Enhanced Mid-Latitude Tropospheric Warming in Satellite Measurements
Qiang Fu,1,2*
Celeste M. Johanson,1
John M. Wallace,1
Thomas Reichler3
The spatial distribution of tropospheric and stratospheric temperature trends for 1979 to 2005 was examined, based on radiances from satellite-borne microwave sounding units that were processed with state-of-the-art retrieval algorithms. We found that relative to the global-mean trends of the respective layers, both hemispheres have experienced enhanced tropospheric warming and stratospheric cooling in the 15 to 45° latitude belt, which is a pattern indicative of a widening of the tropical circulation and a poleward shift of the tropospheric jet streams and their associated subtropical dry zones. This distinctive spatial pattern in the trends appears to be a robust feature of this 27-year record.
1 Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
2 College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730000, China.
3 Department of Meteorology, University of Utah, 135 S 1460 E, Room 819 (WBB), Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0110, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: qfu{at}atmos.washington.edu
