Dynamics of stratospheric wave reflection over the North Pacific

Abstract

Stratospheric wave reflection events involve the upward propagation of planetary waves, which are subsequently reflected downward by the stratospheric polar vortex. This phenomenon establishes a connection between the large-scale circulations in the troposphere and in the stratosphere. Here, we investigate a set of wave reflection events characterized by an enhanced difference between poleward eddy heat flux over the northwestern Pacific and equatorward eddy heat flux over Canada. Previous research has pointed to a link between these events and anomalies in the tropospheric circulation over North America, with an associated abrupt continental-scale surface temperature decrease over the same region. In this study, we elucidate the dynamical mechanisms governing this chain of events. We find that the evolution of meridional heat flux anomalies over the northwestern Pacific and Canada around reflection events is explained by a westward-propagating geopotential height ridge and by the downstream development of a trough. The trough advects colder-than-average air southward in the lower troposphere over North America, leading to an abrupt temperature decrease close to the surface. The evolution of this large-scale pattern resembles the shift from a Pacific Trough to an Alaskan Ridge weather regime, with approximately one-third to one-half of such transitions associated with reflection events. Furthermore, stratospheric wave reflection events exert a far-reaching influence on the tropospheric circulation across the northern middle and high latitudes. For example, a few days after the reflection-driven temperature decrease across North America, the North Atlantic jet stream becomes unusually intense and zonal, favoring the occurrence of extreme winds over Europe.