Visualizing the QBO

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Visualizing the QBO

• Jon Schrage
• ATS 553

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Quasibiennial Oscillation

• Occurs in the tropical stratosphere
• Only the zonal component of the wind

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From Climate Diagnostics Bulletin
http//www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_mon
itoring/bulletin/figt3.html
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QBO

• Period 26 months
• These anomalies propagate downward at about 1 km
  / month

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http//tao.atmos.washington.edu/data_sets/qbo/
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Stratosphere
30mb
100mb
Tropopause
Troposphere
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(No Transcript)
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QBO

• Limited to the deep tropics
• Not a function of latitude
• Suggests that it might be a type of Kelvin Wave

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However

• Climate models are NOT able to produce a QBO,
  despite the fact that models are good at making
  Kelvin Waves.

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Current Thinking

• The radiative impacts of ozone are important in
  maintaining the Kelvin Wave.

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Why We Care

• May have impacts and implications for long range
  forecasting.
• Has an influence on tropical cyclogenesis and is
  used by Bill Gray in his forecasts.