Evaluating Long-Term Variability of the Arctic Stratospheric Polar Vortex Simulated by CMIP6 Models

The Arctic stratospheric polar vortex is a key component of the climate system, which has significant impacts on surface temperatures in the mid-latitudes and polar regions. Therefore, understanding polar vortex variability is helpful for extended-range weather forecasting. The present study evaluates long-term changes in the position and strength of the polar vortex in the Arctic lower stratosphere during the winters from 1980/81 to 2013/14. Simulations of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models are compared with Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 (MERRA2) reanalysis dataset. Overall, the CMIP6 models well capture the spatial characteristics of the polar vortex with spatial correlation coefficients between the potential vorticity (PV) in the lower stratosphere from simulations and MERRA2 products generally greater than 0.85 for all CMIP6 models during winter. There is a good agreement in the position and shape of the polar vortex between the CMIP6 multi-model mean and MERRA2, although there exist differences between simulations of individual CMIP6 models. However, most CMIP6 models underestimate the strength of polar vortex in the lower stratosphere, with the largest negative bias up to about -20%. The present study further reveals that there is an anticorrelation between the polar vortex strength bias and area bias simulated by CMIP6 models. In addition, there is a positive correlation between the trend of EP-flux divergence for wavenumber one accumulated in early winter and the trend in zonal mean zonal wind averaged in late winter. As for the long-term change in polar vortex position, CanESM5, IPSL-CM5A2-INCA, UKESM1-0-LL, and IPSL-CM6A-LR well capture the persistent shift of polar vortex towards the Eurasian continent and away from North America in February, which has been reported in observations. These models reproduce the positive trend of wavenumber-1 planetary waves since the 1980s seen in the MERRA2 dataset. This suggests that realistic wave activity processes in CMIP6 models play a key role not only in the simulation of the strength of the stratospheric polar vortex but also in the simulation of the polar vortex position shift.

Automated summary

The present study evaluates the long-term changes in the position and strength of the Arctic stratospheric polar vortex and compares simulations from CMIP6 models with the MERRA2 reanalysis dataset. The results show that while the CMIP6 models capture the spatial characteristics of the polar vortex well, they tend to underestimate its strength. The study also reveals an anticorrelation between the strength bias and area bias simulated by the CMIP6 models.