scholarly journals Onset of Stratospheric Ozone Recovery in the Antarctic Ozone Hole in Assimilated Daily Total Ozone Columns

2017 ◽  
Vol 122 (21) ◽  
pp. 11,880-11,899 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. T. J. de Laat ◽  
M. van Weele ◽  
R. J. van der A
2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 415-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Dornelles Bittencourt ◽  
Caroline Bresciani ◽  
Damaris Kirsch Pinheiro ◽  
José Valentin Bageston ◽  
Nelson Jorge Schuch ◽  
...  

Abstract. The Antarctic ozone hole is a cyclical phenomenon that occurs during the austral spring where there is a large decrease in ozone content in the Antarctic region. Ozone-poor air mass can be released and leave through the Antarctic ozone hole, thus reaching midlatitude regions. This phenomenon is known as the secondary effect of the Antarctic ozone hole. The objective of this study is to show how tropospheric and stratospheric dynamics behaved during the occurrence of this event. The ozone-poor air mass began to operate in the region on 20 October 2016. A reduction of ozone content of approximately 23 % was observed in relation to the climatology average recorded between 1992 and 2016. The same air mass persisted over the region and a drop of 19.8 % ozone content was observed on 21 October. Evidence of the 2016 event occurred through daily mean measurements of the total ozone column made with a surface instrument (Brewer MkIII no. 167 Spectrophotometer) located at the Southern Space Observatory (29.42∘ S, 53.87∘ W) in São Martinho da Serra, Rio Grande do Sul. Tropospheric dynamic analysis showed a post-frontal high pressure system on 20 and 21 October 2016, with pressure levels at sea level and thickness between 1000 and 500 hPa. Horizontal wind cuts at 250 hPa and omega values at 500 hPa revealed the presence of subtropical jet streams. When these streams were allied with positive omega values at 500 hPa and a high pressure system in southern Brazil and Uruguay, the advance of the ozone-poor air mass that caused intense reductions in total ozone content could be explained. Keywords. Atmospheric composition and structure (middle atmosphere – composition and chemistry)


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (10) ◽  
pp. 1113-1121
Author(s):  
W. F. J. Evans ◽  
A. E. Walker ◽  
F. E. Bunn

The presence of a thinned area or craterlike feature in the Arctic polar ozone layer during March, 1986 has been reported previously (Can. J. Phys. 67, 161 (1989)). In this paper the morphology of the reappearance of the crater from January to March, 1989 is described. It appeared over northern Europe in late January and moved over western Canada in late February. The minimum value of ozone in the crater floor had fallen from 300 DU (1 Dobson unit (DU) = 0.01 mm) in 1979 to a new low of less than 200 DU in 1989, which is similar to the thinned total ozone columns observed within the Antarctic ozone hole. Analysis of the available total ozone mapping spectrometer ozone measurements indicates that the crater could be explained by a combination of two mechanisms; a chemical process, which depleted the ozone concentrations at altitudes in the 14–22 km region, and a transport process, which shifted the altitude distribution of ozone upwards such as a vertical circulation cell. Although the Arctic ozone crater is similar in several aspects to the Antarctic ozone hole, there remain several differences; the issue is whether the crater and the hole are manifestations of the same phenomenon. We consider that the Arctic ozone crater is mainly produced by dynamic redistribution driven by tropospheric circulation features.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sweta Shah ◽  
Olaf Tuinder ◽  
Jacob van Peet ◽  
Adrianus de Laat ◽  
Piet Stammes

Abstract. The depletion of the Antarctic ozone layer and its changing vertical distribution has been monitored closely by satellites in the past decades ever since the Antarctic ozone hole was discovered in the 1980's. Ozone profile retrieval from nadir-viewing satellites operating in the ultraviolet-visible range requires accurate calibration of level-1 (L1) radiance data. Here we study the effects of calibration on the derived level-2 (L2) ozone profiles and apply the retrieval to the Antarctic ozone hole region. We retrieve nadir ozone profiles from the SCIAMACHY instrument that flew on-board Envisat using the Ozone ProfilE Retrieval Algorithm) (OPERA) developed at KNMI with a focus on the stratospheric ozone. We study and assess the quality of these profiles and compare retrieved (L2) products from L1 SCIAMACHY versions 7 and 8 indicated as respectively (v7, v8) data from the years 2003–2011 without further radiometric correction. From validation of the profiles against ozone sonde measurements, we find that the v8 performs better due to correction for the scan-angle dependency of the instrument's optical degradation. The instrument spectral response function can still be improved for the L1 v8 data with a shift and squeeze. We find that the contribution from this improvement is a few percent residue reduction compared to a reference in the solar irradiance spectra. Validation for the years 2003 and 2009 with ozone sondes shows deviations of SCIAMACHY ozone profiles of 0.8 %–15 % in the stratosphere and 2.5 %–100 % in the troposphere, depending on the latitude and the L1 version used. Using L1 v8 for the years 2003–2011 leads to deviations of ~ 1 %–11 % in stratospheric ozone and ~ 1 %–45 % in tropospheric ozone. Application of SCIAMACHY v8 data on the Antarctic ozone hole shows that most ozone is depleted in the latitude range from 70° S to 90° S. The minimum integrated ozone column consistently occurs around 15 September for the years 2003–2011. Furthermore from the ozone profiles for all these years we observe that the value of ozone column per layer reduces to almost zero at a pressure of 100 hPa in the latitude range of 70° S to 90° S, as was found from other observations.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 2353-2361 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. A. Kramarova ◽  
E. R. Nash ◽  
P. A. Newman ◽  
P. K. Bhartia ◽  
R. D. McPeters ◽  
...  

Abstract. The new Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS), which launched on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite in October 2011, gives a detailed view of the development of the Antarctic ozone hole and extends the long series of satellite ozone measurements that go back to the early 1970s. OMPS includes two modules – nadir and limb – to measure profile and total ozone concentrations. The new limb module is designed to measure the vertical profile of ozone between the lowermost stratosphere and the mesosphere. The OMPS observations over Antarctica show excellent agreement with the measurements obtained from independent satellite and ground-based instruments. This validation demonstrates that OMPS data can ably extend the ozone time series over Antarctica in the future. The OMPS observations are used to monitor and characterize the evolution of the 2012 Antarctic ozone hole. While large ozone losses were observed in September 2012, a strong ozone rebound occurred in October and November 2012. This ozone rebound is characterized by rapid increases of ozone at mid-stratospheric levels and a splitting of the ozone hole in early November. The 2012 Antarctic ozone hole was the second smallest on record since 1988.


2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Andrew R. Klekociuk ◽  
Matthew B. Tully ◽  
Paul B. Krummel ◽  
Oleksandr Evtushevsky ◽  
Volodymyr Kravchenko ◽  
...  

We review the 2017 Antarctic ozone hole, making use of various meteorological reanalyses, and in-situ, satellite and ground-based measurements of ozone and related trace gases, and ground-based measurements of ultraviolet radiation. The 2017 ozone hole was associated with relatively high-ozone concentrations over the Antarctic region compared to other years, and our analysis ranked it in the smallest 25% of observed ozone holes in terms of size. The severity of stratospheric ozone loss was comparable with that which occurred in 2002 (when the stratospheric vortex exhibited an unprecedented major warming) and most years prior to 1989 (which were early in the development of the ozone hole). Disturbances to the polar vortex in August and September that were associated with intervals of anomalous planetary wave activity resulted in significant erosion of the polar vortex and the mitigation of the overall level of ozone depletion. The enhanced wave activity was favoured by below-average westerly winds at high southern latitudes during winter, and the prevailing easterly phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO). Using proxy information on the chemical make-up of the polar vortex based on the analysis of nitrous oxide and the likely influence of the QBO, we suggest that the concentration of inorganic chlorine, which plays a key role in ozone loss, was likely similar to that in 2014 and 2016, when the ozone hole was larger than that in 2017. Finally, we found that the overall severity of Antarctic ozone loss in 2017 was largely dictated by the timing of the disturbances to the polar vortex rather than interannual variability in the level of inorganic chlorine.


2019 ◽  
Vol 75 ◽  
pp. 02008
Author(s):  
Alexander V. Dergunov ◽  
Valentin B. Kashkin ◽  
Тatyana V. Rubleva ◽  
Alexey A. Romanov ◽  
Roman V. Odintsov

Satellite data on total ozone content for 1985-2015 have been used. Methods of evaluating ozone deficit in the polar region and its excess in middle latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere have been developed. In early spring the ozone molecules outflow and the ozone anomaly forms. Ozone inflows the middle latitudes, its total content increases and a ring with elevated TO forms. In October-November the dynamic process reverses, from the ring the ozone molecules transfer to the polar latitudes. The amount of ozone leaving the ring into the polar regions and filling the ozone anomaly is virtually the same. The results produces indicate that the Antarctic ozone hole is a natural geophysical formation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 26305-26325 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. A. Kramarova ◽  
E. R. Nash ◽  
P. A. Newman ◽  
P. K. Bhartia ◽  
R. D. McPeters ◽  
...  

Abstract. The new Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) launched on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite in October 2011 gives a more detailed view of the development of the Antarctic ozone hole than ever before. This instrumental suite extends the long series of satellite ozone measurements that go back to the early 1970s. The OMPS includes two modules – nadir and limb – to measure profile and total ozone concentrations. The new limb module is designed to measure the vertical profile of ozone between the lowermost stratosphere and the mesosphere. The OMPS observations over Antarctica show excellent agreement with the measurements obtained from independent satellite and ground-based instruments. This validation demonstrates that OMPS data can ably extend the ozone time series over Antarctica in the future. The OMPS observations are used to monitor and characterize the evolution of the 2012 Antarctic ozone hole. While large ozone losses were observed in September 2012, a strong ozone rebound occurred in October and November 2012. This ozone rebound is characterized by rapid increases of ozone at mid-stratospheric levels and a splitting of the ozone hole in early November. The 2012 Antarctic ozone hole was the second smallest on record since 1988.


1988 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Sherwood Rowland

The momentous subject of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and their effect on The Biosphere's stratospheric ozone shield is treated rather generally but in sufficient depth where necessary in three main sections dealing with (i) scientific background and current status of ongoing investigation, (ii) the major technological uses of CFCs and available or foreseeable alternatives to them, and (iii) the policy status and regulatory activity involving present or proposed future restrictions in CFC emissions.It being unlikely that life, at least as we know it, would have developed on Earth without an ozone layer in the stratosphere to ‘filter off’ harmful ultraviolet rays from solar radiation, the prospect of continuing manufacture in developing countries of its destroyers is highly alarming, especially as these destructive CFCs may take more than a decade from emission to reach the levels around 40 km altitude at which they do the most harm.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael P. Fernandez ◽  
Douglas E. Kinnison ◽  
Jean-Francois Lamarque ◽  
Simone Tilmes ◽  
Alfonso Saiz-Lopez

Abstract. Active bromine released from the photochemical decomposition of biogenic very short-lived bromocarbons (VSLBr) enhances stratospheric ozone depletion. Based on a dual set of 1960–2100 coupled chemistry-climate simulations (i.e. with and without VSLBr), we show that the maximum Antarctic ozone hole depletion increases by up to 14 % when natural VSLBr are considered, in better agreement with ozone observations. The impact of the additional 5 pptv VSLBr on Antarctic ozone is most evident in the periphery of the ozone hole, producing an expansion of the ozone hole area of ~5 million km2, which is equivalent in magnitude to the recently estimated Antarctic ozone healing due to the implementation of the Montreal Protocol. We find that the inclusion of VSLBr in CAM-Chem does not introduce a significant delay of the modelled ozone return date to 1980 October levels, but instead affect the depth and duration of the simulated ozone hole. Our analysis further shows that total bromine-catalysed ozone destruction in the lower stratosphere surpasses that of chlorine by year 2070, and indicates that natural VSLBr chemistry would dominate Antarctic ozone seasonality before the end of the 21st century. This work suggests a large influence of biogenic bromine on the future Antarctic ozone layer.


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