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On the Lack of Stratospheric Dynamical Variability in Low-top Versions of the CMIP5 ModelsWe describe the main differences in simulations of stratospheric climate and variability by models within the fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) that have a model top above the stratopause and relatively fine stratospheric vertical resolution (high-top), and those that have a model top below the stratopause (low-top). Although the simulation of mean stratospheric climate by the two model ensembles is similar, the low-top model ensemble has very weak stratospheric variability on daily and interannual time scales. The frequency of major sudden stratospheric warming events is strongly underestimated by the low-top models with less than half the frequency of events observed in the reanalysis data and high-top models. The lack of stratospheric variability in the low-top models affects their stratosphere-troposphere coupling, resulting in short-lived anomalies in the Northern Annular Mode, which do not produce long-lasting tropospheric impacts, as seen in observations. The lack of stratospheric variability, however, does not appear to have any impact on the ability of the low-top models to reproduce past stratospheric temperature trends. We find little improvement in the simulation of decadal variability for the high-top models compared to the low-top, which is likely related to the fact that neither ensemble produces a realistic dynamical response to volcanic eruptions.
Document ID
20140011364
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
doi:10.1002/jgrd.50125
Authors
Charlton-Perez, Andrew J. (Reading Univ. United Kingdom)
Baldwin, Mark P. (Exeter Univ. United Kingdom)
Birner, Thomas (Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, United States)
Black, Robert X. (Georgia Inst. of Tech. Atlanta, GA, United States)
Butler, Amy H. (National Weather Service College Park, MD, )
Calvo, Natalia (Universidad Complutense Madrid, Spain)
Davis, Nicholas A. (Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, United States)
Gerber, Edwin P. (New York Univ. New York, NY, United States)
Gillett, Nathan (Environment Canada Victoria, British Columbia, Canada)
Hardiman, Steven (Met Office (Meteorological Office) Devon, United Kingdom)
Kim, Junsu (Utah Univ. Salt Lake City, UT, United States)
Kruger, Kirstin (Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research (GEOMAR) Kiel, Germany)
Lee, Yun-Young (Georgia Inst. of Tech. Atlanta, GA, United States)
Manzini, Elisa (Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Meteorologie Hamburg, Germany)
McDaniel, Brent A. (Kennesaw State Univ. GA, United States)
Polvani, Lorenzo (Columbia Univ. New York, NY, United States)
Reichler, Thomas (Utah Univ. Salt Lake City, UT, United States)
Shaw, Tiffany A. (Columbia Univ. New York, NY, United States)
Sigmond, Michael (Toronto Univ. Ontario, Canada)
Son, Seok-Woo (Seoul National Univ. Korea, Republic of)
Toohey, Matthew (Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research (GEOMAR) Kiel, Germany)
Wilcox, Laura (Reading Univ. United Kingdom)
Yoden, Shigeo (Kyoto Univ. Japan)
Christiansen, Bo (Danish Meteorological Inst. Copenhagen, Denmark)
Lott, Francois (Ecole Normale Superieure Paris, France)
Shindell, Drew (NASA Goddard Inst. for Space Studies New York, NY, United States)
Yukimoto, Seiji (Meteorological Research Inst. Tsukuba, Japan)
Watanabe, Shingo (Japan Marine Science and Technology Center Kanagawa, Japan)
Date Acquired
September 3, 2014
Publication Date
March 27, 2013
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Publisher: Wiley
Volume: 118
Issue: Isue 6
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN9137
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: DOE DE-FOA-000024
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF ARC-1107384
WBS: WBS 509496.02.08.04.24
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
troposphere
variability
climate models
stratopause
Stratosphere

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