An analytic examination of the effect of the stratosphere on surface climate through the method of piecewise potential vorticity inversion

Abstract

An analytic study was performed to examine the effect of the stratosphere on the surface of the earth. The method of piecewise potential vorticity inversion was employed in the diagnosis of the magnitude of and dynamics behind the stratosphere-surface link in both the transient and stationary cases. The potential vorticity inversion results in both the transient and stationary models indicated that the stratosphere possesses a significant effect at the surface of the earth. It was determined that, compared to the stratosphere as a whole, it was primarily the lower stratosphere that had the most significant impact at the surface of the earth. The results of this analytic study therefore indicate that in modeling the surface of the earth, the dynamics detailed here between the lower stratosphere and surface must be included for the modeled surface weather or climate simulations to be accurate.