In 1883 , the eruption of Krakatoa led to visual tracking of subsequent volcanic ash in the stratosphere . This visual tracking led to the discovery of easterly winds between 25 and 30 km above the surface . The winds were then called the Krakatau easterlies . In 1908 , data balloons launched above Lake Victoria in Africa recorded westerly winds in the stratospheric levels of the atmosphere . These findings , at the time , were thought to contradict the 1883 findings . However , the winds that would become known as the QBO were discovered to oscillate between westerly and easterly in the 1950s by researchers at the UK Meteorological Office . The cause of these QBO winds remained unclear for some time . Radiosonde soundings showed that its phase was not related to the annual cycle , as is the case for many other stratospheric circulation patterns . In the 1970s it was recognized by Richard Lindzen and James Holton that the periodic wind reversal was driven by atmospheric waves emanating from the tropical troposphere that travel upwards and are dissipated in the stratosphere by radiative cooling . The precise nature of the waves responsible for this effect was heavily debated ; in recent years , however , gravity waves have come to be seen as a major contributor and the QBO is now simulated in a growing number of climate models
eruption of Krakatoa
1883 eruption of Krakatoa
Quasi-biennial oscillation