"Stratospheric circulation" refers to the movement of air in the stratosphere, which is the layer of the Earth's atmosphere located above the troposphere. It describes how air currents and winds in the stratosphere interact and circulate around the planet.
Full definition
Lukovich and Barber: The results from an investigation
of stratospheric circulation in winter and spring, and comparison of summertime surface winds and SLP with vortex splitting and minima in sea ice extent composites suggested that the September, 2009 ice extent would be comparable to or less than the September ice extent minimum in 2008, based on dynamic considerations.
While ozone - depleting chemicals are still playing a role, natural factors, such
as stratospheric circulation, also helped drive this year's widespread thinning.
If the aerosols get concentrated in polar subsiding zones due to some
unexpected stratospheric circulation — much as Titan's haze congregates at the pole — that could be bad news regionally for the Nordic countries, I suppose.
Under these circumstances, the reduced vertical stability in the N.H. helps generate increased wave energy that results in a very
different stratospheric circulation and height / pressure response pattern.
Studies using GCMs concur that STE should increase in the future climate because of the stronger Brewer -
Dobson stratospheric circulation (Sudo et al., 2002a; Collins et al., 2003; Zeng and Pyle, 2003; Hauglustaine et al., 2005; Stevenson et al., 2006)(errata).
In a study published in Nature Geoscience this week (subscription), Michaela Hegglin and Theodore Sheperd at the University of Toronto used the Canadian Middle Atomosphere Model, which fully
resolves stratospheric circulation, to project ozone changes under the IPCC's medium - emissions A1B scenario.
Despite having little effect on global mean warming, we show that downward coupling of
observed stratospheric circulation changes to the surface can account for the majority of change in regional surface climate over Europe and North America between 1965 and 1995.
A negative anomaly in Arctic stratospheric ozone cools the stratosphere in the region, strengthening
the stratospheric circulation.
When the Arctic stratospheric ozone falls, the lower stratosphere in the Arctic cools, the researchers believe, boosting the southerly temperature gradient and, in turn, strengthening
the stratospheric circulation.
This wave energy propagates up into the S.H. stratosphere and intensifies
the stratospheric circulation.
This version is a complete rewrite of previous models incorporating numerous improvements in basic physics,
the stratospheric circulation and forcing fields.
«The weakening and strengthening of
the stratospheric circulation seems to correspond with changes in ocean circulation in the North Atlantic,» Reichler says.
Similarly, increased carbon dioxide in the stratosphere has led to gradual cooling conditions, which affects the UV influence on
the stratospheric circulation.