Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

On the Gravity Wave Forcing during the Southern Stratospheric Final Warming in LMDZ

Alvaro de la Cámara Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique du CNRS, École Normale Supérieure, Paris, and Centre de Mathématiques et de Leurs Applications, École Normale Supérieure de Cachan, Cachan, France

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François Lott Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique du CNRS, École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France

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Valérian Jewtoukoff Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique du CNRS, École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France

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Riwal Plougonven Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique du CNRS, École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France

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Albert Hertzog Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique du CNRS, École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France

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Print Publication:
01 Aug 2016
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-15-0377.1
Page(s):
3213–3226
Restricted access

Abstract

The austral stratospheric final warming date is often predicted with substantial delay in several climate models. This systematic error is generally attributed to insufficient parameterized gravity wave (GW) drag in the stratosphere around 60°S. A simulation with a general circulation model [Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique zoom model (LMDZ)] with a much less pronounced bias is used to analyze the contribution of the different types of waves to the dynamics of the final warming. For this purpose, the resolved and unresolved wave forcing of the middle atmosphere during the austral spring are examined in LMDZ and reanalysis data, and a good agreement is found between the two datasets. The role of parameterized orographic and nonorographic GWs in LMDZ is further examined, and it is found that orographic and nonorographic GWs contribute evenly to the GW forcing in the stratosphere, unlike in other climate models, where orographic GWs are the main contributor. This result is shown to be in good agreement with GW-resolving operational analysis products. It is demonstrated that the significant contribution of the nonorographic GWs is due to highly intermittent momentum fluxes produced by the source-related parameterizations used in LMDZ, in qualitative agreement with recent observations. This yields sporadic high-amplitude GWs that break in the stratosphere and force the circulation at lower altitudes than more homogeneously distributed nonorographic GW parameterizations do.

Current affiliation: National Center for Atmospheric Research,b Boulder, Colorado.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Corresponding author address: Alvaro de la Cámara, National Center for Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307. E-mail: acamara@ucar.edu

Abstract

The austral stratospheric final warming date is often predicted with substantial delay in several climate models. This systematic error is generally attributed to insufficient parameterized gravity wave (GW) drag in the stratosphere around 60°S. A simulation with a general circulation model [Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique zoom model (LMDZ)] with a much less pronounced bias is used to analyze the contribution of the different types of waves to the dynamics of the final warming. For this purpose, the resolved and unresolved wave forcing of the middle atmosphere during the austral spring are examined in LMDZ and reanalysis data, and a good agreement is found between the two datasets. The role of parameterized orographic and nonorographic GWs in LMDZ is further examined, and it is found that orographic and nonorographic GWs contribute evenly to the GW forcing in the stratosphere, unlike in other climate models, where orographic GWs are the main contributor. This result is shown to be in good agreement with GW-resolving operational analysis products. It is demonstrated that the significant contribution of the nonorographic GWs is due to highly intermittent momentum fluxes produced by the source-related parameterizations used in LMDZ, in qualitative agreement with recent observations. This yields sporadic high-amplitude GWs that break in the stratosphere and force the circulation at lower altitudes than more homogeneously distributed nonorographic GW parameterizations do.

Current affiliation: National Center for Atmospheric Research,b Boulder, Colorado.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Corresponding author address: Alvaro de la Cámara, National Center for Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307. E-mail: acamara@ucar.edu
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