HR: 0800h
AN: A51A-0748    [Abstracts]
TI: Prolonged stratospheric warming in the 2003-2004 winter and its relation to interannual variability
AU: * Sabutis, J L
EM: jsabutis@countcrow.nmhu.edu
AF: New Mexico Highlands University, School of Education and Dept of Mathematical Sciences, Las Vegas, NM 87701
AU: Manney, G L
EM: manney@mls.jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, M/S 183-701, Pasadena, CA 91109
AU: Manney, G L
EM: manney@mls.jpl.nasa.gov
AF: New Mexico Highlands University, Dept of Natural Sciences, Las Vegas, NM 87701
AU: Krueger, K
EM: kkrueger@awi-potsdam.de
AF: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, P.O. Box 60 01 49 Telegrafenberg A43, Potsdam, 14401 Germany
AU: Sena, S
EM: amina@weasel.nmhu.edu
AF: New Mexico Highlands University, Dept of Natural Sciences, Las Vegas, NM 87701
AU: Pawson, S
EM: pawson@gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Global Modeling and Assimilation Office Code 900.3, Greenbelt, MD 20771
AB: The 2003-2004 Arctic winter was remarkable in the approximately 50-year record of meteorological analyses. A major warming beginning in early January 2004 led to nearly two months of vortex disruption with high-latitude easterlies in the middle to lower stratosphere. We show the unique characteristics of vortex evolution and wave propagation during the warming period in 2003-2004 in comparison with previous years. Examination of past variability shows that the recent frequency of major stratospheric warmings (seven in the past six years) is unprecedented, and lower stratospheric temperatures were unusually high during six of the past seven years. This recent cluster of warm winters is examined in relation to the historical record, with attention to the evolution of winds, temperatures and wave propagation. Possible implications for changes in interannual variability and for determination and attribution of trends are discussed.
DE: 3334 Middle atmosphere dynamics (0341, 0342)
DE: 1610 Atmosphere (0315, 0325)
DE: 0341 Middle atmosphere--constituent transport and chemistry (3334)
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting