Science Update: Sensitivity of Northern Hemispheric winter warming patterns to ozone climatology

In a new JGR article, S. Muthers and co-authors investigate the impact of different ozone climatologies on the dynamic response to large tropical eruptions. Ensemble sensitivity experiments with a coupled ocean-atmosphere model are perturbed with a single Tambora-like eruption. They find that larger meridional gradients in lower stratospheric ozone favour the coupling of zonal wind anomalies between the stratosphere and troposphere after the eruption. Associated sea level pressure, temperature, and precipitation patterns are more pronounced and the Northern Hemisphere winter warming is significant. Results also indicate that there is a non-linear response of the dynamics to the ozone and volcanic forcings. The full abstract can be found here.