Abstract
Role of ozone in the solar cycle modulation of the North Atlantic Oscillation
Climate Research Department, Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan
Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
Climate Research Department, Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan
The effect of ozone on the 11-year solar cycle modulation of the winter-mean North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is examined through analyses of observed meteorological and ozone data from 1978 to 2000. It is found that a significant ozone anomaly associated with the winter NAO is created in winter in high solar (HS) years only and the anomaly persists from spring to summer, creating a large temperature anomaly in the lower stratosphere through radiative heating. Such a temperature anomaly in the stratosphere creates anomalous temperature of opposite sign at lower heights and anomalous zonal wind in the polar area of the troposphere in summer. The associated surface signal is very similar to the summer Arctic Oscillation (Summer-AO). The mechanism for the formation of the Summer-AO is also discussed.
Received 30 August 2007; accepted 15 February 2008; published 26 July 2008.
Citation: (2008), Role of ozone in the solar cycle modulation of the North Atlantic Oscillation, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D14122, doi:10.1029/2007JD009336.
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