The Troposphere-to-Stratosphere Transport Caused by a Rossby Wave Breaking Event over the Tibetan Plateau in Mid-March 2006

Based on reanalysis data, satellite ozone concentration observations, and a Lagrangian trajectory simulation, a Rossby wave breaking (RWB) event and its effect on stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) over the Tibetan Plateau in mid-March 2006 were investigated. Results showed that the increased eddy heat flux from the subtropical westerly jet magnified the amplitude of the Rossby wave, which contributed to the occurrence of the cyclonic RWB event. The quasi-horizontal cyclonic motion of the isentropic potential vorticity in the RWB cut the tropical tropospheric air mass into the extratropical stratosphere, completing the stratosphere-troposphere mass exchange. Meanwhile, the tropopause folding zone extended polewards by 10 degrees of latitude and the tropospheric air mass escaped from the tropical tropopause layer into the extratropical stratosphere through the tropopause folding zone. The particles in the troposphere-to-stratosphere transport (TST) pathway migrated both eastwards and polewards in the horizontal direction, and shifted upwards in the vertical direction. Eventually, the mass of the TST particles reached about 3.8 x 10(14) kg, accounting for 42.2% of the particles near the tropopause in the RWB event. The rest of the particles remained in the troposphere, where they moved eastwards rapidly along the westerly jet and slid down in the downstream upper frontal zone.

Automated summary

This study investigated a Rossby wave breaking (RWB) event and its impact on stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) over the Tibetan Plateau in mid-March 2006, using reanalysis data, satellite observations of ozone concentration, and a Lagrangian trajectory simulation. The results showed that the amplified amplitude of the Rossby wave due to increased eddy heat flux from the subtropical westerly jet contributed to the occurrence of the cyclonic RWB event. The cyclonic motion of the isentropic potential vorticity cut the tropical tropospheric air mass into the extratropical stratosphere, completing the stratosphere-troposphere mass exchange.