Large Increase in Incident Shortwave Radiation due to the Ozone Hole Offset by High Climatological Albedo over Antarctica

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (13) ◽  
pp. 4883-4890 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Chiodo ◽  
L. M. Polvani ◽  
M. Previdi

Despite increasing scientific scrutiny in recent years, the direct impact of the ozone hole on surface temperatures over Antarctica remains uncertain. Here, this question is explored by using the Community Earth System Model–Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (CESM-WACCM), contrasting two ensembles of runs with and without stratospheric ozone depletion. It is found that, during austral spring, the ozone hole leads to a surprisingly large increase in surface downwelling shortwave (SW) radiation over Antarctica of 3.8 W m−2 in clear sky and 1.8 W m−2 in all sky. However, despite this large increase in incident SW radiation, no ozone-induced surface warming is seen in the model. It is shown that the lack of a surface temperature response is due to reflection of most of the increased downward SW, resulting in an insignificant change to the net SW radiative heating. To first order, this reflection is simply due to the high climatological surface albedo of the Antarctic snow (97% in visible SW), resulting in a net zero ozone-induced surface SW forcing. In addition, it is shown that stratospheric ozone depletion has a negligible effect on longwave (LW) radiation and other components of the surface energy budget. These results suggest a minimal role for ozone depletion in forcing Antarctic surface temperature trends on a continental scale.

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2653-2689 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. T. Shindell ◽  
O. Pechony ◽  
A. Voulgarakis ◽  
G. Faluvegi ◽  
L. Nazarenko ◽  
...  

Abstract. The new generation GISS climate model includes fully interactive chemistry related to ozone in historical and future simulations, and interactive methane in future simulations. Evaluation of ozone, its tropospheric precursors, and methane shows that the model captures much of the large-scale spatial structure seen in recent observations. While the model is much improved compared with the previous chemistry-climate model, especially for ozone seasonality in the stratosphere, there is still slightly too rapid stratospheric circulation, too little stratosphere-to-troposphere ozone flux in the Southern Hemisphere and an Antarctic ozone hole that is too large and persists too long. Quantitative metrics of spatial and temporal correlations with satellite datasets as well as spatial autocorrelation to examine transport and mixing are presented to document improvements in model skill and provide a benchmark for future evaluations. The difference in radiative forcing (RF) calculated using modeled tropospheric ozone versus tropospheric ozone observed by TES is only 0.016 W m−2. Historical 20th Century simulations show a steady increase in whole atmosphere ozone RF through 1970 after which there is a decrease through 2000 due to stratospheric ozone depletion. Ozone forcing increases throughout the 21st century under RCP8.5 owing to a projected recovery of stratospheric ozone depletion and increases in methane, but decreases under RCP4.5 and 2.6 due to reductions in emissions of other ozone precursors. RF from methane is 0.05 to 0.18 W m−2 higher in our model calculations than in the RCP RF estimates. The surface temperature response to ozone through 1970 follows the increase in forcing due to tropospheric ozone. After that time, surface temperatures decrease as ozone RF declines due to stratospheric depletion. The stratospheric ozone depletion also induces substantial changes in surface winds and the Southern Ocean circulation, which may play a role in a slightly stronger response per unit forcing during later decades. Tropical precipitation shifts south during boreal summer from 1850 to 1970, but then shifts northward from 1970 to 2000, following upper tropospheric temperature gradients more strongly than those at the surface.


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 23513-23602 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. T. Shindell ◽  
O. Pechony ◽  
A. Voulgarakis ◽  
G. Faluvegi ◽  
L. Nazarenko ◽  
...  

Abstract. The new generation GISS climate model includes fully interactive chemistry related to ozone in historical and future simulations, and interactive methane in future simulations. Evaluation of ozone, its tropospheric precursors, and methane shows that the model captures much of the large-scale spatial structure seen in recent observations. While the model is much improved compared with the previous chemistry-climate model, especially for ozone seasonality in the stratosphere, there is still slightly too rapid stratospheric circulation too little stratosphere-to-troposphere ozone flux in the Southern Hemisphere and an Antarctic ozone hole that is too large and persists too long quantitative metrics of spatial and temporal correlations with satellite datasets as well as spatial autocorrelation to examine transport and mixing are presented to document improvements in model skill and provide a benchmark for future evaluations. The difference in radiative forcing (RF) calculated using modeled tropospheric ozone versus tropospheric ozone observed by TES is only 0.016 W m−2. Historical 20th Century simulations show a steady increase in whole atmosphere ozone RF through 1970 after which there is a decrease through 2000 due to stratospheric ozone depletion. Ozone forcing increases in the future under RCP8.5 owing to a projected recovery of stratospheric ozone depletion and increases in methane, but decreases under other RCPs due to reductions in emissions of other ozone precursors. RF from methane is 0.05 to 0.18 W m−2 higher in our model calculations than in the RCP RF estimates. The surface temperature response to ozone through 1970 follows the increase in forcing due to tropospheric ozone. After that time, surface temperatures decrease as ozone RF declines due to stratospheric depletion. The stratospheric ozone depletion also induces substantial changes in surface winds and the Southern Ocean circulation, which may play a role in a slightly stronger response per unit forcing during later decades. Tropical precipitation shifts south during boreal summer from 1850 to 1970, but then shifts northward from 1970 to 2000, following upper tropospheric temperature gradients more strongly than those at the surface.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Smith ◽  
Sarah Maleska ◽  
John Virgin

<p>Stratospheric ozone depletion in the Antarctic is well known to cause changes in Southern Hemisphere tropospheric climate; however, because of its smaller magnitude in the Arctic, the effects of stratospheric ozone depletion on Northern Hemisphere tropospheric climate are not as obvious or well understood. Recent research using both global climate models and observational data has determined that the impact of ozone depletion on ozone extremes can affect interannual variability in tropospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere in spring. To further this work, we use a coupled chemistry–climate model to examine the difference in high cloud between years with anomalously low and high Arctic stratospheric ozone concentrations. We find that low ozone extremes during the late twentieth century, when ozone-depleting substances (ODS) emissions are higher, are related to a decrease in upper tropospheric stability and an increase in high cloud fraction, which may contribute to enhanced Arctic surface warming in spring through a positive longwave cloud radiative effect. A better understanding of how Arctic climate is affected by ODS emissions, ozone depletion, and ozone extremes will lead to improved predictions of Arctic climate and its associated feedbacks with atmospheric fields as ozone levels recover.</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (22) ◽  
pp. 14075-14084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fraser Dennison ◽  
Adrian McDonald ◽  
Olaf Morgenstern

Abstract. Asymmetry in the Southern Hemisphere stratospheric ozone hole is important due to both direct radiative heating and its effect on dynamics. It is also a strong indicator of the underlying quality of the stratospheric dynamics of a climate model. We investigate the simulation of the zonal asymmetry in ozone in the NIWA-UKCA atmosphere–ocean chemistry–climate model using elliptical diagnostics, a methodology used for the first time in this subject area. During spring, the region most depleted in ozone is displaced from the pole toward South America based on ERA-Interim and the model output. The model correctly simulates the direction of this displacement but significantly underestimates its magnitude. The model shows that as ozone becomes increasingly depleted over the late 20th century this asymmetry in the ozone distribution moves west, before moving east as polar ozone recovers over the course of the 21st century. Comparison with model runs in which ozone-depleting substances are held fixed at pre-ozone-hole levels shows that this shift is primarily a function of the magnitude of ozone depletion, although increases in greenhouse gases also have some effect.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fraser Dennison ◽  
Adrian McDonald ◽  
Olaf Morgenstern

Abstract. Asymmetry in the Southern Hemisphere stratospheric ozone hole is important due to both direct radiative heating and its effect on dynamics. It is also a strong indicator of the underlying quality of the stratospheric dynamics of a climate model. We investigate the simulation of the zonal asymmetry in ozone in the NIWA-UKCA atmosphere–ocean–chemistry climate model using elliptical diagnostics, a methodology used for the first time in this subject area. During spring, the region most depleted in ozone is displaced from the pole toward South America based on ERA-Interim and the model output. The model correctly simulates the direction of this displacement but significantly underestimates its magnitude. The model shows that as ozone becomes increasingly depleted over the late 20th century this asymmetry in the ozone distribution moves west, before moving east as polar ozone recovers over the course of the 21st century. Comparison with model runs in which ozone depleting substances are held fixed at pre-ozone hole levels shows this shift is primarily a function of the magnitude of ozone depletion, although increases in greenhouse gases also have some effect.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioana Ivanciu ◽  
Katja Matthes ◽  
Sebastian Wahl ◽  
Jan Harlaß ◽  
Arne Biastoch

Abstract. The Antarctic ozone hole has led to substantial changes in the Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation, such as the strengthening and poleward shift of the mid-latitude westerly jet. Ozone recovery during the twenty-first century is expected to continue to affect the jet's strength and position, leading to changes in the opposite direction compared to the twentieth century and competing with the effect of increasing greenhouse gases. Simulations of the Earth's past and future climate, such as those performed for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6), require an accurate representation of these ozone effects. Climate models that use prescribed ozone fields lack the important feedbacks between ozone chemistry, radiative heating, dynamics, as well as transport. These limitations ultimately affect their climate response to ozone depletion. This study investigates the impact of prescribing the ozone field recommended for CMIP6 on the simulated effects of ozone depletion in the Southern Hemisphere. We employ a new, state-of the-art coupled climate model, FOCI, to compare simulations in which the CMIP6 ozone is prescribed with simulations in which the ozone chemistry is calculated interactively. At the same time, we compare the roles played by ozone depletion and by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in driving changes in the Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation, using a series of historical sensitivity simulations. FOCI reliably captures the known effects of ozone depletion, simulating an austral spring and summer intensification of the mid-latitude westerly winds and of the Brewer-Dobson circulation in the Southern Hemisphere. Ozone depletion is the primary driver of these historical circulation changes in FOCI. These changes are weaker in the simulations that prescribe the CMIP6 ozone field. We attribute this weaker response to the missing ozone-radiative-dynamical feedbacks and to a prescribed ozone hole that is displaced compared to the simulated polar vortex, altering the propagation of planetary wave activity. As a result, the dynamical contribution to the ozone-induced austral spring lower stratospheric cooling is suppressed, leading to a weaker cooling trend. Consequently, the intensification of the polar night jet is also weaker in the simulations with prescribed CMIP6 ozone. In addition, the persistence of the Southern Annular Mode is shorter in the prescribed ozone chemistry simulations. These results suggest that climate models which prescribe the CMIP6 ozone field still underestimate the historical ozone-induced dynamical changes in the Southern Hemisphere, while models that calculate the ozone chemistry interactively simulate an improved response to ozone depletion.


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