EGU22-9823
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-9823
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Observational evidence of large changes of Earth's atmospheric thermal structure in the 21st century

Florian Ladstädter1, Andrea K. Steiner1, and Hans Gleisner2
Florian Ladstädter et al.
  • 1Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
  • 2Danish Meteorological Institute, Lyngbyvej 100, Copenhagen, Denmark

Historically, retrieving the detailed structure of atmospheric temperature trends from observations has been demanding. For decades, observations of upper-air temperature have either lacked the necessary vertical resolution, or the horizontal coverage. This has resulted in limited knowledge about the important transition zone around the tropopause. Recent advances in satellite measurement techniques provide new insight into the thermal structure of the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere region. This is a prerequisite for understanding the complex processes of this part of the atmosphere. With unprecedented resolution, latest climate observations from GPS Radio Occultation satellites reveal a significant warming of the atmosphere. The tropical upper troposphere has already warmed about 1 K in the 21st century alone, and the stratospheric trend structure indicates a possible change in stratospheric circulation.

How to cite: Ladstädter, F., Steiner, A. K., and Gleisner, H.: Observational evidence of large changes of Earth's atmospheric thermal structure in the 21st century, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-9823, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-9823, 2022.