Robust response of the Amundsen Sea Low to stratospheric ozone depletion

Abstract The effect of stratospheric ozone depletion on the Amundsen Sea Low (ASL), a climatological low‐pressure center important for the climate of West Antarctica, remains uncertain. Using state‐of‐the‐art climate models, we here show that stratospheric ozone depletion can cause a statistically s...

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Main Authors: Mark R. England, Lorenzo M. Polvani, Karen L. Smith, Laura Landrum, Marika M. Holland
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-08-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070055
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author Mark R. England
Lorenzo M. Polvani
Karen L. Smith
Laura Landrum
Marika M. Holland
author_facet Mark R. England
Lorenzo M. Polvani
Karen L. Smith
Laura Landrum
Marika M. Holland
author_sort Mark R. England
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The effect of stratospheric ozone depletion on the Amundsen Sea Low (ASL), a climatological low‐pressure center important for the climate of West Antarctica, remains uncertain. Using state‐of‐the‐art climate models, we here show that stratospheric ozone depletion can cause a statistically significant deepening of the ASL in summer with an amplitude of approximately 1 hPa per decade. We are able to attribute the modeled changes in the ASL to stratospheric ozone depletion by contrasting ensembles of historical integrations with and without a realistic ozone hole. In the presence of very large natural variability, the robustness of the ozone impact on the ASL is established by (1) examining ensembles of model runs to isolate the forced response, (2) repeating the analysis with two different climate models, and (3) considering the entire period of stratospheric ozone depletion, the beginning of which predates the satellite era by a couple of decades.
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institution Kabale University
issn 0094-8276
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publishDate 2016-08-01
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-c0519e7ccb63447da1ae5d641c3a91f12025-08-20T03:49:41ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072016-08-0143158207821310.1002/2016GL070055Robust response of the Amundsen Sea Low to stratospheric ozone depletionMark R. England0Lorenzo M. Polvani1Karen L. Smith2Laura Landrum3Marika M. Holland4Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics Columbia University New York New York USADepartment of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics Columbia University New York New York USADepartment of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics Columbia University New York New York USANational Centre for Atmospheric Research Boulder Colorado USANational Centre for Atmospheric Research Boulder Colorado USAAbstract The effect of stratospheric ozone depletion on the Amundsen Sea Low (ASL), a climatological low‐pressure center important for the climate of West Antarctica, remains uncertain. Using state‐of‐the‐art climate models, we here show that stratospheric ozone depletion can cause a statistically significant deepening of the ASL in summer with an amplitude of approximately 1 hPa per decade. We are able to attribute the modeled changes in the ASL to stratospheric ozone depletion by contrasting ensembles of historical integrations with and without a realistic ozone hole. In the presence of very large natural variability, the robustness of the ozone impact on the ASL is established by (1) examining ensembles of model runs to isolate the forced response, (2) repeating the analysis with two different climate models, and (3) considering the entire period of stratospheric ozone depletion, the beginning of which predates the satellite era by a couple of decades.https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070055stratospheric ozone depletionWest AntarcticaAmundsen Sea Lowozone hole
spellingShingle Mark R. England
Lorenzo M. Polvani
Karen L. Smith
Laura Landrum
Marika M. Holland
Robust response of the Amundsen Sea Low to stratospheric ozone depletion
Geophysical Research Letters
stratospheric ozone depletion
West Antarctica
Amundsen Sea Low
ozone hole
title Robust response of the Amundsen Sea Low to stratospheric ozone depletion
title_full Robust response of the Amundsen Sea Low to stratospheric ozone depletion
title_fullStr Robust response of the Amundsen Sea Low to stratospheric ozone depletion
title_full_unstemmed Robust response of the Amundsen Sea Low to stratospheric ozone depletion
title_short Robust response of the Amundsen Sea Low to stratospheric ozone depletion
title_sort robust response of the amundsen sea low to stratospheric ozone depletion
topic stratospheric ozone depletion
West Antarctica
Amundsen Sea Low
ozone hole
url https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070055
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AT karenlsmith robustresponseoftheamundsensealowtostratosphericozonedepletion
AT lauralandrum robustresponseoftheamundsensealowtostratosphericozonedepletion
AT marikamholland robustresponseoftheamundsensealowtostratosphericozonedepletion