A QBO cookbook: Sensitivity of the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation to
resolution, resolved waves, and parameterized gravity waves
Abstract
An intermediate complexity moist General Circulation Model is used to
investigate the sensitivity of the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) to
resolution, diffusion, tropical tropospheric waves, and parameterized
gravity waves. Finer horizontal resolution is shown to lead to a shorter
period, while finer vertical resolution is shown to lead to a slower
period and to an accelerated amplitude in the lowermost stratosphere.
More scale-selective diffusion leads to a faster and stronger QBO, while
enhancing the sources of tropospheric stationary wave activity leads to
a weaker QBO. In terms of parameterized gravity waves, broadening the
spectral width of the source function leads to a longer period and a
stronger amplitude although the amplitude effect saturates when the
half-width exceeds $\sim25$m/s. A stronger gravity wave
source stress leads to a faster and stronger QBO, and a higher gravity
wave launch level leads to a stronger QBO. All of these sensitivities
are shown to result from their impact on the resultant wave-driven
momentum torque in the tropical stratosphere. Atmospheric models have
struggled to accurately represent the QBO, particularly at moderate
resolutions ideal for long climate integrations. In particular,
capturing the amplitude and penetration of QBO anomalies into the lower
stratosphere (which has been shown to be critical for the tropospheric
impacts) has proven a challenge. The results provide a recipe to
generate and/or improve the simulation of the QBO in an atmospheric
model.