Articles | Volume 7, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-7-717-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-7-717-2026
Research article
 | 
08 May 2026
Research article |  | 08 May 2026

Transient flow patterns of an annular-like stratospheric polar vortex

Huw C. Davies and Michael A. Sprenger

Data sets

ERA-Interim global atmospheric reanalysis D. P. Dee et al. https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.f2f5241d

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Short summary
The Stratospheric Polar Vortex with its strong circumpolar jet is a dominant feature of the wintertime stratosphere. Evidence is presented of the characteristics of its distinctive sub-planetary scale features. The scale and dynamics of the features are linked to the break-up of an annular band of strong vorticity at the vortex's periphery, and moreover its aggregation into one or two vortices due to forcing from below can have ramifications for the occurrence of Sudden Stratospheric Warmings.
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