Vertical momentum transports associated with moist convection and gravity waves in a minimal model of QBO-like oscillation

A self-sustained oscillation dynamically analogous to the equatorial quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) was obtained as a radiative-moist-convective quasi-equilibrium state in a minimal model of the stratosphere- troposphere coupled system, which is a two-dimensional cloud-system-resolving nonhydrostatic model with a periodic lateral boundary condition. The QBO-like oscillation shows downward propagation of the zonalmean signals in the stratosphere. In addition, in the troposphere there are periodic variations associated with the QBO-like oscillation, including organized features of moist-convective systems characterized as squall-line- or back-building-type precipitation patterns.Details of themomentumbudget variation are examined to study the stratosphere-troposphere dynamical coupling associated with the QBO-like oscillation. The vertical flux of horizontal momentum is separated into three contributions of convective momentum transport (CMT) and momentum transports by upward- and downward-propagating gravity waves-that is, upward and downward gravity wave momentum transports (GWMTs)-and the time-height variations of each contribution are evaluated quantitatively. The method is based on the linear theory of gravity waves to separate upward- and non-upward-propagating contributions and uses the phase speed spectra of the total cloud mixing ratio to identify the CMT contribution. The upward GWMT predominates in the stratosphere and contributes to the acceleration of the zonal mean zonal wind. The CMT and downward GWMT are confined to the troposphere, and the former predominates. The variations of the mean zonal wind modulate the organization of convective systems, and the squall-line- and back-building-type patterns appear alternately. According to the modulation of convective systems, the spectral features of every momentum transport vary periodically

Lower-stratospheric radiative damping and polar-night jet oscillation events

The effect of stratospheric radiative damping time scales on stratospheric variability and on stratosphere–troposphere coupling is investigated in a simplified global circulation model by modifying the vertical profile of radiative damping in the stratosphere while holding it fixed in the troposphere. Perpetual-January conditions are imposed, with sinusoidal topography of zonal wavenumber 1 or 2. The depth and duration of the simulated sudden stratospheric warmings closely track the lower-stratospheric radiative time scales. Simulations with the most realistic profiles of radiative damping exhibit extended time-scale recoveries analogous to polar-night jet oscillation (PJO) events, which are observed to follow sufficiently deep stratospheric warmings. These events are characterized by weak lower-stratospheric winds and enhanced stability near the tropopause, which persist for up to 3 months following the initial warming. They are obtained with both wave-1 and wave-2 topography. Planetary-scale Eliassen–Palm (EP) fluxes entering the vortex are also suppressed, which is in agreement with observed PJO events. Consistent with previous studies, the tropospheric jets shift equatorward in response to the warmings. The duration of the shift is closely correlated with the period of enhanced stability. The magnitude of the shift in these runs, however, is sensitive only to the zonal wavenumber of the topography. Although the shift is sustained primarily by synoptic-scale eddies, the net effect of the topographic form drag and the planetary-scale fluxes is not negligible; they damp the surface wind response but enhance the vertical shear. The tropospheric response may also reduce the generation of planetary waves, further extending the stratospheric dynamical time scales

On the approximation of local and linear radiative damping in the middle atmosphere

The validity of approximating radiative heating rates in the middle atmosphere by a local linear relaxation to a reference temperature state (i.e., ‘‘Newtonian cooling’’) is investigated. Using radiative heating rate and temperature output from a chemistry–climate model with realistic spatiotemporal variability and realistic chemical and radiative parameterizations, it is found that a linear regressionmodel can capture more than 80% of the variance in longwave heating rates throughout most of the stratosphere and mesosphere, provided that the damping rate is allowed to vary with height, latitude, and season. The linear model describes departures from the climatological mean, not from radiative equilibrium. Photochemical damping rates in the upper stratosphere are similarly diagnosed. Threeimportant exceptions, however, are found.The approximation of linearity breaks down near the edges of the polar vortices in both hemispheres. This nonlinearity can be well captured by including a quadratic term. The use of a scale-independentdamping rate is not well justified in the lower tropical stratosphere because of the presence of a broad spectrum of vertical scales. The local assumption fails entirely during the breakup of the Antarctic vortex, where large fluctuations in temperature near the top of the vortex influence longwave heating rates within the quiescent region below. These results are relevant for mechanistic modeling studies of the middle atmosphere, particularly those investigating the final Antarctic warming

On the lack of stratospheric dynamical variability in low-top versions of the CMIP5 models

We 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

Regime Diagrams of Solutions in an Idealized Quasi-Axisymmetric Model for Superrotation of Planetary Atmospheres

This paper presents regime diagrams illustrating the parametric dependence of dynamical balance in a superrotating atmosphere produced in a quasi-axisymmetric idealized system with strong horizontal diffusion studied previously by the present authors. In this system, the superrotation is maintained by the Gierasch mechanism, which possibly explains the four-day circulation in the atmosphere of Venus. Our previous paper developed a theoretical model of this system to estimate the superrotation strength and showed that the parametric dependence of the superrotation strength can be consolidated into three non-dimensional external parameters. The present study analyzes the theoretical model to determine boundaries of the regimes based on the dynamical balance and plots theoretical regime diagrams, which are important to understand the non-linear dynamical system and are useful to clearly describe the parametric dependence. Further, a parametric limit of the theoretical model is also estimated and included in the diagrams. The parametric limit shows both a lower limit for the horizontal diffusion and an upper limit of the superrotation strength in the Gierasch mechanism. The regime diagram demonstrates that the superrotation in the cyclostrophic balance is realized when the horizontal Ekman number is in a certain range whose width is mainly controlled by the vertical Ekman number. Numerical solutions covering a vast region in the parameter space are obtained by time-integrations of the primitive equations, and the dynamical regimes in the numerical solutions are compared with the theoretical regime diagrams. The theoretical regime diagrams agree well with the numerical results in most regions, confirming the validity of the theoretical model. Multiple equilibrium solutions are obtained when the horizontal Ekman number is lower than the theoretical limit. Moreover, they show that the Gierasch mechanism can maintain the superrotation even with the horizontal diffusion weaker than the predicted lower limit, but cannot generate superrotation from a motionless state