Diagnoses of the vertical structure of the tropical tropopause region

The relative roles of tropospheric convection and large scale diabatic heating at the tropopause are investigated to examine the coupling between the troposphere and the stratosphere. The vertical gradient of potential temperature observed from radiosondes in the tropopause region and tropopause statistics are used as diagnostics. These diagnostics can discriminate signatures of stratospheric stability from tropospheric stability. High vertical resolution and long temporal resolution records are available to explore the details and variability of the tropopause region at individual locations. The focus is on the tropics, but the extratropics are also considered. The diagnostic is placed in the context of stratosphere-troposphere exchange using additional data from reanalysis systems and satellite observations of tracers.