Large Stratospheric Sudden Warming in Antarctic Late Winter and Shallow Ozone Hole in 1988: Observation by Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition

<div>The evolution of the Northern Hemisphere stratosphere during late winter and early spring of 2020 was punctuated by outstanding events both in dynamics and tracer evolution. It provides an ideal case for study of the Lagrangian properties of the evolving flow and its connections with the troposphere. The events ranged from an episode of polar warming at upper levels in March, a polar vortex split into two cyclonic vortices at middle and lower levels in April, and a remarkably deep and persistent mass of ozone poor air within the westerly circulation throughout the period. The latter feature was particularly remarkable during 2020, which showed the lowest values of stratospheric ozone on record.</div><div>&#160;</div><div>We focus on the vortex split in April 2020 and we examine this split at middle as well as lower stratospheric levels, and the interactions that occurred between the resulting two vortices which determined the distribution of ozone among them. We also examine the connections among stratospheric and tropospheric events during the period.</div><div>&#160;</div><div>Our approach for analysis will be based on the application of Lagrangian tools to the flow field, based on following air parcels trajectories, examining barriers to the flow, and the activity and propagation of planetary waves. Our findings confirm the key role for the split played by a flow configuration with a polar hyperbolic trajectory and associated manifolds. A trajectory analysis illustrates the transport of ozone between the vortices during the split. We argue that these stratospheric events were linked to strong synoptic scale disturbances in the troposphere forming a wave train from the north Pacific to North America and Eurasia.</div><div><strong>&#160;</strong></div><div><strong>Reference:</strong><strong> </strong>J. Curbelo, G. Chen,&#160; C. R. Mechoso. Multi-level analysis of the northern polar vortex split in April 2020 during development of the Arctic ozone hole. Earth and Space Science Open Archive. doi: 10.1002/essoar.10505516.1</div><div>&#160;</div><div><strong>Acknowledgements:</strong> NSF Grant AGS-1832842, RYC2018-025169 and EIN2019-103087.</div>

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Analysis of the Antarctic Ozone Hole in November

Journal of Climate ◽

10.1175/jcli-d-20-0906.1 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-53

Author(s):

ZHE WANG ◽

JIANKAI ZHANG ◽

TAO WANG ◽

WUHU FENG ◽

YIHANG HU ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Planetary Waves ◽

Ozone Hole ◽

Late Winter ◽

Two Samples ◽

Antarctic Ozone ◽

Ozone Transport ◽

Reflecting Surfaces ◽

The Antarctic ◽

Wave Divergence ◽

Antarctic Ozone Hole

AbstractThe factors responsible for the size of Antarctic ozone hole in November are analyzed. Comparing two samples of anomalously large and small November ozone hole with respect to 1980–2017 climatology in November, the results show that the anomalously large ozone hole in austral late winter is not a precondition for the anomalously large ozone hole in November. The size of Antarctic ozone hole in November is mainly influenced by dynamical processes from the end of October to mid-November. During large November ozone hole events, weaker dynamical ozone transport appears from the end of October to mid-November, which is closely related to planetary wave divergence in the stratosphere between 60°S and 90°S. Further analyses indicate that the wave divergence is partially attributed to less upward propagation of planetary waves from the troposphere, which is associated with weak baroclinic disturbances at the end of October. Subsequently, zonal wind speed in the upper stratosphere intensifies, and the distance between critical layer (U=0) and wave reflecting surfaces becomes larger. As a result, more planetary waves are reflected and then wave divergence enhances. The processes responsible for the anomalously small Antarctic ozone holes in November are almost opposite to those for the anomalously large Antarctic ozone holes.

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The influence of large amplitude planetary waves on the Antarctic ozone hole of austral spring 2017

Journal of Southern Hemisphere Earth System Science ◽

10.1071/es19022 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 69 (1) ◽

pp. 57

Author(s):

Oleksandr Evtushevsky ◽

Andrew R. Klekociuk ◽

Volodymyr Kravchenko ◽

Gennadi Milinevsky ◽

Asen Grytsai

Keyword(s):

Large Amplitude ◽

Polar Vortex ◽

Maximum Size ◽

Planetary Waves ◽

Ozone Hole ◽

Late Winter ◽

Austral Spring ◽

Stratospheric Polar Vortex ◽

Key Factor ◽

The Antarctic

Quasi-stationary planetary wave activity in the lower Antarctic stratosphere in the late austral winter was an important contributor to the preconditioning of the ozone hole in spring 2017. Observations show that the ozone hole area (OHA) in spring 2017 was at the level of 1980s, that is, almost half the maximum size in 2000s. The observed OHA was close to that forecasted based on a least-squares linear regression between wave amplitude in August and OHA in September–November. We show that the key factor which contributed to the preconditioning of the Antarctic stratosphere for a relatively small ozone hole in the spring of 2017 was the development of large-amplitude stratospheric planetary waves of zonal wave numbers 1 and 2 in late winter. The waves likely originated from tropospheric wave trains and promoted the development of strong mid-latitude anticyclones in the lower stratosphere which interacted with the stratospheric polar vortex and strongly eroded the vortex in August and September, mitigating the overall level of ozone loss.

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Brief communication "Stratospheric winds, transport barriers and the 2011 Arctic ozone hole"

Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics ◽

10.5194/npg-19-687-2012 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 19 (6) ◽

pp. 687-692 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

M. J. Olascoaga ◽

M. G. Brown ◽

F. J. Beron-Vera ◽

H. Koçak

Keyword(s):

Maintenance Phase ◽

Early Spring ◽

Ozone Hole ◽

The Arctic ◽

Late Winter ◽

Boreal Winter ◽

Meridional Transport ◽

Transport Barrier ◽

Cold Temperatures ◽

Ozone Loss

Abstract. The Arctic stratosphere throughout the late winter and early spring of 2011 was characterized by an unusually severe ozone loss, resulting in what has been described as an ozone hole. The 2011 ozone loss was made possible by unusually cold temperatures throughout the Arctic stratosphere. Here we consider the issue of what constitutes suitable environmental conditions for the formation and maintenance of a polar ozone hole. Our discussion focuses on the importance of the stratospheric wind field and, in particular, the importance of a high latitude zonal jet, which serves as a meridional transport barrier both prior to ozone hole formation and during the ozone hole maintenance phase. It is argued that stratospheric conditions in the boreal winter/spring of 2011 were highly unusual inasmuch as in that year Antarctic-like Lagrangian dynamics led to the formation of a boreal ozone hole.

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Quasi-stationary planetary waves in late winter Antarctic stratosphere temperature as a possible indicator of spring total ozone

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-11-28945-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 28945-28967

Author(s):

V. O. Kravchenko ◽

O. M. Evtushevsky ◽

A. V. Grytsai ◽

A. R. Klekociuk ◽

G. P. Milinevsky ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Total Ozone ◽

Large Scale ◽

Stationary Wave ◽

Planetary Waves ◽

Ozone Hole ◽

Late Winter ◽

Stationary Waves ◽

Wave Effects ◽

Antarctic Ozone ◽

Highly Correlated

Abstract. Stratospheric preconditions for the annual Antarctic ozone hole are analysed using the amplitude of quasi-stationary planetary waves in temperature as a predictor of total ozone column behaviour. It is found that the quasi-stationary wave amplitude in August is highly correlated with September–November total ozone over Antarctica with correlation coefficient as high as 0.83 indicating that quasi-stationary wave effects in late winter have a persisting influence on the evolution of the ozone hole during the following three months. Correlation maxima are found in both the lower and middle stratosphere. They are likely manifestations of wave activity influence on chemical ozone depletion and large-scale ozone transport, respectively. Both correlation maxima indicate that spring total ozone tends to increase in the case of amplified activity of quasi-stationary waves in late winter.

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Quasi-stationary planetary waves in late winter Antarctic stratosphere temperature as a possible indicator of spring total ozone

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-12-2865-2012 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 2865-2879 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

V. O. Kravchenko ◽

O. M. Evtushevsky ◽

A. V. Grytsai ◽

A. R. Klekociuk ◽

G. P. Milinevsky ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Total Ozone ◽

Large Scale ◽

Stationary Wave ◽

Planetary Waves ◽

Ozone Hole ◽

Wave Number ◽

Late Winter ◽

Stationary Waves ◽

Wave Effects ◽

Highly Correlated

Abstract. Stratospheric preconditions for the annual Antarctic ozone hole are analyzed using the amplitude of quasi-stationary planetary waves in temperature as a predictor of total ozone column behaviour. It is found that the quasi-stationary wave amplitude in August is highly correlated with September–November total ozone over Antarctica with correlation coefficient (r) as high as 0.83 indicating that quasi-stationary wave effects in late winter have a persisting influence on the evolution of the ozone hole during the following three months. Correlation maxima are found in both the lower and middle stratosphere. These likely result from the influence of wave activity on ozone depletion due to chemical processes, and ozone accumulation due to large-scale ozone transport, respectively. Both correlation maxima indicate that spring total ozone tends to increase in the case of amplified activity of quasi-stationary waves in late winter. Since the stationary wave number one dominates the planetary waves that propagate into the Antarctic stratosphere in late austral winter, it is largely responsible for the stationary zonal asymmetry of the ozone hole relative to the South Pole. Processes associated with zonally asymmetric ozone and temperature which possibly contribute to differences in the persistence and location of the correlation maxima are discussed.

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