Stratospheric transport, and in particular barriers to transport, largely determines the distribution of radiatively active gases (e.g. ozone) and hence their fingerprint on the warming of the atmosphere. These processes are often not well simulated in atmosphere-ocean global climate models. This year, hundreds of long-duration stratospheric balloons will be flown by Google to provide internet access to remote locations (see here - opens in new window) . Bodeker Scientific is using using Loon balloon position data to reveal in unprecedented detail the transport processes, and small-scale turbulent diffusion processes, active in the southern high latitude stratosphere. Our research will add to fundamental understanding of stratospheric dynamics and its role in climate. This is a small (1 year) research project funded through the New Zealand Antarctic Research Institute. The main purpose of this project is to analyse an unprecedented database of stratospheric air parcel trajectories obtained from a suite of many hundreds (eventually many thousands) of stratospheric long-duration balloons to identify, describe, and better understand large-scale transport processes and small-scale turbulent diffusion processes that drive irreversible mixing of air masses in the stratosphere. Transport processes are resolved by current models (e.g. 0.5°×0.5° model grids) and are therefore also resolved in reanalyses which assimilate available observations into these models. On the other hand, small-scale turbulent diffusion processes, and other processes smaller than the grid resolution such as gravity waves, are not resolved at current model resolution and must be parameterized. Improved understanding of these processes is the foundation for better simulating the morphology of fields of radiatively active gases and their fingerprint on the climate system. In undertaking this project we expect to: we expect to:
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