Category Archives: News

SPARC Science Update: 12-18 December

A selection of new science articles from the past week of interest to the SPARC community (a SPARC Office choice).

Do split and displacement sudden stratospheric warmings have different annular mode signatures? By A.C. Maycock and P. Hitchcock in Geophysical Research Letters.

Inertia gravity wave in the stratosphere and mesosphere observed by Doppler wind and temperature lidar. By G. Baumgartner et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

Recent Hadley cell expansion: the role of internal atmospheric variability in reconciling modeled and observed trends. By C. Garfinkel et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

The switching between zonal and blocked mid-latitude atmospheric circulation: a dynamical system perspective. By C. Faranda et al. in Climate Dynamics.

Improved stratospheric aerosol extinction profiles from SCIAMACHY: validation and sample results. By C. von Savigny et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Validation of MIPAS IMK/IAA methane profiles. By A. Laeng et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Effects of stratospheric variability on El Niño teleconnections. By J.H. Richter et al. in Environmental Research Letters.

Discussion papers – open for comment

First continuous ground-based observations of long period oscillations in strato-/mesospheric wind profiles. By R. Rüfenacht et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Long-term trend analysis and climatology of tropical cirrus clouds using 16 years of lidar data set over Southern India. By A.K. Pandit et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

SPARC Science Update: 5-11 December

A selection of new science articles from the past week of interest to the SPARC community (a SPARC Office choice).

Absorbing and reflecting sudden stratospheric warming events and their relationship with tropospheric circulation. By K. Kodera et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Effects of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption on decadal climate prediction skill of Pacific sea surface temperatures. By G.A. Meehl et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

Global temperature response to the major volcanic eruptions in multiple reanalysis data sets. By M. Fujiwara et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Wintertime Northern Hemisphere response in the Stratosphere to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation using the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model. By A.C. Kren et al. in the Journal of Climate.

Stationary wave interference, and its relation to tropical convection and Arctic warming. By M. Goss et al. in the Journal of Climate.

Resolving the impact of stratosphere-to-troposphere transport (STT) on the sulfur cycle and surface ozone over the Tibetan Plateau using a cosmogenic 35S tracer. By M. Lin et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Impact of different Asian source regions on the composition of the Asian monsoon anticyclone and of the extratropical lowermost stratosphere. By B. Vogel et al. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Oceanic bromoform emissions weighted by their ozone depletion potential. By S. Tegtmeier et al. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Updated ozone absorption cross section will reduce air quality compliance. By E.D. Sofen et al. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Discussion papers – open for comment

Modeling lightning-NOx chemistry at sub-grid scale in a global chemical transport model. By A. Gressent et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Fast descent routes from within or near the stratosphere to Earth’s surface. By H. Itoh and Y. Narazaki in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Impact of major volcanic eruptions on stratospheric water vapour. By M. Löffler et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Satellite observations of stratospheric hydrogen fluoride and comparisons with SLIMCAT calculations. By J.J. Harrison et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Tuning of a convective gravity wave source scheme based on HIRDLS observations. By Q.T. Trinh et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Impact of the Asian monsoon on the extratropical lower stratosphere: trace gas observations during TACTS over Europe 2012. By S. Müller et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Call for observational datasets for inclusion in obs4MIPs

Submission deadline: 31 March 2016

The WCRP Data Advisory Council’s (WDAC) Observations for Model Evaluation Task Team seeks recommendations for data sets to be considered for inclusion in obs4MIPs.

Obs4MIPs refers to a limited collection of well-established and documented datasets that have been organized according to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5 and CMIP6 currently in preparation) model output requirements and made available on the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF). Each obs4MIP dataset corresponds to a field that is output in (or derivable from) one or more of the CMIP5 or CMIP6 experiments. This technical alignment of observational products with climate model output can greatly facilitate model data comparisons.

At present, obs4MIPs is limited to regularly gridded datasets, with a focus on global or near-global satellite data products. Past contributions have mostly consisted of monthly, global data products. Consideration and emphasis on higher frequency, as well as basin- to global-scale gridded in situ data sets is increasing. Of central importance is the continued obs4MIPs requirement for demonstrated (e.g. peer-reviewed publications) model evaluation uses of the proposed data set(s). Of particular interest for this call are data products that are of direct relevance to CMIP6 endorsed model intercomparison projects (http://www.wcrpclimate.org/modelling-wgcm-mip-catalogue/modelling-wgcm-cmip6-endorsed-mips).

The WDAC Task Team encourages recommendations for new obs4MIPs data sets to be made
between 1 December 2015 and 31 March 2016, and is committed to responding no later than 1 June 2016. For instructions on the procedures for recommending a data set for obs4MIPs, please refer to: https://www.earthsystemcog.org/projects/obs4mips/how_to_contribute.

For additional information on obs4MIPs, including background, references, links to the data, contact information, etc., please see the project website at:
https://www.earthsystemcog.org/projects/obs4mips/

Questions should be addressed to D. Waliser () and P. Gleckler ().

South-East Asian School on Tropical Atmospheric Science (SEASTAS) and IWS on Extreme Weather in Changing Climate in the Maritime Continent in Bandung, Indonesia – 5-8 Jan 2016

Call for participation and for papers

The South-East Asian School on Tropical Atmospheric Science (SEASTAS) and the 1st International Workshop on Extreme Weather in Changing Climate in the Maritime Continent will be held in Bandung, Indonesia from 5 to 8 January 2016.

Please refer to the SEASTAS and IWS website for further details.

SPARC Science Update: 28 November – 4 December

A selection of new science articles from the past week of interest to the SPARC community (a SPARC Office choice).

Characterizing the Lifetime and Occurrence of Stratospheric-Tropospheric Exchange Events in the Rocky Mountain Region Using High Resolution Ozone Measurements. By J.T. Sullivan et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Reassessment of MIPAS age of air trends and variability. By F.J. Haenel et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

A potential vorticity-based determination of the transport barrier in the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone. By F. Ploeger et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Metrology of ground-based satellite validation: co-location mismatch and smoothing issues of total ozone comparisons. By T. Verhoelst et al.in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

A Solar Irradiance Climate Data Record. By O. Coddington et al. in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

Discussion papers – open for comment

Vortex-wide chlorine activation by a mesoscale PSC event in the Arctic winter of 2009/10. By T. Wegner et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Atmospheric changes caused by galactic cosmic rays over the period 1960–2010. By C.H. Jackman et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

SPARC Science Update: 21-27 November

A selection of new science articles from the past week of interest to the SPARC community (a SPARC Office choice).

Synchronisation of the equatorial QBO by the annual cycle in tropical upwelling in a warming climate. By K. Rajendran et al. in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.

Assessing the role of precursor cyclones on the formation of extreme Greenland blocking episodes and their impact on summer melting across the Greenland ice sheet. By J.T. McLeod and T.L. Mote in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

The changing ozone depletion potential of N2O in a future climate. By L.E. Revell et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

Instantaneous longwave radiative impact of ozone: an application on IASI/MetOp observations. By S. Doniki et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Radiative and Dynamical Influences on Polar Stratospheric Temperature Trends. By D.J. Ivy et al. in the Journal of Climate.

The hydrological cycle response to cirrus cloud thinning. By J.E. Kristjansson et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

Enhanced internal gravity wave activity and breaking over the northeastern Pacific–eastern Asian region. By P. Šácha et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Discussion papers – open for comment

Modelled thermal and dynamical responses of the middle atmosphere to EPP-induced ozone changes. By K. Karami et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

SPARC Science Update: 14-20 November

A selection of new science articles from the past week of interest to the SPARC community (a SPARC Office choice).

Global Responses of Gravity Waves to Planetary Waves during Stratospheric Sudden Warming Observed by SABER. By C.Y. Cullens in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Attributing the forced components of observed stratospheric temperature variability to external drivers. By D. Mitchell in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.

Clouds and the atmospheric circulation response to warming. By P. Ceppi and D.L. Hartman in the Journal of Climate.

Feeling the pulse of the stratosphere: An emerging opportunity for predicting continental-scale cold air outbreaks one month in advance. By M. Cai et al. in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

OMI total column ozone: extending the long-term data record. By R.D. McPeters et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Discussion papers – open for comment

Summertime nitrate aerosol in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere over the Tibetan Plateau and the South Asian summer monsoon region. By Y. Gu and H. Liao in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Ozone changes under solar geoengineering: implications for UV exposure and air quality. By P.J. Nowack et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

On the climatological probability of the vertical propagation of stationary planetary waves. By K. Karami et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Characteristics of gravity waves generated in a baroclinic instability simulation. By Y.-H. Kim et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

QBOi, PSCi, and CCl4 now full SPARC activities

At the 23rd SPARC Scientific Steering Group meeting held from 10-13 November 2015 in Boulder, Colorado, USA, the emerging activities on Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCi), Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBOi), and Carbon Tetrachloride (CCl4) were accepted as full SPARC activities.

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