@article{KoehlerHandorfJaiseretal.2021,
  author    = {K{\"o}hler, Raphael H. and Handorf, D{\"o}rthe and Jaiser, Ralf and Dethloff, Klaus and Z{\"a}ngl, G{\"u}nther and Majewski, Detlev and Rex, Markus},
  title     = {Improved circulation in the Northern hemisphere by adjusting gravity wave drag parameterizations in seasonal experiments with ICON-NWP},
  series = {Earth and Space Science : ESS},
  volume    = {8},
  journal   = {Earth and Space Science : ESS},
  number    = {3},
  publisher = {American Geophysical Union},
  address   = {Malden, Mass.},
  issn      = {2333-5084},
  doi       = {10.1029/2021EA001676},
  pages     = {15},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {The stratosphere is one of the main potential sources for subseasonal to seasonal predictability in midlatitudes in winter. The ability of an atmospheric model to realistically simulate the stratospheric dynamics is essential in order to move forward in the field of seasonal predictions in midlatitudes. Earlier studies with the ICOsahedral Nonhydrostatic atmospheric model (ICON) point out that stratospheric westerlies in ICON are underestimated. This is the first extensive study on the evaluation of Northern Hemisphere stratospheric winter circulation with ICON in numerical weather prediction (NWP) mode. Seasonal experiments with the default setup are able to reproduce the basic climatology of the stratospheric polar vortex. However, westerlies are too weak and major stratospheric warmings too frequent in ICON. Both a reduction of the nonorographic, and a reduction of the orographic gravity wave and wake drag lead to a strengthening of the stratospheric vortex and a bias reduction, in particular in January. However, the effect of the nonorographic gravity wave drag scheme on the stratosphere is stronger. Stratosphere-troposphere coupling is intensified and more realistic due to a reduced gravity wave drag. Furthermore, an adjustment of the subgrid-scale orographic drag parameterization leads to a significant error reduction in the mean sea level pressure. As a result of these findings, we present our current suggested improved setup for seasonal experiments with ICON-NWP. <br /> Plain Language Summary Although seasonal forecasts for midlatitudes have the potential to be highly beneficial to the public sector, they are still characterized by a large amount of uncertainty. Exact simulations of the circulation in the stratosphere can help to improve tropospheric predictability on seasonal time scales. For this reason, we investigate how well the new German atmospheric model is able to simulate the stratospheric circulation. The model reproduces the basic behavior of the Northern Hemisphere stratospheric polar vortex, but the westerly circulation in winter is underestimated. The stratospheric circulation is influenced by gravity waves that exert drag on the flow. These processes are only partly physically represented in the model, but are very important and are hence parameterized. By adjusting the parameterizations for the gravity wave drag, the stratospheric polar vortex is strengthened, thereby yielding a more realistic stratospheric circulation. In addition, the altered parameterizations improve the simulated surface pressure pattern. Based upon this, we present our current suggested improved model setup for seasonal experiments.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{RomanowskyHandorfJaiseretal.2019,
  author    = {Romanowsky, Erik and Handorf, D{\"o}rthe and Jaiser, Ralf and Wohltmann, Ingo and Dorn, Wolfgang and Ukita, Jinro and Cohen, Judah and Dethloff, Klaus and Rex, Markus},
  title     = {The role of stratospheric ozone for Arctic-midlatitude linkages},
  series = {Scientific reports},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {Scientific reports},
  publisher = {Nature Publ. Group},
  address   = {London},
  issn      = {2045-2322},
  doi       = {10.1038/s41598-019-43823-1},
  pages     = {7},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Arctic warming was more pronounced than warming in midlatitudes in the last decades making this region a hotspot of climate change. Associated with this, a rapid decline of sea-ice extent and a decrease of its thickness has been observed. Sea-ice retreat allows for an increased transport of heat and momentum from the ocean up to the tropo- and stratosphere by enhanced upward propagation of planetary-scale atmospheric waves. In the upper atmosphere, these waves deposit the momentum transported, disturbing the stratospheric polar vortex, which can lead to a breakdown of this circulation with the potential to also significantly impact the troposphere in mid- to late-winter and early spring. Therefore, an accurate representation of stratospheric processes in climate models is necessary to improve the understanding of the impact of retreating sea ice on the atmospheric circulation. By modeling the atmospheric response to a prescribed decline in Arctic sea ice, we show that including interactive stratospheric ozone chemistry in atmospheric model calculations leads to an improvement in tropo-stratospheric interactions compared to simulations without interactive chemistry. This suggests that stratospheric ozone chemistry is important for the understanding of sea ice related impacts on atmospheric dynamics.},
  language  = {en}
}