Signatures of Anomalous Transport in the 2019/2020 Arctic Stratospheric Polar Vortex Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

The exceptionally strong and long-lived Arctic stratospheric polar vortex in 2019/2020 resulted in large transport anomalies throughout the fall-winter-spring period from vortex development to breakup. These anomalies are studied using Aura MLS N2O, H2O, and CO long-lived trace gas data, ACE-FTS CH4 data, and meteorological and trace gas fields from reanalyses. Anomalies are strongest throughout the winter in the lower through the middle stratosphere (from about 500K through 700K), with record low (high) departures from climatology in N2O and CH4 (H2O). CO shows extreme high anomalies in midwinter through spring down to about 550K. Descent rates, vortex confinement, and trace gas distributions in the preceding months indicate