Role of ozone in the solar cycle modulation of the North Atlantic Oscillation

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research
• Main Authors: Kuroda, Yuhji, Yamazaki, Koji, Shibata, Kiyotaka
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Geophysical Union
• Subjects: Solar cycle; ozone; North Atlantic Oscillation; 451; Arctic; North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2115/34478; https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009336

The effect of ozone on the 11-year solar cycle modulation of the winter-mean North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is examined through analyses of observed meteorological and ozone data from 1978 to 2000. It is found that a significant ozone anomaly associated with the winter NAO is created in winter in high solar (HS) years only and the anomaly persists from spring to summer, creating a large temperature anomaly in the lower stratosphere through radiative heating. Such a temperature anomaly in the stratosphere creates anomalous temperature of opposite sign at lower heights and anomalous zonal wind in the polar area of the troposphere in summer. The associated surface signal is very similar to the summer Arctic Oscillation (Summer-AO). The mechanism for the formation of the Summer-AO is also discussed.