Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

An Analytical Study of Ozone Feedbacks on Kelvin and Rossby–Gravity Waves: Effects on the QBO

Eugene C. Cordero Atmospheric Science Program, Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, Davis, California

Search for other papers by Eugene C. Cordero in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
,
Terrence R. Nathan Atmospheric Science Program, Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, Davis, California

Search for other papers by Terrence R. Nathan in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
, and
Robert S. Echols Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California

Search for other papers by Robert S. Echols in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Print Publication:
01 Mar 1998
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1998)055<1051:AASOOF>2.0.CO;2
Page(s):
1051–1062
Restricted access

Abstract

An equatorial beta-plane model of the middle atmosphere is used to analytically examine the effects of radiative cooling and ozone heating on the spatial and temporal evolution of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO). Under the assumption that the diabatic heating is weak and the background fields of wind, temperature, and ozone are slowly varying, a perturbation analysis yields expressions describing the vertical spatial modulation of Kelvin and Rossby–gravity waves in the presence of ozone. These expressions show that wave-induced changes in the diabatic heating arising from the advection of basic-state ozone reduce the local radiative damping rate by up to 15% below 35 km. In a one-dimensional model of the QBO, eddy ozone heating increases the amplitude of the zonal wind QBO by 1–2 m s−1 and increases the oscillation period by about two months. The significance of these results to the observed QBO is discussed.

* Current affiliation: Universities Space Research Association, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.

Corresponding author address: Dr. Eugene C. Cordero, NASA/GSFC, Code 916, Greenbelt, MD 20771.

Abstract

An equatorial beta-plane model of the middle atmosphere is used to analytically examine the effects of radiative cooling and ozone heating on the spatial and temporal evolution of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO). Under the assumption that the diabatic heating is weak and the background fields of wind, temperature, and ozone are slowly varying, a perturbation analysis yields expressions describing the vertical spatial modulation of Kelvin and Rossby–gravity waves in the presence of ozone. These expressions show that wave-induced changes in the diabatic heating arising from the advection of basic-state ozone reduce the local radiative damping rate by up to 15% below 35 km. In a one-dimensional model of the QBO, eddy ozone heating increases the amplitude of the zonal wind QBO by 1–2 m s−1 and increases the oscillation period by about two months. The significance of these results to the observed QBO is discussed.

* Current affiliation: Universities Space Research Association, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.

Corresponding author address: Dr. Eugene C. Cordero, NASA/GSFC, Code 916, Greenbelt, MD 20771.

Save
Cover Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

  • Andrews, D. G., and M. E. McIntyre, 1976: Planetary waves in horizontal and vertical shear: Asymptotic theory for equatorial waves in weak shear. J. Atmos. Sci.,33, 2049–2053.

  • ——, J. R. Holton, and C. B. Leovy, 1987: Middle Atmosphere Dynamics. Academic Press, 489 pp.

  • Boville, B. A., and W. J. Randel, 1992: Equatorial waves in a stratospheric GCM: Effects of vertical resolution. J. Atmos. Sci.,49, 785–801.

  • Cogley, A. C., and W. J. Borucki, 1976: Exponential approximation for daily average solar heating or photolysis. J. Atmos. Sci.,33, 1347–1356.

  • Coy, L., 1979: An unusually large westerly amplitude of the quasi-biennial oscillation. J. Atmos. Sci.,36, 174–176.

  • Dunkerton, T. J., 1979: On the role of the Kelvin wave in the westerly phase of the semiannual zonal wind oscillation. J. Atmos. Sci.,36, 32–41,.

  • ——, 1985: A two-dimensional model of the quasi-biennial oscillation. J. Atmos. Sci.,42, 1151–1160.

  • Echols, R. S., and T. R. Nathan, 1996: Effects of ozone heating on forced equatorial Kevin waves. J. Atmos. Sci.,53, 263–275.

  • Fels, S. B., 1982: A parameterization of scale-dependent radiative damping rates in the middle atmosphere. J. Atmos. Sci.,39, 1141–1152.

  • Fleming, E. L., S. Chandra, M. R. Schoeberl, and J. J. Barnett, 1988:Monthly mean global climatology of temperature, wind, geopotential height and pressure for 0–120 km. NASA Tech. Memo. 100697, 85 pp. [Available from Eric Fleming, NASA/GSFC, Code 916, Greenbelt, MD 20771.].

  • Hartmann, D. L., and R. R. Garcia, 1979: A mechanistic model of ozone transport by planetary waves in the stratosphere. J. Atmos. Sci.,36, 350–364.

  • Hasebe, F., 1984: The global structure of the total ozone fluctuations observed on the time scales of two to several years. Dynamics of the Middle Atmosphere, J. R. Holton and T. Matsuno, Eds., Terra Scientific, 445–464.

  • ——, 1994: Quasi-biennial oscillations of ozone and diabatic circulation in the equatorial stratosphere. J. Atmos. Sci.,51, 729–745.

  • Hayashi, Y., and D. G. Golder, 1994: Kelvin and mixed Rossby–gravity waves appearing in the GDFL “SKYHI” general circulation model and the FGGE dataset: Implications for their generation mechanism and role in the QBO. J. Meteor. Soc. Japan,72, 901–935.

  • Holton, J. R., and R. S. Lindzen, 1972: An updated theory for the quasi-biennial cycle of the tropical stratosphere. J. Atmos. Sci.,29, 1076–1080.

  • Keating, G. M., and D. F. Young, 1985: Interim reference ozone models for the middle atmosphere. Middle Atmosphere Program Handbook for MAP, Vol. 16, K. Labitzke, J. J. Barnett, and B. Edwards, Eds., University of Illinois, 318 pp.

  • Lindzen, R. S., 1971: Equatorial planetary waves in shear: Part I. J. Atmos. Sci.,28, 609–622.

  • ——, and J. R. Holton, 1968: A theory of the quasi-biennial oscillation. J. Atmos. Sci.,25, 785–801.

  • Ling, X.-D., and J. London, 1986: The quasi-biennial oscillation of ozone in the tropical middle atmosphere: A one-dimensional model. J. Atmos. Sci.,43, 3122–3137.

  • McPeters, R. D., D. F. Heath, and P. K. Bhartia, 1984: Average ozone profiles for 1979 from the NIMBUS 7 SBUV instrument. J. Geophys. Res.,89, 5199–5214.

  • Nastrom, G. D., and A. D. Belmont, 1975: Periodic variation in stratospheric–mesospheric temperature from 20–65 km at 80°N to 30°S. J. Atmos. Sci.,32, 1715–1722.

  • Nathan, T. R., 1989: On the role of ozone in the stability of Rossby normal modes. J. Atmos. Sci.,46, 2094–2100.

  • ——, and L. Li, 1991: Linear stability of free planetary waves in thepresence of radiative-photochemical feedbacks. J. Atmos. Sci.,48, 1837–1855.

  • ——, E. C. Cordero, and L. Li, 1994: Ozone heating and the destabilization of traveling waves during summer. Geophys. Res. Lett.,21, 1531–1534.

  • Pawson, S., R. S. Harwood, and J. D. Haigh, 1992: A study of the radiative dissipation of planetary waves using satellite data. J. Atmos. Sci.,49, 1304–1317.

  • Plumb, A. R., 1984: The quasi-biennial oscillation. Dynamics of the Middle Atmosphere, J. R. Holton and T. Matsuno, Eds., Terra Scientific, 217–251.

  • ——, and R. C. Bell, 1982: A model of the quasi-biennial oscillation on an equatorial beta-plane. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,108, 335–352.

  • Reed, R. J., 1964: A tentative model of the 26-month oscillation in tropical latitudes. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,90, 441–466.

  • ——, W. J. Campbell, L. A. Rasmussen, and D. G. Rogers, 1961: Evidence of downward-propagating annual wind reversal in the equatorial stratosphere. Geophys. Res. Lett.,4, 813–818.

  • Stolarski, R. S., and A. R. Douglass, 1985: Parameterization of the photochemistry of stratospheric ozone including catalytic loss processes. J. Geophys. Res.,90, 10 709–10 718.

  • Strobel, D., 1977: Photochemical–radiative damping and instability in the stratosphere. J. Geophys. Res.,82, 424–426.

  • ——, 1978: Parameterization of the atmospheric heating rate from 15 to 120 km due to O2 and O3 absorption of solar radiation. J. Geophys. Res.,83, 6225–6250.

  • Takahashi, M., 1987: A 2-dimensional numerical model of the quasi-biennial oscillation: Part I. J. Meteor. Soc. Japan,65, 523–536.

  • ——, 1996: Simulation of the stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation using a general circulation model. Geophys. Res. Lett.,23, 661–664.

  • ——, and J. R. Holton, 1991: The mean zonal flow response to Rossby wave and gravity wave forcing in the equatorial lower stratosphere: Relationship to the QBO. J. Atmos. Sci.,48, 2078–2087.

  • ——, and B. A. Boville, 1992: A three-dimensional simulation of the equatorial quasi-biennial oscillation. J. Atmos. Sci.,49, 1020–1035.

  • Venyard, R. G., and R. A. Ebdon, 1961: Fluctuations in tropical stratospheric winds. Meteor. Mag.,90, 125–143.

  • Zhu, X., and J. R. Holton, 1986: Photochemical damping of inertia–gravity waves. J. Atmos. Sci.,43, 2578–2584.

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 0 0 0
Full Text Views 377 146 34
PDF Downloads 82 31 0