Comparison of different stratospheric parameters from reanalysis and satellite data

In this study we compare various stratospheric parameters obtained from reanalysis and satellite data. The data from ERA5.1, MERRA2, JRA55, and JRA3Q reanalysis, as well as from the MLS and SABER satellite instruments are used to assess the agreement between reanalysis and satellite data in the stratospheric layer. In particular, the geopotential height of the tropopause and stratopause, as well as the stratospheric thickness, are computed and compared. The results show that the most significant discrepancies are observed in the tropics (30ºS to 30ºN) and the global mean, where negative correlations with satellite data are found. The correlations in the southern hemisphere extratropics are lower than those in the northern hemisphere extratropics. Moreover, the stratospheric thickness, a priori expected to be well-correlated with the stratospheric temperature, not always behaves this way.