Biases of Global Tropopause Altitude Products in Reanalyses and Implications for Estimates of Tropospheric Column Ozone

Abstract

Accuracy of global tropopause altitude products from reanalyses is important to applications of the products, including the derivation of tropospheric column ozone (TCO). Here, monthly biases in lapse-rate tropopause pressure (PLRT) in two reanalyses, NCEP/NCAR and MERRA-2, and associated implications for estimating TCO are examined, based on global radiosonde observations over 1980–2017 at 689 stations. Our analysis suggests that the global mean PLRT is underestimated by −2.3 hPa in NCEP/NCAR and by −0.9 hPa in MERRA-2, mainly attributable to large negative biases around the subtropics (~20°–50°) in both hemispheres, with generally positive biases at other latitudes. Overall, NCEP/NCAR outperforms MERRA-2 in the Northern Hemisphere but underperforms MERRA-2 in the Southern Hemisphere. PLRT biases in the two reanalyses vary more evidently with latitude than with longitude. From winter to summer, the peaks of negative PLRT biases around the subtropics shift poleward by ~10°. Approximately, 70% of the reanalysis PLRT biases are within −10–10 hPa. Consequently, a negative (positive) PLRT bias induces a positive (negative) TCO bias. In absolute magnitude, the mean ozonesonde TCO bias attributable to PLRT biases is ~0.2, ~0.8 and ~1.2 Dobson Units (DU) if a PLRT bias is within 0–5, 10–15, and 10–15 hPa. Using a global ozone climatology, we estimate that the global mean bias in TCO induced by the PLRT biases in both reanalyses is positive, being 0.64 DU (or 2.2%) for NCEP/NCAR and 0.28 DU (or 1.1%) for MERRA-2.

Keywords

• tropopause
• reanalysis
• ozone