Abstract
The behavior of the Brewer-Dobson circulation is investigated using a suite of global climate model simulations with different forcing agents, in conjunction with observation-based analysis. We find that the variations in the Brewer-Dobson circulation are strongly correlated with those in the tropical mean surface temperature through changes in the upper tropospheric temperature and zonal winds. This correlation is seen on both interannual and multidecadal time scales, and holds for natural and forced variations alike. The circulation change is relatively insensitive to the spatial pattern of the forcings. Consistent changes in the Brewer-Dobson circulation with respect to those in the tropical mean surface temperature prevail across time scales and forcings, and constitute an important attribution element of the atmospheric adjustment to global climate change.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 941-948 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 16 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Geophysics
- General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Keywords
- climate change
- natural variability
- stratospheric circulation