Stratospheric water vapor affecting atmospheric circulation

Edward Charlesworth (), Felix Plöger, Thomas Birner, Rasul Baikhadzhaev, Marta Abalos, Nathan Luke Abraham, Hideharu Akiyoshi, Slimane Bekki, Fraser Dennison, Patrick Jöckel, James Keeble, Doug Kinnison, Olaf Morgenstern, David Plummer, Eugene Rozanov, Sarah Strode, Guang Zeng, Tatiana Egorova and Martin Riese
Additional contact information
Edward Charlesworth: Research Center Jülich
Felix Plöger: Research Center Jülich
Thomas Birner: Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
Rasul Baikhadzhaev: Research Center Jülich
Marta Abalos: Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Nathan Luke Abraham: University of Cambridge
Hideharu Akiyoshi: National Institute for Environmental Studies
Slimane Bekki: Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD/IPSL)
Fraser Dennison: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Environment
Patrick Jöckel: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
James Keeble: University of Cambridge
Doug Kinnison: National Center for Atmospheric Research
Olaf Morgenstern: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
David Plummer: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Eugene Rozanov: Davos World Radiation Center
Sarah Strode: Morgan State University
Guang Zeng: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
Tatiana Egorova: Davos World Radiation Center
Martin Riese: Research Center Jülich

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Water vapor plays an important role in many aspects of the climate system, by affecting radiation, cloud formation, atmospheric chemistry and dynamics. Even the low stratospheric water vapor content provides an important climate feedback, but current climate models show a substantial moist bias in the lowermost stratosphere. Here we report crucial sensitivity of the atmospheric circulation in the stratosphere and troposphere to the abundance of water vapor in the lowermost stratosphere. We show from a mechanistic climate model experiment and inter-model variability that lowermost stratospheric water vapor decreases local temperatures, and thereby causes an upward and poleward shift of subtropical jets, a strengthening of the stratospheric circulation, a poleward shift of the tropospheric eddy-driven jet and regional climate impacts. The mechanistic model experiment in combination with atmospheric observations further shows that the prevailing moist bias in current models is likely caused by the transport scheme, and can be alleviated by employing a less diffusive Lagrangian scheme. The related effects on atmospheric circulation are of similar magnitude as climate change effects. Hence, lowermost stratospheric water vapor exerts a first order effect on atmospheric circulation and improving its representation in models offers promising prospects for future research.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39559-2

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