Abstract
The polar vortex splitting was observed in the Antarctic stratosphere in September 2002, which occurred once in the Southern Hemisphere from 1979 to the present. We examined the Antarctic polar vortex dynamics during the sudden stratospheric warming in the spring of 2002 using a method that makes it possible to estimate the vortex area, wind speed along the vortex edge, the average temperature and ozone mass mixing ratio inside the vortex as a result of its edge delineation based on the ERA5 reanalysis data. In the spring of 2002, the unusual weakening of the Antarctic polar vortex, preceding its breakdown, was observed after a decrease in the vortex area to less than 10 million km2 and a subsequent decrease in the average wind speed along the vortex edge below 30 and 45 m/s, respectively, in the lower and middle stratosphere. In this case, the polar vortex became a small cyclone (characterized by high temperatures inside it and the absence of a dynamic barrier along its edge) and collapsed within about 3 weeks. In the middle stratosphere, it was observed immediately after the polar vortex splitting on 25 September, and in the lower stratosphere, it occurred in early November 2002.
Research highlights
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Vortex area decrease to less than 10 million km2 in 2002 indicated the subsequent vortex breakdown.
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Vortex edge wind decrease below 30 m/s in the lower stratosphere in 2002 preceded the breakdown.
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Vortex edge wind decrease below 45 m/s in the middle stratosphere in 2002 preceded the breakdown.
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Acknowledgement
This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (project no. 121031300156-5).
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Communicated by Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay
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Zuev, V.V., Savelieva, E. Antarctic polar vortex dynamics during spring 2002. J Earth Syst Sci 131, 119 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-022-01879-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-022-01879-0