RT Journal Article
T1 Linking air stagnation in Europe with the synoptic- to large-scale atmospheric circulation
A1 Maddison, Jacob William
A1 Ábalos Álvarez, Marta
A1 Barriopedro Cepero, David
A1 García Herrera, Ricardo Francisco
A1 Garrido Pérez, José Manuel
A1 Ordóñez García, Carlos
AB The build-up of pollutants to harmful levels can occur when meteorological conditions favour their production or accumulation near the surface. Such conditions can arise when a region experiences air stagnation. The link between European air stagnation, air pollution and the synoptic- to large-scale circulation is investigated in this article across all seasons and the 1979–2018 period. Dynamical indices identifying atmospheric blocking, Rossby wave breaking, subtropical ridges, and the North Atlantic eddy-driven and subtropical jets are used to describe the synoptic- to large-scale circulation as predictors in statistical models of air stagnation and pollutant variability. It is found that the large-scale circulation can explain approximately 60 % of the variance in monthly air stagnation, ozone and wintertime particulate matter (PM) in five distinct regions within Europe. The variance explained by the model does not vary strongly across regions and seasons, apart from for PM when the skill is highest in winter. However, the dynamical indices most related to air stagnation do depend on region and season. The blocking and Rossby wave breaking predictors tend to be the most important for describing air stagnation and pollutant variability in northern regions, whereas ridges and the subtropical jet are more important to the south. The demonstrated correspondence between air stagnation, pollution and the large-scale circulation can be used to assess the representation of stagnation in climate models, which is key for understanding how air stagnation and its associated climatic impacts may change in the future.
PB Copernicus Publications
SN 2698-4024
YR 2021
FD 2021-08-03
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/91027
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/91027
LA eng
NO Maddison, J. W., Abalos, M., Barriopedro, D., García-Herrera, R., Garrido-Perez, J. M., and Ordóñez, C.: Linking air stagnation in Europe with the synoptic- to large-scale atmospheric circulation, Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 675–694, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-675-2021, 2021.
NO Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad
NO Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
NO Comunidad de Madrid
NO Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
DS Docta Complutense
RD 6 oct 2024