Collaborative Research: Kinematics of the Tropopause

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This is a collaborative project with Dr. Polvani of Columbia University (ATM-9970660). The principal investigators (PIs) will examine the kinematic transport of tracers across the tropopause in order to better understand the coupling between the stratosphere and troposphere. A key component of the study will be the development and testing of a numerical scheme, the so-called "surface advection" technique. This technique is a direct extension of "contour advection", a trajectory-following technique which has been used successfully by the PIs and others in examining the fine scale structure of atmospheric transport on quasi-horizontal surfaces. The new scheme will allow for the visualization and quantification of whole surfaces as they evolve in three-dimensional space. Using this new technique, the PIs will study tropopause folds with the goal of estimating the transport between the stratosphere and troposphere during these events.