On the relationship between the strength of the Brewer-Dobson circulation and the age of stratospheric air

Abstract

The strength of the Brewer-Dobson circulation is computed for multi-decadal simulations of a coupled chemistry-climate model covering the period 1960 to 2100. The circulation strength, as computed from the tropical mass upwelling, generally increases throughout the simulations. The model also includes an age of air tracer which generally decreases during the simulations. The two different transport concepts of mass upwelling and reciprocal of the age of air are investigated empirically from the model simulations. The results indicate that the variables are linearly related in the model but with a change of gradient some time near 2005. Possible reasons for the change of gradient are discussed. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.