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An Aircraft-Based Upper Troposphere Lower Stratosphere O3, CO, and H2O Climatology for the Northern HemisphereWe present a climatology of O3, CO, and H2O for the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS), based on a large collection of high ]resolution research aircraft data taken between 1995 and 2008. To group aircraft observations with sparse horizontal coverage, the UTLS is divided into three regimes: the tropics, subtropics, and the polar region. These regimes are defined using a set of simple criteria based on tropopause height and multiple tropopause conditions. Tropopause ]referenced tracer profiles and tracer ]tracer correlations show distinct characteristics for each regime, which reflect the underlying transport processes. The UTLS climatology derived here shows many features of earlier climatologies. In addition, mixed air masses in the subtropics, identified by O3 ]CO correlations, show two characteristic modes in the tracer ]tracer space that are a result of mixed air masses in layers above and below the tropopause (TP). A thin layer of mixed air (1.2 km around the tropopause) is identified for all regions and seasons, where tracer gradients across the TP are largest. The most pronounced influence of mixing between the tropical transition layer and the subtropics was found in spring and summer in the region above 380 K potential temperature. The vertical extent of mixed air masses between UT and LS reaches up to 5 km above the TP. The tracer correlations and distributions in the UTLS derived here can serve as a reference for model and satellite data evaluation
Document ID
20120003646
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Tilmes, S.
(National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Pan, L. L.
(National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Hoor, P.
(Mainz Univ. Germany)
Atlas, E.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Avery, M. A.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Campos, T.
(National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Christensen, L. E.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Diskin, G. S.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Gao, R.-S.
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Boulder, CO, United States)
Herman, R. L.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Hinsta, E. J.
(Harvard Univ. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Loewenstein, M.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Lopez, J.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Paige, M. E.
(Southwest Sciences, Inc. Santa Fe, NM, United States)
Pittman, J. V.
(National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Podolske, J. R.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Proffitt, M. R.
(Proffitt Instruments Austin, TX, US)
Sachse, G. W.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Schiller, C.
(Juelich Technology Research Center Germany)
Schlager, H.
(Deutsche Forschungs- und Versuchsanstalt fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt Wessling, Germany)
Smith, J.
(Harvard Univ. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Spelten, N.
(Juelich Technology Research Center Germany)
Webster, C.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Weinheimer, A.
(National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Zondlo, M. A.
(Princeton Univ. Princeton, NJ, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
July 22, 2010
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 115
Issue: D14303
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX08AF83A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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