Evolution of temperature, O3, CO, and N2O profiles during the exceptional 2009 Arctic major stratospheric warming as observed by lidar and mm-wave spectroscopy at Thule (76.5°N, 68.8°W), Greenland.

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
• Main Authors: Di Biagio, C., Muscari, G., di Sarra, A., de Zafra, R. L., Eriksen, P., Fiocco, G., Fiorucci, I., Fuà, D.
• Other Authors: Di Biagio, C.; ENEA/UTMEA-TER, S. Maria di Galeria, Italy and Department of Earth Science, University of Siena, Siena, Italy, Muscari, G.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia, di Sarra, A.; ENEA/UTMEA-TER, S. Maria di Galeria, Italy, de Zafra, R. L.; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA, Eriksen, P.; Danish Meteorological Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark, Fiocco, G.; Department of Physics, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy, Fiorucci, I.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia, Fuà, D.; Department of Physics, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy, ENEA/UTMEA-TER, S. Maria di Galeria, Italy and Department of Earth Science, University of Siena, Siena, Italy, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia, ENEA/UTMEA-TER, S. Maria di Galeria, Italy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA, Danish Meteorological Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark, Department of Physics, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Geophysical Union 2010
• Subjects: sudden stratospheric warming; winter polar stratosphere; temperature; O3; N2O; CO; 01. Atmosphere::01.01. Atmosphere::01.01.01. Composition and Structure; 01. Atmosphere::01.01. Atmosphere::01.01.04. Processes and Dynamics; Alta; Arctic; Greenland; Thule
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2122/6237; https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD014070

The 2009 Arctic sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) was the most intense event of this kind ever observed. Unique ground-based measurements of middle atmospheric profiles for temperature, O3, CO, and N2O obtained at Thule (76.5°N, 68.8°W), Greenland, in the period January – early March are used to show the evolution of the 2009 SSW in the region of its maximum intensity. The first sign of the SSW was detected at θ~2000 K on January 19, when a rapid decrease in CO mixing ratio took place. The first evidence of a temperature increase was observed at the same level on 22 January, the earliest date on which lidar measurements reached above ~50 km. The warming propagated from the upper to the lower stratosphere in 7 days and the record maximum temperature of 289 K was observed between 1300 and 1500 K potential temperature on 22 January. A strong vortex splitting was associated with the SSW. Stratospheric backward trajectories indicate that airmasses arriving to Thule during the warming peak underwent a rapid compression and an intense adiabatic warming of up to 50 K. The rapid advection of air from the extra-tropics was also occasionally observed to produce elevated values of N2O mixing ratio. Starting from mid-February the temperature profile and the N2O mixing ratio returned to the pre-warming values in the mid and upper stratosphere, indicating the reformation of the vortex at these levels. In late winter, vertical descent from starting altitudes of ~60 km is estimated from CO profiles to be 0.25±0.05 km/day. Published D24315 1.7. Osservazioni di alta e media atmosfera 1.10. TTC - Telerilevamento JCR Journal open