The Polar Stratosphere as an Arbiter of the Projected Tropical Versus Polar Tug of War

Abstract This study explores the “tug of war” between the effects of Arctic amplification (“AA”) and upper‐troposphere tropical warming (“UTW”) on the response of the future North Atlantic atmospheric circulation. The late 21st century AA and UTW temperature anomalies are imposed in a high‐top atmos...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Yannick Peings, Julien Cattiaux, Gudrun Magnusdottir
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019
Subjects:
tropics versus Arctic tug of war
Arctic amplification
climate scenarios
North Atlantic atmospheric circulation
jet stream
stratosphere‐troposphere coupling
Geophysics. Cosmic physics
QC801-809
Climate change
North Atlantic
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082463
https://doaj.org/article/9e58d270dd5d40108a298b5beb810a7e
Description
Summary:Abstract This study explores the “tug of war” between the effects of Arctic amplification (“AA”) and upper‐troposphere tropical warming (“UTW”) on the response of the future North Atlantic atmospheric circulation. The late 21st century AA and UTW temperature anomalies are imposed in a high‐top atmospheric model by nudging the temperature. Two sets of experiments are performed, with and without feedback of the polar stratosphere to highlight its role in the response to UTW, AA, and both combined. With interactive polar stratosphere, UTW forces an equatorward shift of the eddy‐driven jet that reinforces the response to AA. However, when the polar stratosphere feedback is suppressed, the response to UTW is opposite and reflects the previously identified tug of war between the effects of UTW and AA in midlatitudes. This study highlights that the polar stratosphere is a key component for future changes in the North Atlantic atmospheric circulation and that it must be accurately represented in climate change scenarios.

Similar Items