The width of the tropical circulation is a fundamental aspect of Earth’s climate, with potential societal impacts (e.g. through changes in precipitation). Recent evidence has shown that the edge of the tropics has been expanding, but with a large range in expansion rates between studies. We are examining the relationships between different metrics of tropical expansion, and the possible causes for expansion.
- Menzel, M.E., D. W. Waugh, K. Grise, 2019, Relationships between the Hadley Cell and Subtropical Jet, Geophys. Res. Lett., 46, 7045-7053.
- Grise, K., S.M. Davis, I. R. Simpson, D. W. Waugh, Q. Fu, R.J. Allen, K.H. Rosenlof, C.C. Ummenhofer, K.B. Karnuaskas, A.C. Maycock, X. Quan, T. Birner, and P.W. Staten, 2019 Recent Tropical Expansion: Natural Variability or Forced Response? J Climate, doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0444.1
- Waugh, D.W. M. Grise, W. J. M. Seviour, S.M. Davis, N. Davis, O. Adam, S.-W. Son, I R Simpson, P. W. Staten, A. C. Maycock, C.C. Ummenhofer, T. Birner , and A. Ming, 2018, Revisiting the Relationship among Metrics of Tropical Expansion, J Climate, 18, 7565–7581.
- Waugh, D.W, C.I. Garfinkel, L.M. Polvani, 2015 Drivers of the recent tropical expansion in the Southern Hemisphere: Changing SSTs or ozone depletion? J Climate, 28, 6581-6588.
See more tropical width and jet trends papers.