Improved Global Surface Temperature Simulation using Stratospheric Ozone Forcing with More Accurate Variability

Increasingly, studies have pointed out that variations of stratospheric ozone significantly influence climate change in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. This leads us to consider whether making the variations of stratospheric ozone in a climate model closer to real ozone changes would improve the simulation of global climate change. It is found that replacing the original specified stratospheric ozone forcing with more accurate stratospheric ozone variations improves the simulated variations of surface temperature in a climate model. The improved stratospheric ozone variations in the Northern Hemisphere lead to better simulation of variations in Northern Hemisphere circulation. As a result, the simulated variabilities of surface temperature in the middle of the Eurasian continent and in lower latitudes are improved. In the Southern Hemisphere, improvements in surface temperature variations that result from improved stratospheric ozone variations influence the simulation of westerly winds. The simulations also suggest that the decreasing trend of stratospheric ozone may have enhanced the warming trend at high latitudes in the second half of the 20th century. Our results not only reinforce the importance of accurately simulating the stratospheric ozone but also imply the need for including fully coupled stratospheric dynamical–radiative–chemical processes in climate models to predict future climate changes.