Signatures of the Sudden Stratospheric Warming events of January–February 2008 in Seoul, S. Korea

Abstract

The period January–February 2008 was characterized by four Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSWs) in the Northern Hemisphere, of which the last warming, at the end of February 2008, was a major warming. A significant decrease in mesospheric water vapour (H 2O) of more than 2 ppmv (∼40%) was observed by the ground-based microwave (GBMW) radiometer in Seoul, S. Korea [37.3°N, 126.3°E] during the major SSW. A comparison with ground-based mesospheric H 2O observations from the mid-latitude station in Bern [46.9°N, 7°E] revealed an anticorrelation in the mesospheric H 2O data during the major SSW. In addition, prior to the major warming, strong periodic fluctuations were recorded in the Aura MLS vertical temperature distribution between 15 and 0.05 hPa at Seoul. The mesospheric temperature oscillation was found to have a period of ∼10–14 days with a persistency of 3–4 cycles. The observed anticorrelation in mesospheric H 2O between the stations in Seoul and Bern is associated with an increased meridional flow. Trajectory calculations give evidence that H 2O-rich subtropical air had moved to Bern during the major SSW while H 2O-poor polar air was transported to Seoul. The results shown in this study are a possible indication of a strong coupling between the dynamic regimes of the low- and the high-latitude regions during SSWs.