scholarly journals Lidar Measurements of Tropospheric Ozone in the Arctic

2016 ◽  
Vol 119 ◽  
pp. 20003
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Seabrook ◽  
James Whiteway
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard Ancellet ◽  
Nikos Daskalakis ◽  
Jean Christophe Raut ◽  
Boris Quennehen ◽  
François Ravetta ◽  
...  

Abstract. The goal of the paper are to: (1) present tropospheric ozone (O3) climatologies in summer 2008 based on a large amount of measurements, during the International Polar Year when the Polar Study using Aircraft, Remote Sensing, Surface Measurements, and Models of Climate Chemistry, Aerosols, and Transport (POLARCAT) campaigns were conducted (2) investigate the processes that determine O3 concentrations in two different regions (Canada and Greenland) that were thoroughly studied using measurements from 3 aircraft and 7 ozonesonde stations. This paper provides an integrated analysis of these observations and the discussion of the latitudinal and vertical variability of tropospheric ozone north of 55° N during this period is performed using a regional model (WFR-Chem). Ozone, CO and potential vorticity (PV) distributions are extracted from the simulation at the measurement locations. The model is able to reproduce the O3 latitudinal and vertical variability but a negative O3 bias of 6–15 ppbv is found in the free troposphere over 4 km, especially over Canada. Ozone average concentrations are of the order of 65 ppbv at altitudes above 4 km both over Canada and Greenland, while they are less than 50 ppbv in the lower troposphere. The relative influence of stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) and of ozone production related to the local biomass burning (BB) emissions is discussed using differences between average values of O3, CO and PV for Southern and Northern Canada or Greenland and two vertical ranges in the troposphere: 0–4 km and 4–8 km. For Canada, the model CO distribution and the weak correlation (< 30 %) of O3 and PV suggests that stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) is not the major contribution to average tropospheric ozone at latitudes less than 70° N, due to the fact that local biomass burning (BB) emissions were significant during the 2008 summer period. Conversely over Greenland, significant STE is found according to the better O3 versus PV correlation (> 40 %) and the higher 75th PV percentile. A weak negative latitudinal summer ozone gradient −6 to −8 ppbv is found over Canada in the mid troposphere between 4 and 8 km. This is attributed to an efficient O3 photochemical production due to the BB emissions at latitudes less than 65° N, while STE contribution is more homogeneous in the latitude range 55° N to 70° N. A positive ozone latitudinal gradient of 12 ppbv is observed in the same altitude range over Greenland not because of an increasing latitudinal influence of STE, but because of different long range transport from multiple mid-latitude sources (North America, Europe and even Asia for latitudes higher than 77° N).


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Leblanc ◽  
Mark A. Brewer ◽  
Patrick S. Wang ◽  
Maria Jose Granados-Munoz ◽  
Kevin B. Strawbridge ◽  
...  

Abstract. The North-America-based Tropospheric Ozone Lidar Network (TOLNet) was recently established to provide high spatio-temporal vertical profiles of ozone, to better understand physical processes driving tropospheric ozone variability, and to validate the tropospheric ozone measurements of upcoming space-borne missions such as Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring Pollution (TEMPO). The network currently comprises six tropospheric ozone lidars, four of which are mobile instruments deploying to the field a few times per year, based on campaign and science needs. In August 2016, all four mobile TOLNet lidars were brought to the fixed TOLNet site of JPL-Table Mountain Facility for the one-week-long Southern California Ozone Observation Project (SCOOP). This inter-comparison campaign, which included 400 hours of lidar measurements and 18 ozonesondes launches, allowed for the unprecedented simultaneous validation of five of the six TOLNet lidars. For measurements between 3 and 10 km above sea level, a mean difference of 0.7 ppbv (1.7 %), with a root-mean-square deviation of 1.6 ppbv or 2.4 % was found between the lidars and ozonesondes, which is well within the combined uncertainties of the two measurement techniques. The few minor differences identified were typically associated with the known limitations of the lidars at the profiles altitude extremes (i.e., first 1 km above ground and at the instruments highest retrievable altitude). As part of a large homogenization and quality control effort within the network, many aspects of the TOLNet in-house data processing algorithms were also standardized and validated. This thorough validation of both the measurements and retrievals builds confidence in the high quality and reliability of the TOLNet ozone lidar profiles for many years to come, making TOLNet a valuable ground-based reference network for tropospheric ozone profiling.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 4065-4076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arvid Langenbach ◽  
Gerd Baumgarten ◽  
Jens Fiedler ◽  
Franz-Josef Lübken ◽  
Christian von Savigny ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present a new method for calculating backscatter ratios of the stratospheric sulfate aerosol (SSA) layer from daytime and nighttime lidar measurements. Using this new method we show a first year-round dataset of stratospheric aerosol backscatter ratios at high latitudes. The SSA layer is located at altitudes between the tropopause and about 30 km. It is of fundamental importance for the radiative balance of the atmosphere. We use a state-of-the-art Rayleigh–Mie–Raman lidar at the Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmosphere Research (ALOMAR) station located in northern Norway (69∘ N, 16∘ E; 380 m a.s.l.). For nighttime measurements the aerosol backscatter ratios are derived using elastic and inelastic backscatter of the emitted laser wavelengths 355, 532 and 1064 nm. The setup of the lidar allows measurements with a resolution of about 5 min in time and 150 m in altitude to be performed in high quality, which enables the identification of multiple sub-layers in the stratospheric aerosol layer of less than 1 km vertical thickness. We introduce a method to extend the dataset throughout the summer when measurements need to be performed under permanent daytime conditions. For that purpose we approximate the backscatter ratios from color ratios of elastic scattering and apply a correction function. We calculate the correction function using the average backscatter ratio profile at 355 nm from about 1700 h of nighttime measurements from the years 2000 to 2018. Using the new method we finally present a year-round dataset based on about 4100 h of measurements during the years 2014 to 2017.


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Helmig ◽  
L. Ganzeveld ◽  
T. Butler ◽  
S. J. Oltmans

Abstract. Recent research on snowpack processes and atmosphere-snow gas exchange has demonstrated that chemical and physical interactions between the snowpack and the overlaying atmosphere have a substantial impact on the composition of the lower troposphere. These observations also imply that ozone deposition to the snowpack possibly depends on parameters including the quantity and composition of deposited trace gases, solar irradiance, snow temperature and the substrate below the snowpack. Current literature spans a remarkably wide range of ozone deposition velocities (vdO3); several studies even reported positive ozone fluxes out of the snow. Overall, published values range from ~–3<vdO3<2 cm s−1, although most data are within 0<vdO3<0.2 cm s−1. This literature reveals a high uncertainty in the parameterization and the magnitude of ozone fluxes into (and possibly out of) snow-covered landscapes. In this study a chemistry and tracer transport model was applied to evaluate the applicability of the published vdO3 and to investigate the sensitivity of tropospheric ozone towards ozone deposition over Northern Hemisphere snow-covered land and sea-ice. Model calculations using increasing vdO3 of 0.0, 0.01, 0.05 and 0.10 cm s−1 resulted in general ozone sensitivities up to 20–30% in the Arctic surface layer, and of up to 130% local increases in selected Northern Latitude regions. The simulated ozone concentrations were compared with mean January ozone observations from 18 Arctic stations. Best agreement between the model and observations, not only in terms of absolute concentrations but also in the hourly ozone variability, was found by applying an ozone deposition velocity in the range of 0.00–0.01 cm s−1, which is smaller than most literature data and also significantly lower compared to the value of 0.05 cm s−1 that is commonly applied in large-scale atmospheric chemistry models. This sensitivity analysis demonstrates that large errors in the description of the wintertime tropospheric ozone budget stem from the uncertain magnitude of ozone deposition rates and the inability to properly parameterize ozone fluxes to snow-covered landscapes.


1992 ◽  
Vol 40 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 203-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Hofmann ◽  
Eldon E. Ferguson ◽  
Paul V. Johnston ◽  
W.Andrew Matthews

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Thorp ◽  
Stephen R. Arnold ◽  
Richard J. Pope ◽  
Dominic V. Spracklen ◽  
Luke Conibear ◽  
...  

Abstract. We use a regional chemistry transport model (WRF-Chem) in conjunction with surface observations of tropospheric ozone and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite retrievals of tropospheric column NO2 to evaluate processes controlling the regional distribution of tropospheric ozone over Western Siberia for late-spring and summer in 2011. This region hosts a range of anthropogenic and natural ozone precursor sources, and serves as a gateway for near-surface transport of Eurasian pollution to the Arctic. However, there is a severe lack of in-situ observations to constrain tropospheric ozone sources and sinks in the region. We show widespread negative bias in WRF-Chem tropospheric column NO2 when compared to OMI satellite observations from May – August, which is reduced when using ECLIPSE v5a emissions (FMB= -0.82 to -0.73) compared with the EDGAR-HTAP-2 emissions data (FMB= -0.80 to -0.70). Despite the large negative bias, the spatial correlations between model and observed NO2 columns suggest that the spatial pattern of NOx sources in the region is well represented. Based on ECLIPSE v5a emissions, we assess the influence of the two dominant anthropogenic emission sectors (transport and energy) and vegetation fires on surface NOx and ozone over Siberia and the Russian Arctic. Our results suggest regional ozone is more sensitive to anthropogenic emissions, particularly from the transport sector, and the contribution from fire emissions maximises in June and is largely confined to latitudes south of 60° N. Large contributions to surface ozone from energy emissions are simulated in April north of 60° N, due to emissions associated with oil and gas extraction. Ozone dry deposition fluxes from the model simulations show that the dominant ozone dry deposition sink in the region is to forest, averaging 6.0 Tg of ozone per month, peaking at 9.1 Tg of ozone deposition during June. The impact of fires on ozone dry deposition within the domain is small compared to anthropogenic emissions, and is negligible north of 60° N. Overall, our results suggest that surface ozone in the region is controlled by an interplay between seasonality in atmospheric transport patterns, vegetation dry deposition, and a dominance of transport and energy sector emissions.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 8189-8246 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Jones ◽  
P. S. Anderson ◽  
E. W. Wolff ◽  
H. K. Roscoe ◽  
G. J. Marshall ◽  
...  

Abstract. The majority of tropospheric ozone depletion event (ODE) studies have focussed on time-series measurements, with comparatively few studies of the vertical component. Those that exist have almost exclusively used free-flying balloon-borne ozonesondes and almost all have been conducted in the Arctic. Here we use measurements from two separate Antarctic field experiments to examine the vertical profile of ozone during Antarctic ODEs. We use tethersonde data to probe details in the lowest few hundred meters and find considerable structure in the profiles associated with complex atmospheric layering. The profiles were all measured at wind speeds less than 7 ms−1, and on each occasion the lowest inversion height lay between 10 m and 40 m. We also use data from a free-flying ozonesonde study to select events where ozone depletion was recorded at altitudes >1 km above ground level. Using ERA-40 meteorological charts, we find that on every occasion the high altitude depletion was preceded by an atmospheric low pressure system. An examination of limited published ozonesonde data from other Antarctic stations shows this to be a consistent feature. Given the link between BrO and ODEs, we also examine ground-based and satellite BrO measurements, and find a strong association between enhanced BrO and atmospheric low pressure systems. The results suggest that, in Antarctica, such depressions are responsible for driving high altitude ODEs and for generating the large-scale BrO clouds observed from satellites. In the Arctic, the prevailing meteorology differs from that in Antarctica, but we show that major low pressure systems in the Arctic, when they occur, can also generate BrO clouds. Such depressions thus appear to be fundamental when considering the broader influence of ODEs, particularly in Antarctica, such as halogen export and the radiative influence of ozone-depleted air masses.


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