Unexpected Global Structure of Quasi‐4‐Day Wave With Westward Zonal Wavenumber 2 During the February 2023 Unusual Major Sudden Stratospheric Warming With Elevated Stratopause

Abstract During February 2023, the quasi‐4‐day wave (Q4DW) with westward zonal wavenumber 2 (W2) reached its largest amplitude of ∼400 m in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) geopotential height observations since 2004, which occurred simultaneously with an Arctic major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW)...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yusong Qin, Sheng‐Yang Gu, Xiankang Dou, Yafei Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-07-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109682
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Summary:Abstract During February 2023, the quasi‐4‐day wave (Q4DW) with westward zonal wavenumber 2 (W2) reached its largest amplitude of ∼400 m in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) geopotential height observations since 2004, which occurred simultaneously with an Arctic major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) with an elevated stratopause (ES). However, the Q4DW‐W2 perturbations in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) were unexpectedly suppressed despite the unstable Arctic stratosphere and mesosphere during the 2023 ES‐SSW. Diagnostic analysis shows that the westward winds at ∼54°N–70°N in the upper stratosphere of ∼‐79 m/s during the 2023 ES‐SSW were the strongest during boreal winters over the past two decades, which benefited from the onset of a preceding minor SSW at the end of January. The strongest westward wind generated a wave geometry configuration of full reflection for Q4DW‐W2 in the NH, while the Q4DW‐W2 enhancement in the SH was induced by the in‐situ amplification of the surviving seeding perturbations.
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007