Dynamical links between the troposphere and the stratosphere are inevitably two-way. Several kinds of waves generated in
the troposphere propagate into the stratosphere and interact with the mean zonal flow, while the stratospheric circulation has downward
influences on large-scale flow in the troposphere. Radiative and chemical processes are also important for the coupling of the
troposphere and stratosphere, and mutually related with each other.
The troposphere-stratosphere coupled system has multiple time-scales
from intraseasonal (week-to-week or month-to-month) to interannual
(year-to-year) variations, in addition to the periodic response to the
annual solar forcing.
Such variations have been investigated rather independently in the two
communities of the troposphere and the middle atmosphere; stratospheric effects on the troposphere are sometimes assumed to be
negligibly small, and tropospheric variations are prescribed as a
bottom boundary condition in some stratospheric dynamical models. In
recent years, however, the importance of mutually dependent nature on
these time scales has been realized in the two communities.
Therefore it is an opportune time to organize a workshop consisting of
a small number of participants who are representative of each
community. Some of the lectures are given by established leaders in the respective fields, while others are given by younger scientists.
The main objective of this workshop is to obtain an improved
understanding between the two communities on the coupling between the
troposphere and the stratosphere through dynamical, radiative and
chemical processes over multiple time-scales from intraseasonal to
interannual variations. Each session covers observations, data
analysis, and theoretical and numerical studies. The obtained
understandings will become a fundamental knowledge to promote the
following projects of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP): Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate (SPARC) and Climate
Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR).