Far‐ranging impact of mountain waves excited over Greenland on stratospheric dehydration and rehydration

In situ observations of reduced stratospheric water vapor combined with those of ice particle formation are rarely conducted. On the one hand, they are essential to broaden our knowledge about the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). On the other hand, the observed profiles allow the comparison with global circulation models. Here we report about a balloon-borne observation above Sodankyla, Finland on 26 January 2005. The frostpoint hygrometer detected layers of reduced water vapor by up to 2 ppmv from 18.5 to 23 km. Beneath, a 1-km-deep layer of increased water vapor was identified. An aerosol backscatter sonde measured the presence of stratospheric ice clouds. According to meteorological analysis the PSCs were formed upstream above the east coast of Greenland due to mountain wave-induced cooling. The inertia-gravity waves generated a large and persistent stratospheric wake far downstream of Greenland and led to the observed dehydration. Comparing the most recent ERA5 data with operational analyses from 2005, we find an improved representation of mesoscale internal gravity waves, dehydration and PSC formation for this particular event.

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Author Kivi, Rigel
Dörnbrack, Andreas
Sprenger, Michael
Vömel, Holger
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2020-09-27T00:00:00
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Topic Category geoscientificInformation
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Metadata Date 2023-08-18T18:10:37.091338
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:23707
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Kivi, Rigel, Dörnbrack, Andreas, Sprenger, Michael, Vömel, Holger. (2020). Far‐ranging impact of mountain waves excited over Greenland on stratospheric dehydration and rehydration. UCAR/NCAR - Library. http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7b85cf8. Accessed 11 February 2025.

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