Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere

Each summer the North American Monsoon Anticyclone (NAMA) dominates the circulation of the North-Western Hemisphere and acts to partially confine and isolate air from the surrounding atmosphere. Strong convective storms in the NAMA regularly reach altitudes deep into the lower stratosphere, with some ascending above 20 km. These storms carry water and pollutants from the troposphere into the otherwise very dry stratosphere, where they can have a significant impact on radiative and chemical processes, potentially including destruction of stratospheric ozone. The Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere (DCOTSS) field campaign was a NASA Earth Venture Suborbital research project aimed at investigating these thunderstorms. DCOTSS utilized NASA’s ER-2 aircraft and conducted two ~8-week science deployments based out of Salina, KS spanning early to late summer.

DCOTSS Project Page

To access the DCOTSS ER-2 Photos and Videos at NASA's Airborne Science Program (ASP), please refer to the following links: 2021 DCOTSS Photos and Videos, and 2022 DCOTSS Photos and Videos.

Project DOI: 10.5067/ASDC/SUBORBITAL/DCOTSS/DATA001
Disciplines:   Field Campaigns

Access Campaign Data on
Sub-Orbital Order Tool (SOOT)
Collection Disciplines Spatial Temporal
DCOTSS-Model-Output_1
Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere Model Output 		Clouds Spatial Coverage:
(S: -90, N: 90), (W: -180, E: 180)
Temporal Coverage:
2021-05-01 - 2022-10-01
Collection Disciplines Spatial Temporal
DCOTSS-Radar-Satellite-Data_1
Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere Radar and Satellite (Remote Sensing) Data Products 		Clouds Spatial Coverage:
(S: 10, N: 55), (W: -135, E: -60)
Temporal Coverage:
2021-07-05 - 2022-07-14
Collection Disciplines Spatial Temporal
DCOTSS-Aircraft-Data_1
Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere Airborne Data Products 		Aerosols Spatial Coverage:
(S: 13.5, N: 58), (W: -131, E: -78.5)
Temporal Coverage:
2021-06-09 - 2022-07-13
DCOTSS-Balloon-Data_1
Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere Balloon Data Products 		Field Campaigns Spatial Coverage:
(S: 0, N: 49), (W: -172, E: 0)
Temporal Coverage:
2021-06-09 - 2022-07-13
DCOTSS-Reports_1
Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere Reports 		Clouds Spatial Coverage:
(S: 25, N: 47), (W: -123, E: -80)
Temporal Coverage:
2021-07-16 - 2022-07-13

DCOTSS Mission Publications

Tinney E. N., Homeyer C. R., Bedka K. M., and Scarino B. R. (2024). The Response of Tropopause-Overshooting Convection over North America to Climate Change. Journal of Climate, 37 (23), https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-23-0745.1


Sayres, David S.; Smith, Jessica B.; Wilmouth, David M.; Pandey, Apoorva; Homeyer, Cameron R.; Bowman, Kenneth P.; Anderson, James G. (2024). Using the NAMA as a Natural Integrator to Quantify the Convective Contribution to Lower Stratospheric Water Vapor Over North America. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 129 (17), https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JD041641


Homeyer C. R., Gordon A. E., Smith J. B., Ueyama R., Wilmouth D. M., Sayres D. S., Hare J., Pandey A., Hanisco T. F., Dean-Day J. M., Hannun R., and St. Clair J. M. (2024). Stratospheric Hydration Processes in Tropopause-Overshooting Convection Revealed by Tracer-Tracer Correlations From the DCOTSS Field Campaign. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 129 (16), https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JD041340


Bissell, D. P., Murillo E. M., and Mullendore G. L. (2024). Comparing distributions of overshooting convection in HRRR forecasts to observations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 129 (15), https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JD039973


Smith K., Atlas E., Apel E. C., Blake D. R., Dutton G., Hornbrook R. S., Montzka S., Mühle J., Schauffler S., and Treadaway V. (2024). Chloromethanes in the North American Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere Over the Past Two Decades. Geophysical Research Letters, 51 (15), https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108710


Gordon A. E., Homeyer C. R., Smith J. B., Ueyama R., Dean-Day J. M., Atlas E. L., Smith K., Pittman J. V., Sayres D. S., Wilmouth D. M., Pandey A., St. Clair J. M., Hanisco T. F., Hare J., Hannun R. A., Wofsy S., Daube B. C., and Donnelly S. (2024). Airborne observations of upper troposphere and lower stratosphere composition change in active convection producing above-anvil cirrus plumes. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 24 (13), https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7591-2024


Jacquot J. L., Shen X., Abou-Ghanem M., Froyd K. D., Lawler M., Schill G. P., Slovacek K., Thomson D. S., Cziczo D. J., and Murphy D. M. (2024). A new airborne single particle mass spectrometer: PALMS-NG. Aerosol Science and Technology, 58 (9), https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2024.2331549


Hare J. S., Wilmouth D. M., Smith J. B., Klobas J. E., Toohey D. W., Hannun R. A., Pittman J. V., and Anderson J. G. (2024). Method for the production of a compact source of atomic line spectra in the vacuum ultraviolet. Applied Optics, 63 (13), https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.520905


Li, Yaowei; Pedersen, Corey; Dykema, John; Vernier, Jean-Paul; Vattioni, Sandro; Pandit, Amit Kumar; Stenke, Andrea; Asher, Elizabeth; Thornberry, Troy; Todt, Michael A.; Bui, Thao Paul; Dean-Day, Jonathan; Keutsch, Frank N. (2023). In situ measurements of perturbations to stratospheric aerosol and modeled ozone and radiative impacts following the 2021 La Soufrière eruption.


Wilmouth D. M., Østerstrøm F. F., Smith J. B., Anderson J. G., and Salawitch R. J. (2023). Impact of the Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption on stratospheric composition. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120 (46), https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2301994120


Murphy D. M., Abou-Ghanem M., Cziczo D. J., Froyd K. D., Jacquot J., Lawler M. J., Maloney C., Plane J. M. C., Ross M. N., Schill G. P., and Shen X. (2023). Metals from spacecraft reentry in stratospheric aerosol particles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120 (43), https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2313374120


Homeyer, Cameron R.; Smith, Jessica B.; Bedka, Kristopher M.; Bowman, Kenneth P.; Wilmouth, David M.; Ueyama, Rei; Dean‐Day, Jonathan M.; St. Clair, Jason M.; Hannun, Reem; Hare, Jennifer; Pandey, Apoorva; Sayres, David S.; Hanisco, Thomas F.; Gordon, Andrea E.; Tinney, Emily N. (2023). Extreme Altitudes of Stratospheric Hydration by Midlatitude Convection Observed During the DCOTSS Field Campaign.


Jellis D., Bowman K. P., and Rapp D. (2023). Lifetimes of Overshooting Convective Events Using High-Frequency Gridded Radar Composites. Monthly Weather Review, 151 (8), https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-23-0032.1


Pandey A., Lamraoui F., Smith J. B., Clapp C. E., Sayres D. S., and Kuang Z. (2023). Sensitivity of Deep Convection and Cross-Tropopause Water Transport to Microphysical Parameterizations in WRF. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 128 (14), https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JD037053


Li Y., Bai B., Dykema J., Shin N., Lambe A. T., Chen Q., Kuwata M., Lee Ng N., Keutsch F. N., and Liu P. (2023). Predicting Real Refractive Index of Organic Aerosols From Elemental Composition. Geophysical Research Letters, 50 (12), https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103446


Ueyama R., Schoeberl M., Jensen E., Pfister L., Park M., and Ryoo J-M. (2023). Convective Impact on the Global Lower Stratospheric Water Vapor Budget. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 128 (6), https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JD037135


Chang, K-W., Bowman, K. P., and Rapp, A. D. (2023). Transport and Confinement of Plumes From Tropopause-Overshooting Convection Over the Contiguous United States During the Warm Season. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 128 (2), https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JD037020


Murillo E. M. and Homeyer C. R. (2022). What Determines Above-Anvil Cirrus Plume Infrared Temperature?. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 79 (12), https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-22-0080.1


Pfister L., Ueyama R., Jensen E. J., and Schoeberl M. R. (2022). Deep Convective Cloud Top Altitudes at High Temporal and Spatial Resolution. Earth and Space Science, 9 (11), https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EA002475


Khlopenkov, Konstantin V.; Bedka, Kristopher M.; Cooney, John W.; Itterly, Kyle (2022). Recent Advances in Detection of Overshooting Cloud Tops From Longwave Infrared Satellite Imagery. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126 (14), https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD034319


Gordon A. E. and Homeyer C. R. (2022). Sensitivities of Cross-Tropopause Transport in Midlatitude Overshooting Convection to the Lower Stratosphere Environment. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 127 (13), https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JD036713


Li, Yaowei; Dykema, John; Deshler, Terry; Keutsch, Frank (2022). Composition Dependence of Stratospheric Aerosol Shortwave Radiative Forcing in Northern Midlatitudes. Geophysical Research Letters, 48 (24), https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094427


Smith, Jessica B. (2022). Convective hydration of the stratosphere. Perspective Atmospheric Science, 373 (6560), 1194. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abl8740


Liu C., Alexander J., Richter J., and Bacmeister J. (2021). Using TRMM Latent Heat as a Source to Estimate Convection Induced Gravity Wave Momentum Flux in the Lower Stratosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 127 (1), https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD035785


Chang K, Bowman K P, Siu L W, and Rapp A D (2021). Convective Forcing of the North American Monsoon Anticyclone at Intraseasonal and Interannual Time Scales. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 78 (9), 2941. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-21-0009.1


Wang, Dié; Jensen, Michael P.; D'Iorio, Jennifer A.; Jozef, Gina; Giangrande, Scott E.; Johnson, Karen L.; Luo, Zhengzhao Johnny; Starzec, Mariusz; Mullendore, Gretchen L. (2021). An Observational Comparison of Level of Neutral Buoyancy and Level of Maximum Detrainment in Tropical Deep Convective Clouds. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 125 (16), https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD032637


Homeyer C. R. and Bowman K. P. (2021). A 22-Year Evaluation of Convection Reaching the Stratosphere Over the United States. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126 (13), https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD034808


Cooney J W, Bedka K M, Bowman K P, Khlopenkov K V, an dItterly K (2021). Comparing Tropopause-Penetrating Convection Identifications Derived From NEXRAD and GOES Over the Contiguous United States. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126 (14), https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD034359


Liu, Nana; Liu, Chuntao; Hayden, Lindsey (2021). Climatology and Detection of Overshooting Convection From 4 Years of GPM Precipitation Radar and Passive Microwave Observations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 125 (7), https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD032003


Siu, Leong Wai; Bowman, Kenneth P. (2021). Unsteady Vortex Behavior in the Asian Monsoon Anticyclone. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 77 (12), 4067. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-19-0349.1


Clapp C E, Smith J B, Bedka K M, and Anderson J G (2021). Identifying Outflow Regions of North American Monsoon Anticyclone-Mediated Meridional Transport of Convectively Influenced Air Masses in the Lower Stratosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126 (10), https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD034644


Feng, Zhe; Houze, Robert A.; Leung, L. Ruby; Song, Fengfei; Hardin, Joseph C.; Wang, Jingyu; Gustafson, William I.; Homeyer, Cameron R. (2020). Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Large-Scale Environments of Mesoscale Convective Systems East of the Rocky Mountains. Journal of Climate, 32 (21), 7303. https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-19-0137.1


Siu, Leong Wai; Bowman, Kenneth P. (2020). Forcing of the Upper-Tropospheric Monsoon Anticyclones. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 76 (7), 1937. https://doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-18-0340.1


Clapp, C. E.; Anderson, J. G. (2020). Modeling the Effect of Potential Nitric Acid Removal During Convective Injection of Water Vapor Over the Central United States on the Chemical Composition of the Lower Stratosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124 (16), 9743. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD029703


Starzec M, Mullendore G L, and Homeyer C R (2020). Retrievals of Convective Detrainment Heights Using Ground-Based Radar Observations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 125 (5), https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031164


Liu, Nana; Liu, Chuntao (2019). Synoptic Environments and Characteristics of Convection Reaching the Tropopause over Northeast China. Monthly Weather Review, 146 (3), 745. https://doi.org/10.1175/mwr-d-17-0245.1


Clapp, C., Smith, J., Bedka, K., and Anderson, J. (2019). Identifying Source Regions and the Distribution of Cross-Tropopause Convective Outflow Over North America During the Warm Season. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124 (24), https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031382


Bedka, Kristopher; Murillo, Elisa M.; Homeyer, Cameron R.; Scarino, Benjamin; Mersiovsky, Haiden (2019). The Above-Anvil Cirrus Plume: An Important Severe Weather Indicator in Visible and Infrared Satellite Imagery. Weather and Forecasting, 33 (5), 1159. https://doi.org/10.1175/waf-d-18-0040.1


Smith, Jessica B.; Wilmouth, David M.; Bedka, Kristopher M.; Bowman, Kenneth P.; Homeyer, Cameron R.; Dykema, John A.; Sargent, Maryann R.; Clapp, Corey E.; Leroy, Stephen S.; Sayres, David S.; Dean‐Day, Jonathan M.; Paul Bui, T.; Anderson, James G. (2018). A case study of convectively sourced water vapor observed in the overworld stratosphere over the United States. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 122 (17), 9529. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017jd026831


Solomon, David L.; Bowman, Kenneth P.; Homeyer, Cameron R. (2018). Tropopause-Penetrating Convection from Three-Dimensional Gridded NEXRAD Data. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 55 (2), 465. https://doi.org/10.1175/jamc-d-15-0190.1


Anderson, James G.; Weisenstein, Debra K.; Bowman, Kenneth P.; Homeyer, Cameron R.; Smith, Jessica B.; Wilmouth, David M.; Sayres, David S.; Klobas, J. Eric; Leroy, Stephen S.; Dykema, John A.; Wofsy, Steven C. (2018). Stratospheric ozone over the United States in summer linked to observations of convection and temperature via chlorine and bromine catalysis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114 (25), https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1619318114


Homeyer, Cameron R.; McAuliffe, Joel D.; Bedka, Kristopher M. (2018). On the Development of Above-Anvil Cirrus Plumes in Extratropical Convection. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 74 (5), 1617. https://doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-16-0269.1


Cooney J W, Bowman K P, Homeyer C R and Fenske T M (2018). Ten Year Analysis of Tropopause-Overshooting Convection Using GridRad Data. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 123 (1), 329. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017jd027718


Bedka, Kristopher M.; Khlopenkov, Konstantin (2017). A Probabilistic Multispectral Pattern Recognition Method for Detection of Overshooting Cloud Tops Using Passive Satellite Imager Observations. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 55 (9), 1983. https://doi.org/10.1175/jamc-d-15-0249.1


Liu N and Liu C (2016). Global distribution of deep convection reaching tropopause in 1 year GPM observations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 121 (8), 3824. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015jd024430


Homeyer C R, Bowman K P, Pan L L, Zondlo M A and Bresch J F (2011). Convective injection into stratospheric intrusions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 116 (D23), https://doi.org/10.1029/2011jd016724