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Clapp CE, Smith JB, Bedka KM, Anderson JG. Identifying Outflow Regions of North American Monsoon Anticyclone-Mediated Meridional Transport of Convectively Influenced Air Masses in the Lower Stratosphere. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. ATMOSPHERES : JGR 2021; 126:e2021JD034644. [PMID: 34221781 PMCID: PMC8244028 DOI: 10.1029/2021jd034644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
We analyzed the effect of the North American monsoon anticyclone (NAMA) on the meridional transport of summertime cross-tropopause convective outflow by applying a trajectory analysis to a climatology of convective overshooting tops (OTs) identified in GOES satellite images, which covers the domain from 29°S to 68°N and from 205°W to 1.25°W for the time period of May to September, 2013. From this analysis, we identify seasonal development of geographically distinct outflow regions of convectively influenced air masses (CIAMs) from the NAMA circulation to the global stratosphere and quantify the associated meridional displacement of CIAMs. We find that prior to the development of the NAMA, the majority of CIAMs exit the study area in a southeastern region between 5°N and 35°N at 45°W (75.5% in May). During July and August, when the NAMA is strongest, two additional outflow regions develop that constitute the majority of outflow: 68.1% in a northeastern region between 35°N and 60°N at 45°W and 13.4% in a southwestern region between 5°N and 35°N at 145°W. The shift in the location of most CIAM outflow from the pre-NAMA southeastern region to NAMA-dependent northeastern and southwestern regions corresponds to a change in average meridional displacement of CIAMs from 3.3° northward in May to 24.5° northward in July and August. Meridional transport of CIAMs through persistent outflow regions from the NAMA circulation to the global stratosphere has the potential to impact global stratospheric composition beyond convective source regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. E. Clapp
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied SciencesHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
| | - J. B. Smith
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied SciencesHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
| | | | - J. G. Anderson
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied SciencesHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
- Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
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Clapp C, Smith J, Bedka K, Anderson J. Identifying Source Regions and the Distribution of Cross-Tropopause Convective Outflow Over North America During the Warm Season. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. ATMOSPHERES : JGR 2019; 124:13750-13762. [PMID: 32140373 PMCID: PMC7043375 DOI: 10.1029/2019jd031382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Revised: 12/04/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
We analyzed the interaction between the North American monsoon anticyclone (NAMA) and summertime cross-tropopause convective outflow by applying a trajectory analysis to a climatology of convective overshooting tops (OTs) identified in GOES satellite images, which covers the domain from 29°S to 68°N and from 205 to 1.25°W for the time period of May through September 2013. With this analysis we identified seasonally, geographically, and altitude-dependent variability in NAMA strength and in cross-tropopause convection that control their interaction. We find that the NAMA has the strongest impact on the circulation of convectively influenced air masses in August. Over the entire time period examined the intertropical convergence zone contributes the majority of OTs with a larger fraction of total OTs at 370 K (on average 70%) than at 400 K (on average 52%). During August at 370 K, the convectively influenced air masses within the NAMA circulation, as determined by the trajectory analysis, are primarily sourced from the intertropical convergence zone (monthly average of 66.1%), while at 400 K the Sierra Madres and the Central United States combined constitute the dominant source region (monthly average of 44.1%, compared to 36.6% of the combined Intertropical Convergence Zone regions). When evaluating the impact of cross-tropopause convection on the composition and chemistry of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, the effects of the NAMA on both the distribution of convective outflow and the residence time of convectively influenced air masses within the NAMA region must be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- C.E. Clapp
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied SciencesHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
| | - J.B. Smith
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied SciencesHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
| | - K.M. Bedka
- NASA Langley Research CenterHamptonVAUSA
| | - J.G. Anderson
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied SciencesHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
- Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
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Clapp CE, Anderson JG. Modeling the Effect of Potential Nitric Acid Removal During Convective Injection of Water Vapor Over the Central United States on the Chemical Composition of the Lower Stratosphere. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. ATMOSPHERES : JGR 2019; 124:9743-9770. [PMID: 31763110 PMCID: PMC6853249 DOI: 10.1029/2018jd029703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2018] [Revised: 07/30/2019] [Accepted: 08/04/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Tropopause-penetrating convection is a frequent seasonal feature of the Central United States climate. This convection presents the potential for consistent transport of water vapor into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) through the lofting of ice, which then sublimates. Water vapor enhancements associated with convective ice lofting have been observed in both in situ and satellite measurements. These water vapor enhancements can increase the probability of sulfate aerosol-catalyzed heterogeneous reactions that convert reservoir chlorine (HCl and ClONO2) to free radical chlorine (Cl and ClO) that leads to catalytic ozone loss. In addition to water vapor transport, lofted ice may also scavenge nitric acid and further impact the chlorine activation chemistry of the UTLS. We present a photochemical model that resolves the vertical chemical structure of the UTLS to explore the effect of water vapor enhancements and potential additional nitric acid removal. The model is used to define the response of stratospheric column ozone to the range of convective water vapor transported and the temperature variability of the lower stratosphere currently observed over the Central United States in conjunction with potential nitric acid removal and to scenarios of elevated sulfate aerosol surface area density representative of possible future volcanic eruptions or solar radiation management. We find that the effect of HNO3 removal is dependent on the magnitude of nitric acid removal and has the greatest potential to increase chlorine activation and ozone loss under UTLS conditions that weakly favor the chlorine activation heterogeneous reactions by reducing NOx sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. E. Clapp
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
| | - J. G. Anderson
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied SciencesHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
- Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
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Anderson JG, Clapp CE. Coupling free radical catalysis, climate change, and human health. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:10569-10587. [PMID: 29638230 DOI: 10.1039/c7cp08331a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
We present the chain of mechanisms linking free radical catalytic loss of stratospheric ozone, specifically over the central United States in summer, to increased climate forcing by CO2 and CH4 from fossil fuel use. This case directly engages detailed knowledge, emerging from in situ aircraft observations over the polar regions in winter, defining the temperature and water vapor dependence of the kinetics of heterogeneous catalytic conversion of inorganic chlorine (HCl and ClONO2) to free radical form (ClO). Analysis is placed in the context of irreversible changes to specific subsystems of the climate, most notably coupled feedbacks that link rapid changes in the Arctic with the discovery that convective storms over the central US in summer both suppress temperatures and inject water vapor deep into the stratosphere. This places the lower stratosphere over the US in summer within the same photochemical catalytic domain as the lower stratosphere of the Arctic in winter engaging the risk of amplifying the rate limiting step in the ClO dimer catalytic mechanism by some six orders of magnitude. This transitions the catalytic loss rate of ozone in lower stratosphere over the United States in summer from HOx radical control to ClOx radical control, increasing the overall ozone loss rate by some two orders of magnitude over that of the unperturbed state. Thus we address, through a combination of observations and modeling, the mechanistic foundation defining why stratospheric ozone, vulnerable to increased climate forcing, is one of the most delicate aspects of habitability on the planet.
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Affiliation(s)
- J G Anderson
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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Anderson JG, Weisenstein DK, Bowman KP, Homeyer CR, Smith JB, Wilmouth DM, Sayres DS, Klobas JE, Leroy SS, Dykema JA, Wofsy SC. Stratospheric ozone over the United States in summer linked to observations of convection and temperature via chlorine and bromine catalysis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:E4905-E4913. [PMID: 28584119 PMCID: PMC5488921 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1619318114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We present observations defining (i) the frequency and depth of convective penetration of water into the stratosphere over the United States in summer using the Next-Generation Radar system; (ii) the altitude-dependent distribution of inorganic chlorine established in the same coordinate system as the radar observations; (iii) the high resolution temperature structure in the stratosphere over the United States in summer that resolves spatial and structural variability, including the impact of gravity waves; and (iv) the resulting amplification in the catalytic loss rates of ozone for the dominant halogen, hydrogen, and nitrogen catalytic cycles. The weather radar observations of ∼2,000 storms, on average, each summer that reach the altitude of rapidly increasing available inorganic chlorine, coupled with observed temperatures, portend a risk of initiating rapid heterogeneous catalytic conversion of inorganic chlorine to free radical form on ubiquitous sulfate-water aerosols; this, in turn, engages the element of risk associated with ozone loss in the stratosphere over the central United States in summer based upon the same reaction network that reduces stratospheric ozone over the Arctic. The summertime development of the upper-level anticyclonic flow over the United States, driven by the North American Monsoon, provides a means of retaining convectively injected water, thereby extending the time for catalytic ozone loss over the Great Plains. Trusted decadal forecasts of UV dosage over the United States in summer require understanding the response of this dynamical and photochemical system to increased forcing of the climate by increasing levels of CO2 and CH4.
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Affiliation(s)
- James G Anderson
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Debra K Weisenstein
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Kenneth P Bowman
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843
| | | | - Jessica B Smith
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - David M Wilmouth
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - David S Sayres
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - J Eric Klobas
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Stephen S Leroy
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - John A Dykema
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Steven C Wofsy
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
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Dykema JA, Keith DW, Anderson JG, Weisenstein D. Stratospheric controlled perturbation experiment: a small-scale experiment to improve understanding of the risks of solar geoengineering. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2014; 372:20140059. [PMID: 25404681 PMCID: PMC4240955 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2014.0059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Although solar radiation management (SRM) through stratospheric aerosol methods has the potential to mitigate impacts of climate change, our current knowledge of stratospheric processes suggests that these methods may entail significant risks. In addition to the risks associated with current knowledge, the possibility of 'unknown unknowns' exists that could significantly alter the risk assessment relative to our current understanding. While laboratory experimentation can improve the current state of knowledge and atmospheric models can assess large-scale climate response, they cannot capture possible unknown chemistry or represent the full range of interactive atmospheric chemical physics. Small-scale, in situ experimentation under well-regulated circumstances can begin to remove some of these uncertainties. This experiment-provisionally titled the stratospheric controlled perturbation experiment-is under development and will only proceed with transparent and predominantly governmental funding and independent risk assessment. We describe the scientific and technical foundation for performing, under external oversight, small-scale experiments to quantify the risks posed by SRM to activation of halogen species and subsequent erosion of stratospheric ozone. The paper's scope includes selection of the measurement platform, relevant aspects of stratospheric meteorology, operational considerations and instrument design and engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- John A Dykema
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, One Brattle Square, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - David W Keith
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, One Brattle Square, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Harvard Kennedy School and School of Engineering and Applied Science, Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - James G Anderson
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, One Brattle Square, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Mallinckrodt Link Building, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Debra Weisenstein
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, One Brattle Square, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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Wang T, Dessler AE. Analysis of cirrus in the tropical tropopause layer from CALIPSO and MLS data: A water perspective. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/2011jd016442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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