Karoly, D. J., and D. S. Graves, 1990: On data sources and quality for the Southern Hemisphere stratosphere. In Dynamics, Transport, and Photochemistry in the Middle Atmosphere of the Southern Hemisphere, NATO ASI Series C, Vol. 321, Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 19-32.

Abstract: A brief review is presented of current operational analysis systems for the Southern Hemisphere stratosphere, concentrating on the systems used at the National Meteorological Center (USA) and the British Meteorological Office. An assessment is made of two major sources of error in these current analyses; the tropospheric analyses used at the base-level and the thickness analyses derived from satellite radiance data. Some results on the impact of different base-level analyses on derived stratospheric circulation statistics in the Southern Hemisphere are described. The reliability of analyses obtained from satellite data is assessed by sampling a numerical model simulation of the stratosphere as if by satellite and comparing the sampled statistics at high latitudes and for differentiated quantities.

A possible improved stratospheric analysis system is described, based on modern data assimilation and analysis systems used in the troposphere and using the operational system at the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts as an example.