scholarly journals Evaluating the Performance of Ozone Products Derived from CrIS/NOAA20, AIRS/Aqua and ERA5 Reanalysis in the Polar Regions in 2020 Using Ground-Based Observations

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 4375
Author(s):  
Hongmei Wang ◽  
Yapeng Wang ◽  
Kun Cai ◽  
Songyan Zhu ◽  
Xinxin Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Ozone Hole ◽  
Detection Sensitivity ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Loss Process ◽  
Ozone Loss ◽  
Ozone Profile ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Polar Ozone

Quantifying spatiotemporal polar ozone changes can promote our understanding of global stratospheric ozone depletion, polar ozone-related chemical processes, and atmospheric dynamics. By means of ground-level measurements, satellite observations, and re-analyzed meteorology, the global spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of the total column ozone (TCO) and ozone profile can be quantitatively described. In this study, we evaluated the ozone datasets from CrIS/NOAA20, AIRS/Aqua, and ERA5/ECWMF for their performance in polar regions in 2020, along with the in situ observations of the Dobson, Brewer, and ozonesonde instruments, which are regarded as benchmarks. The results showed that the ERA5 reanalysis ozone field had good consistency with the ground observations (R > 0.95) and indicated whether the TCO or ozone profile was less affected by the site location. In contrast, both CrIS and AIRS could capture the ozone loss process resulting from the Antarctic/Arctic ozone hole at a monthly scale, but their ability to characterize the Arctic ozone hole was weaker than in the Antarctic. Specifically, the TCO values derived from AIRS were apparently higher in March 2020 than those of ERA5, which made it difficult to assess the area and depth of the ozone hole during this period. Moreover, the pattern of CrIS TCO was abnormal and tended to deviate from the pattern that characterized ERA5 and AIRS at the Alert site during the Arctic ozone loss process in 2020, which demonstrates that CrIS ozone products have limited applicability at this ground site. Furthermore, the validation of the ozone profile shows that AIRS and CrIS do not have good vertical representation in the polar regions and are not able to characterize the location and depth of ozone depletion. Overall, the results reveal the shortcomings of the ozone profiles derived from AIRS and CrIS observations and the reliability of the ERA5 reanalysis ozone field in polar applications. A more suitable prior method and detection sensitivity improvement on CrIS and AIRS ozone products would improve their reliability and applicability in polar regions.

scholarly journals Modelling the effect of denitrification on polar ozone depletion for Arctic winter/spring 2004/05

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 3857-3884 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Feng ◽  
M. P. Chipperfield ◽  
S. Davies ◽  
G. W. Mann ◽  
K. S. Carslaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Standard Model ◽  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Particle Sedimentation ◽  
Ozone Loss ◽  
The Standard Model ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Polar Ozone

Abstract. A three-dimensional (3-D) chemical transport model (CTM), SLIMCAT, has been used to quantify the effect of denitrification on ozone loss for the Arctic winter/spring 2004/05. The simulated HNO3 is found to be highly sensitive to the polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) scheme used in the model. Here the standard SLIMCAT full chemistry model, which uses a thermodynamic equilibrium PSC scheme, overpredicts the Arctic ozone loss for Arctic winter/spring 2004/05 due to the overestimation of denitrification and stronger chlorine activation than observed. A model run with a detailed microphysical denitrification scheme, DLAPSE (Denitrification by Lagrangian Particle Sedimentation), is less denitrified than the standard model run and better reproduces the observed HNO3 as measured by Airborne SUbmillimeter Radiometer (ASUR) and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instruments. The overestimated denitrification causes a small overestimation of Arctic polar ozone loss (~5–10% at ~17 km) by the standard model. Use of the DLAPSE scheme improves the simulation of Arctic ozone depletion compared with the inferred partial column ozone loss from ozonesondes and satellite data. Overall, denitrification is responsible for a ~30% enhancement in O3 depletion for Arctic winter/spring 2004/05, suggesting that the successful simulation of the impact of denitrification on Arctic ozone depletion also requires the use of a detailed microphysical PSC scheme in the model.

Polar ozone depletion: Current status

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 1110-1122 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. S. Henderson ◽  
J. C. McConnell ◽  
S. R. Beagley ◽  
W. F. J. Evans
Keyword(s):  
High Latitude ◽  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Chemical Mechanism ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Austral Spring ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Polar Ozone

Rapid springtime depletion of column ozone (O3) is observed over the Antarctic during the austral spring. A much weaker springtime depletion is observed in the Arctic region. This depletion results from a complex chemical mechanism that involves the catalytic destruction of stratospheric ozone by chlorine. The chemical mechanism appears to operate between ~12–25 km in the colder regions of the polar winter vortices. During the polar night heterogeneous chemical reactions occur on the surface of polar stratospheric clouds that convert relatively inert reservoir Cl species such as HCl to active Cl species. These clouds form when temperatures drop below about 197 K and are ubiquitous throughout the polar winter region. At polar sunrise the reactive Cl species are photolysed, liberating large quantities of free Cl that subsequently catalytically destroys O3 with a mechanism involving the formation of the Cl2O2 dimer. The magnitude of the spring depletion is much greater in the Antarctic relative to the Arctic owing to the greater stability and longer duration of the southern polar vortex. Breakup of the intense high-latitude vortices in late (Antarctic) or early (Arctic) spring results in infilling of the ozone holes but adversely affects midlatitude ozone levels by diluting them with O3-depleted, ClO-rich high-latitude air. The magnitude of the Antarctic ozone depletion has been increasing since 1979 and its current depletion in October 1990 amounts to 60%. The increase in the size of the depletion is anticorrelated with increasing anthropogenic chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs) release. Adherence to the revised Montréal Protocol should result in a reduction of stratospheric halogen levels with subsequent amelioration of polar ozone depletion but the time constant for the atmosphere to return to pre-CFC levels is ~60–100 years.

The Arctic ozone crater in 1989

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (10) ◽  
pp. 1113-1121
Author(s):  
W. F. J. Evans ◽  
A. E. Walker ◽  
F. E. Bunn
Keyword(s):  
Total Ozone ◽  
Ozone Hole ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Crater Floor ◽  
Circulation Cell ◽  
Tropospheric Circulation ◽  
Antarctic Ozone ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Ozone Hole ◽  
Polar Ozone

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.

scholarly journals Reconciliation of essential process parameters for an enhanced predictability of Arctic stratospheric ozone loss and its climate interactions

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 30661-30754 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. von Hobe ◽  
S. Bekki ◽  
S. Borrmann ◽  
F. Cairo ◽  
F. D'Amato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Ice Clouds ◽  
Ozone Loss ◽  
Process Studies ◽  
Polar Ozone

Abstract. Significant reductions in stratospheric ozone occur inside the polar vortices each spring when chlorine radicals produced by heterogeneous reactions on cold particle surfaces in winter destroy ozone mainly in two catalytic cycles, the ClO dimer cycle and the ClO/BrO cycle. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are responsible for most of the chlorine currently present in the stratosphere, have been banned by the Montreal Protocol and its amendments, and the ozone layer is predicted to recover to 1980 levels within the next few decades. During the same period, however, climate change is expected to alter the temperature, circulation patterns and chemical composition in the stratosphere, and possible geo-engineering ventures to mitigate climate change may lead to additional changes. To realistically predict the response of the ozone layer to such influences requires the correct representation of all relevant processes. The European project RECONCILE has comprehensively addressed remaining questions in the context of polar ozone depletion, with the objective to quantify the rates of some of the most relevant, yet still uncertain physical and chemical processes. To this end RECONCILE used a broad approach of laboratory experiments, two field missions in the Arctic winter 2009/10 employing the high altitude research aircraft M55-Geophysica and an extensive match ozone sonde campaign, as well as microphysical and chemical transport modelling and data assimilation. Some of the main outcomes of RECONCILE are as follows: (1) vortex meteorology: the 2009/10 Arctic winter was unusually cold at stratospheric levels during the six-week period from mid-December 2009 until the end of January 2010, with reduced transport and mixing across the polar vortex edge; polar vortex stability and how it is influenced by dynamic processes in the troposphere has led to unprecedented, synoptic-scale stratospheric regions with temperatures below the frost point; in these regions stratospheric ice clouds have been observed, extending over >106km2 during more than 3 weeks. (2) Particle microphysics: heterogeneous nucleation of nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) particles in the absence of ice has been unambiguously demonstrated; conversely, the synoptic scale ice clouds also appear to nucleate heterogeneously; a variety of possible heterogeneous nuclei has been characterised by chemical analysis of the non-volatile fraction of the background aerosol; substantial formation of solid particles and denitrification via their sedimentation has been observed and model parameterizations have been improved. (3) Chemistry: strong evidence has been found for significant chlorine activation not only on polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) but also on cold binary aerosol; laboratory experiments and field data on the ClOOCl photolysis rate and other kinetic parameters have been shown to be consistent with an adequate degree of certainty; no evidence has been found that would support the existence of yet unknown chemical mechanisms making a significant contribution to polar ozone loss. (4) Global modelling: results from process studies have been implemented in a prognostic chemistry climate model (CCM); simulations with improved parameterisations of processes relevant for polar ozone depletion are evaluated against satellite data and other long term records using data assimilation and detrended fluctuation analysis. Finally, measurements and process studies within RECONCILE were also applied to the winter 2010/11, when special meteorological conditions led to the highest chemical ozone loss ever observed in the Arctic. In addition to quantifying the 2010/11 ozone loss and to understand its causes including possible connections to climate change, its impacts were addressed, such as changes in surface ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the densely populated northern mid-latitudes.

Record-breaking stratospheric smoke and record-breaking ozone depletion events in the Arctic and in Antarctica in 2020! Any link between smoke occurrence and ozone depletion?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Ohneiser ◽  
Albert Ansmann ◽  
Ronny Engelmann ◽  
Boris Barja ◽  
Holger Baars ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Particle Surface ◽  
Chemical Processes ◽  
Ozone Hole ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Aerosol Layer ◽  
Raman Lidar ◽  
Smoke Particles ◽  
Heterogeneous Chemical ◽  
Ozone Profile

<p>The highlight of our multiwavelength polarization Raman lidar measurements during the 1-year MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) expedition in the Arctic Ocean ice from October 2019 to May 2020 was the detection of a persistent, 10 km deep aerosol layer in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) with clear and unambiguous wild-fire smoke signatures. The smoke is supposed to originate from extraordinarily intense and long-lasting wildfires in central and eastern Siberia in July and August 2019 and may have reached the tropopause layer by the self-lifting process.</p><p>Temporally almost parallelly, record-breaking wildfires accompanied by unprecedentedly strong pyroconvection were raging in the south-eastern part of Australia in late December 2019 and early January 2020. These fires injected huge amounts of biomass-burning smoke into the stratosphere where the smoke particles became distributed over the entire southern hemispheric in the UTLS regime from 10-30 km to even 35 km height. The stratospheric smoke layer was monitored with our Raman lidar in Punta Arenas (53.2°S, 70.9°W, Chile, southern South America) for two years.</p><p>The fact that these two events in both hemispheres coincided with record-breaking ozone hole events in both hemispheres in the respective spring seasons motivated us to discuss a potential impact of the smoke particles on the strong ozone depletion. The discussion is based on the overlapping height ranges of the smoke particles, polar stratospheric clouds, and the ozone hole regions. It is well known that strong ozone reduction is linked to the development of a strong and long-lasting polar vortex, which favours increased PSC formation. In these clouds, active chlorine components are produced via heterogeneous chemical processes on the surface of the PSC particles. Finally, the chlorine species destroy ozone molecules in the spring season. However, there are two pathways to influence ozone depletion by aerosol pollution. The particles can influence the evolution of PSCs and specifically their microphysical properties (number concentration and size distribution), and on the other hand, the particles can be directly involved in heterogeneous chemical processes by increasing the particle surface area available to convert nonreactive chlorine components into reactive forms. A third (indirect) impact of smoke, when well distributed over large parts of the Northern or Southern hemispheres, is via the influence on large-scale atmospheric dynamics.</p><p>We will show our long-term smoke lidar observations in the central Arctic and in Punta Arenas as well as ozone profile measurements during the ozone-depletion seasons. Based on these aerosol and ozone profile data we will discuss the potential interaction between smoke and ozone.</p>

scholarly journals A study of polar ozone depletion based on sequential assimilation of satellite data from the ENVISAT/MIPAS and Odin/SMR instruments

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 899-911 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Rösevall ◽  
D. P. Murtagh ◽  
J. Urban ◽  
A. K. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Satellite Data ◽  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Solar Irradiation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ozone Data ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Polar Ozone

Abstract. The objective of this study is to demonstrate how polar ozone depletion can be mapped and quantified by assimilating ozone data from satellites into the wind driven transport model DIAMOND, (Dynamical Isentropic Assimilation Model for OdiN Data). By assimilating a large set of satellite data into a transport model, ozone fields can be built up that are less noisy than the individual satellite ozone profiles. The transported fields can subsequently be compared to later sets of incoming satellite data so that the rates and geographical distribution of ozone depletion can be determined. By tracing the amounts of solar irradiation received by different air parcels in a transport model it is furthermore possible to study the photolytic reactions that destroy ozone. In this study, destruction of ozone that took place in the Antarctic winter of 2003 and in the Arctic winter of 2002/2003 have been examined by assimilating ozone data from the ENVISAT/MIPAS and Odin/SMR satellite-instruments. Large scale depletion of ozone was observed in the Antarctic polar vortex of 2003 when sunlight returned after the polar night. By mid October ENVISAT/MIPAS data indicate vortex ozone depletion in the ranges 80–100% and 70–90% on the 425 and 475 K potential temperature levels respectively while the Odin/SMR data indicates depletion in the ranges 70–90% and 50–70%. The discrepancy between the two instruments has been attributed to systematic errors in the Odin/SMR data. Assimilated fields of ENVISAT/MIPAS data indicate ozone depletion in the range 10–20% on the 475 K potential temperature level, (~19 km altitude), in the central regions of the 2002/2003 Arctic polar vortex. Assimilated fields of Odin/SMR data on the other hand indicate ozone depletion in the range 20–30%.

Record springtime stratospheric ozone depletion at 80°N in 2020

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramina Alwarda ◽  
Kristof Bognar ◽  
Kimberly Strong ◽  
Martyn Chipperfield ◽  
Sandip Dhomse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Optical Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Polar Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Ozone Loss ◽  
Stratospheric Clouds

<p>The Arctic winter of 2019-2020 was characterized by an unusually persistent polar vortex and temperatures in the lower stratosphere that were consistently below the threshold for the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). These conditions led to ozone loss that is comparable to the Antarctic ozone hole. Ground-based measurements from a suite of instruments at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) in Eureka, Canada (80.05°N, 86.42°W) were used to investigate chemical ozone depletion. The vortex was located above Eureka longer than in any previous year in the 20-year dataset and lidar measurements provided evidence of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) above Eureka. Additionally, UV-visible zenith-sky Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) measurements showed record ozone loss in the 20-year dataset, evidence of denitrification along with the slowest increase of NO<sub>2</sub> during spring, as well as enhanced reactive halogen species (OClO and BrO). Complementary measurements of HCl and ClONO<sub>2</sub> (chlorine reservoir species) from a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer showed unusually low columns that were comparable to 2011, the previous year with significant chemical ozone depletion. Record low values of HNO<sub>3</sub> in the FTIR dataset are in accordance with the evidence of PSCs and a denitrified atmosphere. Estimates of chemical ozone loss were derived using passive ozone from the SLIMCAT offline chemical transport model to account for dynamical contributions to the stratospheric ozone budget.</p>

scholarly journals Evolution in the cold

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Antarctic Fish ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Evolutionary Studies ◽  
Adaptive Radiations ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into

Theodosius Dobzhansky once remarked that nothing in biology makes sense other than in the light of evolution, thereby emphasising the central role of evolutionary studies in providing the theoretical context for all of biology. It is perhaps surprising then that evolutionary biology has played such a small role to date in Antarctic science. This is particularly so when it is recognised that the polar regions provide us with an unrivalled laboratory within which to undertake evolutionary studies. The Antarctic exhibits one of the classic examples of a resistance adaptation (antifreeze peptides and glycopeptides, first described from Antarctic fish), and provides textbook examples of adaptive radiations (for example amphipod crustaceans and notothenioid fish). The land is still largely in the grip of major glaciation, and the once rich terrestrial floras and faunas of Cenozoic Gondwana are now highly depauperate and confined to relatively small patches of habitat, often extremely isolated from other such patches. Unlike the Arctic, where organisms are returning to newly deglaciated land from refugia on the continental landmasses to the south, recolonization of Antarctica has had to take place by the dispersal of propagules over vast distances. Antarctica thus offers an insight into the evolutionary responses of terrestrial floras and faunas to extreme climatic change unrivalled in the world. The sea forms a strong contrast to the land in that here the impact of climate appears to have been less severe, at least in as much as few elements of the fauna show convincing signs of having been completely eradicated.

scholarly journals BRICS in polar regions: Brazil’s interests and prospects

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-340
Author(s):  
Paulo Borba Casella ◽  
◽  
Maria Lagutina ◽  
Arthur Roberto Capella Giannattasio ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Legal Regulation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Public Power ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
International Power ◽  
Global Affairs ◽  
The Antarctic

The current international legal regulation of the Arctic and Antarctica was organized during the second half of the XX century to establish an international public power over the two regions, the Arctic Council (AC) and the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), which is characterized by Euro-American dominance. However, the rise of emerging countries at the beginning of the XXI century suggests a progressive redefinition of the structural balance of international power in favor of states not traditionally perceived as European and Western. This article examines the role of Brazil within the AC and the ATS to address various polar issues, even institutional ones. As a responsible country in the area of cooperation in science and technology in the oceans and polar regions in BRICS, Brazil appeals to its rich experience in Antarctica and declares its interest in joining the Arctic cooperation. For Brazil, participation in polar cooperation is a way to increase its role in global affairs and BRICS as a negotiating platform. It is seen in this context as a promising tool to achieve this goal. This article highlights new paths in the research agenda concerning interests and prospects of Brazilian agency in the polar regions.

scholarly journals Simple measures of ozone depletion in the polar stratosphere

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Müller ◽  
J.-U. Grooß ◽  
C. Lemmen ◽  
D. Heinze ◽  
M. Dameris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Total Ozone ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Total Column Ozone ◽  
Ozone Loss ◽  
Break Up ◽  
Column Ozone ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Polar Ozone ◽  
Daily Total

Abstract. We investigate the extent to which quantities that are based on total column ozone are applicable as measures of ozone loss in the polar vortices. Such quantities have been used frequently in ozone assessments by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and also to assess the performance of chemistry-climate models. The most commonly considered quantities are March and October mean column ozone poleward of geometric latitude 63° and the spring minimum of daily total ozone minima poleward of a given latitude. Particularly in the Arctic, the former measure is affected by vortex variability and vortex break-up in spring. The minimum of daily total ozone minima poleward of a particular latitude is debatable, insofar as it relies on one single measurement or model grid point. We find that, for Arctic conditions, this minimum value often occurs in air outside the polar vortex, both in the observations and in a chemistry-climate model. Neither of the two measures shows a good correlation with chemical ozone loss in the vortex deduced from observations. We recommend that the minimum of daily minima should no longer be used when comparing polar ozone loss in observations and models. As an alternative to the March and October mean column polar ozone we suggest considering the minimum of daily average total ozone poleward of 63° equivalent latitude in spring (except for winters with an early vortex break-up). Such a definition both obviates relying on one single data point and reduces the impact of year-to-year variability in the Arctic vortex break-up on ozone loss measures. Further, this measure shows a reasonable correlation (r=–0.75) with observed chemical ozone loss. Nonetheless, simple measures of polar ozone loss must be used with caution; if possible, it is preferable to use more sophisticated measures that include additional information to disentangle the impact of transport and chemistry on ozone.

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