cloud centre while causing a slight warming below in the lower stratosphere.     

Link between Arctic ozone and the stratospheric polar vortex

The stratospheric ozone layer protects life on earth by preventing solar ultraviolet radiation from reaching the surface. Owing to the large population in the Northern Hemisphere and extreme ozone loss in the Arctic, changes in Arctic stratospheric ozone (ASO) and their causes have attracted broad attention recently. Using monthly mean data during the period 1980–2020 from MERRA-2, the relationship between the stratospheric polar vortex (SPV) and ASO, along with the relative contributions of chemical and dynamic processes associated with the SPV to changes in ASO, were examined in this study. Results showed that the ASO in March has a strong out-of-phase link with the strength of the SPV in March, with no obvious lead–lag correlations, i.e., an increase (decrease) in ASO corresponds to a weakened (strengthened) SPV. Further analysis suggested that the strong out-of-phase link between the SPV and ASO is related to changes in Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC). Strong SPV events, accompanied by a low temperature condition and weakened upward propagation of planetary waves over the Arctic in the stratosphere, result in weakened BDC. The weakened downwelling at high latitudes tends to transport less ozone-rich air in the upper stratosphere at lower latitudes into the lower stratosphere at high latitudes, facilitating a decrease in ASO. The BDC's vertical velocity plays the dominant role in modulating ASO.摘要利用1980–2020年MERRA-2资料, 分析了平流层极涡 (Stratospheric polar vortex, SPV) 和北极臭氧 (Arctic stratospheric ozone, ASO) 的关系, 评估了与SPV相关的化学, 动力过程在其中的相对作用. 结果表明, 3月份ASO与同期SPV强度反相关最大. SPV-ASO二者反相关与平流层剩余环流 (Brewer-Dobson circulation, BDC) 变化密切相关. 强SPV伴随的北极平流层低温条件和行星波向上传播减弱, 导致BDC减弱, 减弱的BDC下沉支将低纬度平流层上层臭氧含量较低的空气输送到北极平流层低层, 从而导致ASO减少. BDC垂直速度在其中起主导作用.     

Interaction of atmospheric chemistry and climate and its impact on stratospheric ozone

The interactively coupled chemistry-climate model ECHAM4.L39(DLR)/CHEM is employed in sensitivity calculations to investigate feedback mechanisms of dynamic, chemical, and radiative processes. Two multi-year model simulations are carried out, which represent recent atmospheric conditions. It is shown that the model is able to reproduce observed features and trends with respect to dynamics and chemistry of the troposphere and lower stratosphere. In polar regions it is demonstrated that an increased persistence of the winter vortices is mainly due to enhanced greenhouse gas mixing ratios and to reduced ozone concentration in the lower stratosphere. An additional sensitivity simulation is investigated, concerning a possible future development of the chemical composition of the atmosphere and climate. The model results in the Southern Hemisphere indicate that the adopted further increase of greenhouse gas mixing ratios leads to an intensified radiative cooling in the lower stratosphere. Therefore, Antarctic ozone depletion slightly increases due to a larger PSC activity, although stratospheric chlorine is reduced. Interestingly, the behavior in the Northern Hemisphere is different. During winter, an enhanced activity of planetary waves yields a more disturbed stratospheric vortex. This "dynamical heating" compensates the additional radiative cooling due to enhanced greenhouse gas concentrations in the polar region. In connection with reduced stratospheric chlorine loading, the ozone layer clearly recovers.     

Aspects of stratospheric long-term changes induced by ozone depletion

The effect of the stratospheric ozone depletion on the thermal and dynamical structure of the middle atmosphere is assessed using two 5-member ensembles of transient GCM simulations; one including linear trends in ozone, the other not, for the 1980–1999 period. Simulated temperatures and observations are in good agreement in terms of mean values, autocorrelations and cross correlations. Annual-mean and seasonal temperature trends have been calculated using the same statistical analysis. Simulations show that ozone trends are responsible for reduced wave activity in the Arctic lower stratosphere in February and March, confirming both the role of dynamics in controlling March temperatures and a recently proposed mechanism whereby Arctic ozone depletion causes the reduction in wave activity entering the lower stratosphere. Changes in wave activity are consistent with an intensification of the polar vortex at the time of ozone depletion and with a weakened Brewer–Dobson circulation: A decrease of the dynamical warming/cooling associated with the descending/ascending branch of the wintertime mean residual circulation at high/low latitudes has been obtained through the analysis of temperature observations (1980–1999). Ozone is responsible of about one third of the decrease of this dynamical cooling at high latitudes. An increase in the residual mean circulation is seen in the observations for the 1965–1980 period.     

对流层气溶胶的直接气候效应对平流层的影响

通过WACCM-3模式中气溶胶光学厚度与卫星资料的对比发现,模式可以很好地再现全球气溶胶的主要分布特征,但在一些区域还存在数值上的差异。利用数值试验研究对流层气溶胶的直接气候效应对平流层气候的影响,结果表明:对流层气溶胶对平流层气候有明显影响,平流层化学过程在这一影响中起重要作用,而对流层气溶胶对平流层辐射的影响不是其直接气候效应对平流层影响的主要原因。其机制可能是对流层气溶胶改变对流层的辐射平衡,影响对流层的温度和大气环流,进而影响行星波的上传,使得平流层气候发生变化;影响区域主要位于高纬度和极地地区,南半球的变化比北半球大,温度变化最大达10 K,纬向风变化最大可达12 m/s,臭氧体积分数最多减少0.8×10-6。     

Involvement of the Brewer–Dobson circulation in changes of stratospheric temperature and ozone

Wintertime temperature and ozone in the Northern Hemisphere stratosphere vary significantly between years. Largely random, those variations are marked by compensating changes at high and low latitudes, a feature that reflects the residual mean circulation of the stratosphere. Interannual changes of temperature and ozone each track anomalous forcing of the residual circulation. This relationship is shown to be obeyed even over the Arctic, where transport is augmented by heterogeneous chemical processes that destroy ozone. Chlorine activation obeys a similar relationship, reflecting feedback between changes of the residual circulation and anomalous photochemistry.Changes of stratospheric dynamical and chemical structure are found be accompanied by coherent changes in the troposphere. Vertically extensive, they reflect inter-dependent changes in the stratosphere and troposphere, which are coupled by the residual circulation through transfers of mass. The corresponding structure is shown to share major features with empirical modes of interannual variability associated with the AO and its cousin, the NAO.A 3D model of dynamics and photochemistry is used to simulate anomalous temperature and ozone. Driven by anomalous wave activity representative of that observed, the model reproduces the salient structure of observed interannual changes. Anomalous temperature and ozone follow in the integrations from anomalous downwelling, which, under disturbed conditions, renders temperature over the Arctic anomalously warm, and from anomalous poleward transport, which renders Arctic ozone anomalously rich.Accompanying random interannual changes in the observed record was a systematic decline of Northern Hemisphere temperature and ozone during the 1980s and early 1990s. Comprising decadal trends, these systematic changes are shown to have the same essential structure and seasonality as random changes, which, in turn, vary coherently with anomalous forcing of the residual circulation. Implications of the findings to the interpretation of stratospheric trends are discussed in light of anomalous residual motion, photochemistry, and feedback between them.     

Stratospheric Ozone-induced Cloud Radiative Effects on Antarctic Sea Ice

Recent studies demonstrate that the Antarctic Ozone Hole has important influences on Antarctic sea ice.While most of these works have focused on effects associated with atmospheric and oceanic dynamic processes caused by stratospheric ozone changes,here we show that stratospheric ozone-induced cloud radiative effects also play important roles in causing changes in Antarctic sea ice.Our simulations demonstrate that the recovery of the Antarctic Ozone Hole causes decreases in clouds over Southern Hemisphere(SH)high latitudes and increases in clouds over the SH extratropics.The decrease in clouds leads to a reduction in downward infrared radiation,especially in austral autumn.This results in cooling of the Southern Ocean surface and increasing Antarctic sea ice.Surface cooling also involves ice-albedo feedback.Increasing sea ice reflects solar radiation and causes further cooling and more increases in Antarctic sea ice.     

Stratospheric temperature trends: impact of ozone variability and the QBO

In most climate simulations used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007 fourth assessment report, stratospheric processes are only poorly represented. For example, climatological or simple specifications of time-varying ozone concentrations are imposed and the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) of equatorial stratospheric zonal wind is absent. Here we investigate the impact of an improved stratospheric representation using two sets of perturbed simulations with the Hadley Centre coupled ocean atmosphere model HadGEM1 with natural and anthropogenic forcings for the 1979–2003 period. In the first set of simulations, the usual zonal mean ozone climatology with superimposed trends is replaced with a time series of observed zonal mean ozone distributions that includes interannual variability associated with the solar cycle, QBO and volcanic eruptions. In addition to this, the second set of perturbed simulations includes a scheme in which the stratospheric zonal wind in the tropics is relaxed to appropriate zonal mean values obtained from the ERA-40 re-analysis, thus forcing a QBO. Both of these changes are applied strictly to the stratosphere only. The improved ozone field results in an improved simulation of the stepwise temperature transitions observed in the lower stratosphere in the aftermath of the two major recent volcanic eruptions. The contribution of the solar cycle signal in the ozone field to this improved representation of the stepwise cooling is discussed. The improved ozone field and also the QBO result in an improved simulation of observed trends, both globally and at tropical latitudes. The Eulerian upwelling in the lower stratosphere in the equatorial region is enhanced by the improved ozone field and is affected by the QBO relaxation, yet neither induces a significant change in the upwelling trend.     

Effects of the Tibetan Plateau on total column ozone distribution

The relatively low total column ozone (TCO) above the Tibetan Plateau (TP) observed in summer is only partly due to the thinness of the atmospheric column. In this paper the effect of the TP on the TCO is further investigated using satellite data [Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) ozone column and Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II (SAGE II) ozone profiles], ECMWF ERA-40 reanalysis data and a 3-D chemistry-climate model (CCM). It is found that the low TCO over the TP is also closely related to large-scale uplift and descent of isentropic surfaces implied by seasonal and longitudinal variations in the tropopause height. The variations in tropopause height, with a maximum in summer, can be driven by various processes including convective activity, air expansion as well as the monsoon system. While previous studies have showed an important role of troposphere-to-stratosphere transport in contributing to the observed low ozone column over the TP, the mechanism revealed in this study is an alternative amendment to the causes of the TCO low over the TP. It is also found that the monsoon anticyclone circulation induces an isentropic transport of trace gases from high latitudes towards the TP in the lower stratosphere and hence modifies tracer distributions. For the vertical distribution of ozone, the modulation by the TP is most significant below ∼20 km, that is, in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). The smaller differences in NO _x between Eastern TP and TP compared to large dynamically caused differences in ozone and methane imply the TCO low over the TP is mainly due to transport processes rather than chemistry.     

基于DART +WACCM模式搭建的平流层同化、天气预报和气候预测模型研究

本论文基于WACCM（Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model）模式最新版本WACCM6和DART（Data Assimilation Research TestBed）同化工具最新版本Manhattan,开发了中高层大气温度、臭氧和水汽卫星资料的同化接口,搭建了一个包含完整平流层过程的数值同化、天气预报和短期气候预测模型（此后简称模型）;本模型对2020年3～4月平流层大气变化进行了同化观测资料的模拟,并以同化试验输出的分析场作为初值,对5～6月的平流层大气进行了0～30天天气尺度预报以及31～60天短期气候尺度预测的回报试验。结果表明:本模型能较好地重现2020年3、4月北极平流层出现的大规模臭氧损耗事件随时间的演变特征,模拟结果和Microwave Limb Sounder（MLS）卫星观测结果很接近;而未进行同化的模拟试验,虽然可以模拟出北极臭氧损耗现象,但是模拟的臭氧损耗规模相比MLS卫星观测结果要低很多;利用同化试验4月末输出的分析场作为初值,预报的5月北极平流层臭氧体积混合比变化与MLS卫星观测值的差值小于0.5,预测的6月北极平流层臭氧变化只在10～30 hPa之间的区域,与观测之间的差异达到了1 ppm（ppm=10?6）。本模型不但改善了北极平流层化学成分变化的模拟,也显著地提升了北极平流层温度和环流的模拟。本模型同化模拟的3～4月、预报预测的5～6月北极平流层温度和纬向风变化与Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 （MERRA2）再分析资料结果具有很好的一致性,仅在北极平流层顶部,预报预测的温度和纬向风分别与再分析资料之间的均方根误差（RMSE）约为3 K和4 m s?1。未进行同化的试验模拟的3～4月、预报预测的5～6月北极平流层的温度和纬向风与MERRA2再分析资料之间的RMSE在大部分区域都达到6 K及5 m s?1以上。从全球范围来看,本模型对平流层中低层模拟性能改善最为显著,其预报预测结果与观测值之间的差异,比未进行同化试验的结果,减少了50%以上。     

Evaluating the Ozone Valley over the Tibetan Plateau in CMIP6 Models

Total column ozone (TCO) over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is lower than that over other regions at the same latitude, particularly in summer. This feature is known as the “TP ozone valley”. This study evaluates long-term changes in TCO and the ozone valley over the TP from 1984 to 2100 using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). The TP ozone valley consists of two low centers, one is located in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS), and the other is in the middle and upper stratosphere. Overall, the CMIP6 models simulate the low ozone center in the UTLS well and capture the spatial characteristics and seasonal cycle of the TP ozone valley, with spatial correlation coefficients between the modeled TCO and the Multi Sensor Reanalysis version 2 (MSR2) TCO observations greater than 0.8 for all CMIP6 models. Further analysis reveals that models which use fully coupled and online stratospheric chemistry schemes simulate the anticorrelation between the 150 hPa geopotential height and zonal anomaly of TCO over the TP better than models without interactive chemistry schemes. This suggests that coupled chemical-radiative-dynamical processes play a key role in the simulation of the TP ozone valley. Most CMIP6 models underestimate the low center in the middle and upper stratosphere when compared with the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) observations. However, the bias in the middle and upper stratospheric ozone simulations has a marginal effect on the simulation of the TP ozone valley. Most CMIP6 models predict the TP ozone valley in summer will deepen in the future.     

Aircraft measurements and model simulations of stratospheric ozone and N2O: implications for chemistry and transport processes in the models

Airborne measurements of stratospheric ozone and N₂O from the SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer) Validation and Utilization Experiment (SCIA-VALUE) are presented. The campaign was conducted in September 2002 and February–March 2003. The Airborne Submillimeter Radiometer (ASUR) observed stratospheric constituents like O₃ and N₂O, among others, spanning a latitude from 5°S to 80°N during the survey. The tropical ozone source regions show high ozone volume mixing ratios (VMRs) of around 11 ppmv at 33 km altitude, and the altitude of the maximum VMR increases from the tropics to the Arctic. The N₂O VMRs show the largest value of 325 ppbv in the lower stratosphere, indicating their tropospheric origin, and they decrease with increasing altitude and latitude due to photolysis. The sub-tropical and polar mixing barriers are well represented in the N₂O measurements. The most striking seasonal difference found in the measurements is the large polar descent in February–March. The observed features are interpreted with the help of SLIMCAT and Bremen Chemical Transport Model (CTMB) simulations. The SLIMCAT simulations are in good agreement with the measured O₃ and N₂O values, where the differences are within 1 ppmv for O₃ and 15 ppbv for N₂O. However, the CTMB simulations underestimate the tropical middle stratospheric O₃ (1–1.5 ppmv) and the tropical lower stratospheric N₂O (15–30 ppbv) measurements. A detailed analysis with various measurements and model simulations suggests that the biases in the CTMB simulations are related to its parameterised chemistry schemes.     

Climatic changes associated with a global “2°C-stabilization” scenario simulated by the ECHAM5/MPI-OM coupled climate model

In this study, concentrations of the well-mixed greenhouse gases as well as the anthropogenic sulphate aerosol load and stratospheric ozone concentrations are prescribed to the ECHAM5/MPI-OM coupled climate model so that the simulated global warming does not exceed 2°C relative to pre-industrial times. The climatic changes associated with this so-called “2°C-stabilization” scenario are assessed in further detail, considering a variety of meteorological and oceanic variables. The climatic changes associated with such a relatively weak climate forcing supplement the recently published fourth assessment report by the IPCC in that such a stabilization scenario can only be achieved by mitigation initiatives. Also, the impact of the anthropogenic sulphate aerosol load and stratospheric ozone concentrations on the simulated climatic changes is investigated. For this particular climate model, the 2°C-stabilization scenario is characterized by the following atmospheric concentrations of the well-mixed greenhouse gases: 418 ppm (CO₂), 2,026 ppb (CH₄), and 331 ppb (N₂O), 786 ppt (CFC-11) and 486 ppt (CFC-12), respectively. These greenhouse gas concentrations correspond to those for 2020 according to the SRES A1B scenario. At the same time, the anthropogenic sulphate aerosol load and stratospheric ozone concentrations are changed to the level in 2100 (again, according to the SRES A1B scenario), with a global anthropogenic sulphur dioxide emission of 28 TgS/year leading to a global anthropogenic sulphate aerosol load of 0.23 TgS. The future changes in climate associated with the 2°C-stabilization scenario show many of the typical features of other climate change scenarios, including those associated with stronger climatic forcings. That are a pronounced warming, particularly at high latitudes accompanied by a marked reduction of the sea-ice cover, a substantial increase in precipitation in the tropics as well as at mid- and high latitudes in both hemispheres but a marked reduction in the subtropics, a significant strengthening of the meridional temperature gradient between the tropical upper troposphere and the lower stratosphere in the extratropics accompanied by a pronounced intensification of the westerly winds in the lower stratosphere, and a strengthening of the westerly winds in the Southern Hemisphere extratropics throughout the troposphere. The magnitudes of these changes, however, are somewhat weaker than for the scenarios associated with stronger global warming due to stronger climatic forcings, such as the SRES A1B scenario. Some of the climatic changes associated with the 2°C-stabilization are relatively strong with respect to the magnitude of the simulated global warming, i.e., the pronounced warming and sea-ice reduction in the Arctic region, the strengthening of the meridional temperature gradient at the northern high latitudes and the general increase in precipitation. Other climatic changes, i.e., the El Niño like warming pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean and the corresponding changes in the distribution of precipitation in the tropics and in the Southern Oscillation, are not as markedly pronounced as for the scenarios with a stronger global warming. A higher anthropogenic sulphate aerosol load (for 2030 as compared to the level in 2100 according to the SRES A1B scenario) generally weakens the future changes in climate, particularly for precipitation. The most pronounced effects occur in the Northern Hemisphere and in the tropics, where also the main sources of anthropogenic sulphate aerosols are located.