The extraordinarily strong and cold polar vortex in the early northern winter 2015/16
The Arctic polar vortex in the early winter 2015/16 was the strongest and coldest o f the la st 68 years. Using global reanalysis data, satellite observations, and mesospheric radar wind measurements over northern Scandinavia we investigate the characteristics of the early sta g e polar vortex and r...
| Published in: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | German |
| Published: |
Wiley
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elib.dlr.de/108690/ https://elib.dlr.de/108690/1/Matthias_et_al-2016-Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL071676 |
| Summary: | The Arctic polar vortex in the early winter 2015/16 was the strongest and coldest o f the la st 68 years. Using global reanalysis data, satellite observations, and mesospheric radar wind measurements over northern Scandinavia we investigate the characteristics of the early sta g e polar vortex and relate them to previous winters. We found a correlation between the planetary wave (PW) activity and the strength and temperature of the northern polar vor- tex in the stratosphere and mesosphere. In Nov/D ec 2015, a reduced PW generation in the troposphere and a stronger PW filtering in the troposphere and stratosphere, caused by stronger zonal winds in mid-latitudes, resulted in a stronger polar vortex. Thi s effect was strengthened by the equator ward shift of PWs due to the strong zonal wind in polar latitudes resulting in a southward shift of the Eliassen-Palm flux divergence and hence inducinga decreased deceleration of th e polar vortex by PWs. |
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