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In situ water vapor and ozone measurements in Lhasa and Kunming during the Asian summer monsoon
Author(s) -
Bian Jianchun,
Pan Laura L.,
Paulik Laura,
Vömel Holger,
Chen Hongbin,
Lu Daren
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2012gl052996
Subject(s) - anticyclone , stratosphere , water vapor , troposphere , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , climatology , quasi biennial oscillation , ozone , east asian monsoon , tropopause , altitude (triangle) , monsoon , meteorology , geology , geography , geometry , mathematics
The Asian summer monsoon (ASM) anticyclone circulation system is recognized to be a significant transport pathway for water vapor and pollutants to enter the stratosphere. The observational evidence, however, is largely based on satellite retrievals. We report the first coincident in situ measurements of water vapor and ozone within the ASM anticyclone. The combined water vapor and ozonesondes were launched from Kunming, China in August 2009 and Lhasa, China in August 2010. In total, 11 and 12 sondes were launched in Kunming and Lhasa, respectively. We present the key characteristics of these measurements, and provide a comparison to similar measurements from an equatorial tropical location, during the Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling (TC4) campaign in July and August of 2007. Results show that the ASM anticyclone region has higher water vapor and lower ozone concentrations in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere than the TC4 observations. The results also show that the cold point tropopause in the ASM region has a higher average height and potential temperature. The in situ observations therefore support the satellite‐based conclusion that the ASM is an effective transport pathway for water vapor to enter stratosphere.