On the Developmental Dynamics of Sudden Stratospheric Warmings
Abstract
A SSW is an event which causes a drastic temporary disruption of the zonal winter configuration of the stratosphere. High latitudes in the stratosphere experience temperature increases of over 25 deg C in less than a week. At the peak of the warming, the temperature can increase by much as 80 deg C. Typically, within six weeks the atmosphere returns to a more normal configuration, ending the SSW. The onset of a warming is defined by the first appearance of a closed -35 deg C isotherm at 10 mb (McQuirck and Douglas, 1988). The warming levels ends when temperatures warmer than -35 deg C are no longer observed. Sudden Stratospheric Warmings were first observed in 1952 by Scherhag over Berlin. Until recently, data on SSW were sporadic due to a total dependence on the sparse radiosonde/rocketsonde network. Since the advent to satellite mounted sensors which routinely probe the stratosphere, observational data has become much more abundant. While tremendous advances in the research on SSW have been made in the past decade, few operational meteorologists know much about them. This paper will provide an overview of research done in the following areas: what SSWs are; what synoptic events occur during SSWs; and the dynamics involved with SSWs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 31, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA227731
Entities
People
- Ann R. Ostdiek
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology