* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Meteorology of the stratosphere - University of Reading, Meteorology
Soon and Baliunas controversy wikipedia , lookup
ExxonMobil climate change controversy wikipedia , lookup
Michael E. Mann wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on human health wikipedia , lookup
Heaven and Earth (book) wikipedia , lookup
Climate change denial wikipedia , lookup
Citizens' Climate Lobby wikipedia , lookup
Global warming controversy wikipedia , lookup
Climate engineering wikipedia , lookup
Climate change adaptation wikipedia , lookup
Economics of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Climatic Research Unit documents wikipedia , lookup
Climate governance wikipedia , lookup
Climate change in Tuvalu wikipedia , lookup
Global warming hiatus wikipedia , lookup
Climate sensitivity wikipedia , lookup
Instrumental temperature record wikipedia , lookup
Climate change and agriculture wikipedia , lookup
General circulation model wikipedia , lookup
Climate change feedback wikipedia , lookup
Fred Singer wikipedia , lookup
Global warming wikipedia , lookup
Media coverage of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Politics of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Climate change and poverty wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on humans wikipedia , lookup
Scientific opinion on climate change wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on Australia wikipedia , lookup
Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment wikipedia , lookup
Physical impacts of climate change wikipedia , lookup
Years of Living Dangerously wikipedia , lookup
Surveys of scientists' views on climate change wikipedia , lookup
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report wikipedia , lookup
Climate change, industry and society wikipedia , lookup
Public opinion on global warming wikipedia , lookup
1st SPARC / Stratospheric Network for the Assessment of Predictability (SNAP) Workshop, 24-26 April 2013, Reading, England, UK Meteorology of the stratosphere Younis AL-Fenadi Libyan National Meteorological Centre (LNMC) Tripoli – Libya [email protected] I. Objective The stratosphere is one of the five Earth’s atmosphere layers. It has received little attention till the early eighties when the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), along with bromine compounds, and supersonic jet airliners have been uncertainly identified as being responsible for most of the anthropogenic destruction of stratospheric ozone (O3) depletion issue occurred as a global environmental threat. This work will show some of the stratosphere characteristics and trace its development, its role in atmospheric thermodynamics and impact on climate change. Furthermore, it may propose some actions to build a scientific group or network for further research on the stratosphere. II. Characteristics of the stratosphere The stratosphere is the second layer, above the troposphere and below the mesosphere as one moves upward from the surface of the Earth. Its altitude varies with latitude and climatic seasons with an approximately width of 35 km in average, ranges between its bottom around 16 km (10 miles) above Earth's surface near the equator, around 10 km (6 miles) at mid-latitudes, and around 8 km (5 miles) near the poles. The stratosphere is slightly lower in winter at mid- and high-latitudes, and slightly higher in summer. The boundary between the stratosphere and the troposphere is called the tropopause (dT/dz = 0), while the boundary between the stratosphere and the mesosphere above is called the stratopause. The top of the stratosphere occurs at 50 km (31 miles) altitude. 1 Print to PDF without this message by purchasing novaPDF (http://www.novapdf.com/) IV. The Ozone layer The stratosphere contains a thin layer of ozone molecules (with three oxygen atoms) which forms a protective layer shielding life on Earth from the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. But this ozone layer which forms 90% of ozone is being depleted, and is getting thinner over Europe, Asia, North American and Antarctica. The IPCC assessment reports attribute this depletion to CFCs and other GHGs. V. Meteorology of the stratosphere The dynamics and interactions between the stratosphere and troposphere represented in the mean zonal flow may called Troposphere –StratosphereTroposphere (TST) circulation. The causes of TST events that observed to propagate downward from the stratosphere into the troposphere are planetary waves dissipate, and mix potential vorticity in the stratosphere which result a mean flow. Many studies recommend further work to understand the stratosphere troposphere coupling and strongly believe it needs to be given much more attention considering its importance due to: 1 - the IPCC scenarios of precipitation and temperature patterns changes in many regions of the world and its impact on the global weather and climate, 2 - the climate change studies on the role of stratosphere circulations in determining the distribution variability of ozone. And the effect of human pollutions on the ozone layer, 3 - the fact that stratospheric circulation could play a significant role in future climate change in the extra tropics and 4 - the stratosphere and troposphere dynamical interactions. VI. Stratosphere and climate change The variations of ozone concentration in the stratosphere have certain chemical and environmental effects on global warming; climate variability appears in wind and rainfall fluctuations, and climate change scenarios projected by global and regional prediction models. The reduction and 2 Print to PDF without this message by purchasing novaPDF (http://www.novapdf.com/) decrease of ozone in the stratosphere causes an increase of UV-B radiation to the troposphere which may lead to harm health disease and its severe circumstances. 3 Print to PDF without this message by purchasing novaPDF (http://www.novapdf.com/)