Impacts of the North Atlantic biases on the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere over the extratropical North Pacific

Abstract

The winter upper troposphere/lower stratosphere temperature/vertical motion response over the extratropical North Pacific induced by North Atlantic changes is not well understood. Here, using robust diagnostic calculations conducted in a fully coupled high-resolution climate model, we correct the North Atlantic ocean circulation biases and show that during wintertime, the North Atlantic cold surface temperature biases lead to a warmer upper troposphere/lower stratosphere over the extratropical North Pacific. In the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere over the extratropical North Pacific, this winter warming temperature response is linked to the vertical motion response through a simple leading order thermodynamic relationship between changes in the horizontal advection and adiabatic heating. The upper troposphere/lower stratosphere vertical motion response, which is also associated with the North Atlantic induced Walker circulation response over the tropical North Pacific, can provide a rough estimation of the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere warming response over the extratropical North Pacific.