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The sudden breakdown of an unusually strong cyclone in the stratosphere during winter 1988/89
Author(s) -
Fairlie T. D. A.,
O'Neill A.,
Pope V. D.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
quarterly journal of the royal meteorological society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.744
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1477-870X
pISSN - 0035-9009
DOI - 10.1002/qj.49711649312
Subject(s) - stratosphere , sudden stratospheric warming , anticyclone , polar vortex , troposphere , climatology , cyclogenesis , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , northern hemisphere , cyclone (programming language) , ozone depletion , geology , field programmable gate array , computer science , computer hardware
In February 1989, a dramatic major warming occurred in the stratosphere of the northern hemisphere after an unusually cold January. the stratospheric westerly vortex was split when an anticyclone developed over Europe, apparently in response to cyclogenesis upstream in the troposphere. At the peak of the warming, the circulation resembled that of the warming of February 1979, save for a rotation of flow patterns. Very low temperatures in the lower stratosphere before the warming indicate that polar stratospheric clouds were present, so that heterogeneous chemical reactions with the potential for ozone destruction may have taken place.