Open AccessAccuracy of analyzed stratospheric temperatures in the winter Arctic vortex from infrared Montgolfier long‐duration balloon flights 2. Results
Author(s) -
Knudsen B. M.,
Pommereau J.P.,
Garnier A.,
NunesPinharanda M.,
Denis L.,
Newman P.,
Letrenne G.,
Durand M.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2001jd001329
Subject(s) - stratosphere , environmental science , depth sounding , polar vortex , climatology , data assimilation , arctic , atmospheric sciences , radiosonde , standard deviation , microwave limb sounder , meteorology , the arctic , atmospheric sounding , geology , physics , oceanography , statistics , mathematics
Five long‐duration flights with the Mongolfier infrared (MIR) balloon lasting 15 days, on average, have been conducted in the Arctic winter stratospheric vortex in 1997, 1999, and 2000. Temperatures from the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Met Office (MO), National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), Data Assimilation Office (DAO), and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis (REA) have been compared to the observations from 4 to 146 hPa. Occasional large errors (>14 K) occur in each analysis, mainly above 30 hPa. In 2000 the standard deviations of ECMWF, MO, and DAO with respect to the measured temperatures range from 1.0 to 1.3 K, whereas NCEP and REA have substantially larger errors. In 1999 the flights took place during a major warming, and all operational models had large standard deviations and substantial biases. Preoperational versions of the new ECMWF model with increased stratospheric resolution and assimilation of the advanced microwave sounding unit, which none of the other models assimilated, show small biases and standard deviations.