Modeled impacts of stratospheric ozone and water vapor perturbations with implications for high-speed civil transport aircraft

Journal Article · Thu Apr 20 04:00:00 EDT 1995 · Journal of Geophysical Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/95JD00196· OSTI ID:166245

Rind, D; Lonergan, P ^[1]

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1. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, New York, NY (United States)

Ozone and water vapor perturbations are explored in a series of experiments with the Goddard Institute for Space Studies climate/middle atmosphere model. Large perturbations, and realistic perturbations, to stratospheric ozone and water vapor are investigated, with and without allowing sea surface temperatures to change, to illuminate the nature of the dynamic and climatic impact. Removing ozone in the lower stratosphere without allowing sea surface temperatures to change results in in situ cooling of up to 10{degrees}C in the tropical lower stratosphere, with radiative warming about half as large in the middle stratosphere. The temperature changes induce increases in tropospheric and lower stratospheric eddy energy and in the lower stratosphere residual circulation of the order of 10%. When sea surface temperatures are allowed to respond to this forcing, the global, annual-average surface air temperature cools by about 1{degrees}C as a result of the decreased ozone greenhouse capacity, reduced tropospheric water vapor, and increased cloud cover. For more realistic ozone changes, as defined in the High-Speed Research Program/Atmospheric Effects of Stratospheric Aircraft reports, the stratosphere generally cools by a few tenths degrees Celsius. In this case, the surface air temperature change is not significant, due to the conflicting influences of stratospheric ozone reduction and tropospheric ozone increase, although high-latitude cooling of close to 0.5{degrees}C does occur consistently. With a more realistic increase of stratospheric water vapor of 7%, the middle atmosphere cools by 0.5{degrees}C or less, and the surface temperature change is neither significant nor consistent. Overall, the experiments emphasize that stratospheric changes affect tropospheric dynamics, and that tropospheric feedback processes and natural variability are important when assessing the climatic response to aircraft emissions. 21 refs., 20 figs., 3 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 166245
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research Journal Issue: D4 Vol. 100; ISSN JGREA2; ISSN 0148-0227
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIRCRAFT
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
DISTURBANCES
EARTH PLANET
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
EXHAUST GASES
OZONE
STRATOSPHERE
WATER VAPOR