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Stratospheric Influence on Tropospheric Weather and Climate

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Stratosphere Troposphere Interactions

Changes in the tropospheric weather and climate will affect the ozone-rich stratosphere through modification in radiation, dynamics, transport, and chemical composition. In turn, changes to the stratosphere will affect climate through radiative processes, and consequential variation in temperature gradients will influence atmospheric dynamics. Therefore, tropospheric weather and climate system is coupled with the stratospheric thermal structure, dynamics, and the evolution of the ozone layer. Understanding all the processes involved is made more complex by the fact that many of the interactions are nonlinear.

There is increasing evidence that stratospheric processes influence the tropospheric circulation across a wide range of timescales. The tropospheric circulation may also be linked to the stratosphere on longer timescales. For example, it has been found that stratospheric forcings in relationship with ozone depletion, volcanic aerosols, or the quasi-biennial oscillation exhibit a signature in surface climate. Such a coupling may be important for more realistic simulations of anthropogenic climate change in relation with secular changes of greenhouse gases. Various factors involved in stratosphere–troposphere interactions are schematically shown in Fig. 9.1 as discussed by Holton et al. (1995).

The troposphere influences the stratosphere mainly through the vertical propagation of atmospheric waves. The stratosphere coordinates this chaotically varying wave forcing from below to create long-lived changes in the stratospheric circulation. These changes in the stratosphere can feedback to waves returning to the troposphere and create long-lasting effects on tropospheric weather and climate. A key to understanding stratospheric influence on weather and climate is the awareness that the stratosphere usually changes very slowly, and that conditions in the lower stratosphere affect surface weather and climate.

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(2008). Stratospheric Influence on Tropospheric Weather and Climate. In: Stratosphere Troposphere Interactions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8217-7_9

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