scholarly journals Evidence for energetic particle precipitation and quasi-biennial oscillation modulations of the Antarctic NO<sub>2</sub> springtime stratospheric column from OMI observations

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 6259-6271
Author(s):  
Emily M. Gordon ◽  
Annika Seppälä ◽  
Johanna Tamminen
Keyword(s):  
Energetic Particle ◽  
Activity Index ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Ozone Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Particle Precipitation ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Energetic Particle Precipitation ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Biennial Oscillation

Abstract. Observations from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the Aura satellite are used to study the effect of energetic particle precipitation (EPP, as proxied by the geomagnetic activity index, Ap) on the Antarctic stratospheric NO2 column in late winter–spring (August–December) during the period from 2005 to 2017. We show that the polar (60–90∘ S) stratospheric NO2 column is significantly correlated with EPP throughout the Antarctic spring, until the breakdown of the polar vortex in November. The strongest correlation takes place during years with the easterly phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO). The QBO modulation may be a combination of different effects: the QBO is known to influence the amount of the primary NOx source (N2O) via transport from the Equator to the polar region; and the QBO phase also affects polar temperatures, which may provide a link to the amount of denitrification occurring in the polar vortex. We find some support for the latter in an analysis of temperature and HNO3 observations from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS, on Aura). Our results suggest that once the background effect of the QBO is accounted for, the NOx produced by EPP significantly contributes to the stratospheric NO2 column at the time and altitudes when the ozone hole is present in the Antarctic stratosphere. Based on our findings, and the known role of NOx as a catalyst for ozone loss, we propose that as chlorine activation continues to decrease in the Antarctic stratosphere, the total EPP-NOx needs be accounted for in predictions of Antarctic ozone recovery.

scholarly journals EPP-NO<sub><i>x</i></sub> in Antarctic springtime stratospheric column: Evidence from observations and influence of the QBO

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Gordon ◽  
Annika Seppälä ◽  
Johanna Tamminen
Keyword(s):  
Activity Index ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Ozone Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Antarctic Ozone ◽  
Energetic Particle Precipitation ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Geomagnetic Activity Index

Abstract. Observations from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the Aura satellite are used to study the effect of energetic particle precipitation (EPP, as proxied by the geomagnetic activity index Ap) on the Antarctic stratospheric NO2 column in late winter-spring (Aug-Dec) during the years 2005–2017. We show that the polar (60° S–90° S) stratospheric NO2 column is significantly correlated with EPP throughout the Antarctic spring, until the breakdown of the polar vortex in November. The strongest correlation takes place during years with easterly phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO). We propose that the QBO affects the polar springtime EPP-NOx in two ways: firstly by modulating the amount of the primary NOx source, N2O, transported to the polar region. Secondly, the QBO affects the temperature of the polar vortex and thus the amount of denitrification occurring in the polar vortex, also verified from HNO3 observations from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS/Aura). Our results suggest that NOx produced by EPP significantly contributes to the stratospheric NO2 column at the time when the ozone hole is present in the Antarctic stratosphere. Based on our findings, we recommend that as chlorine activation continues to decrease in the Antarctic stratosphere, the total EPP-NOx should be accounted for in predictions of Antarctic ozone recovery.

scholarly journals Analysis of Arctic Spring Ozone Anomaly in the Phases of QBO and 11-year Solar Cycle for 1979–2011

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yousuke Yamashita ◽  
Hideharu Akiyoshi ◽  
Masaaki Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cycle ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Negative Anomaly ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Biennial Oscillation

Arctic ozone amount in winter to spring shows large year-to-year variation. This study investigates Arctic spring ozone in relation to the phase of quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO)/the 11-year solar cycle, using satellite observations, reanalysis data, and outputs of a chemistry climate model (CCM) during the period of 1979&ndash;2011. For this duration, we found that the composite mean of the Northern Hemisphere high-latitude total ozone in the QBO-westerly (QBO-W)/solar minimum (Smin) phase is slightly smaller than those averaged for the QBO-W/Smax and QBO-E/Smax years in March. An analysis of a passive ozone tracer in the CCM simulation indicates that this negative anomaly is primarily caused by transport. The negative anomaly is consistent with a weakening of the residual mean downward motion in the polar lower stratosphere. The contribution of chemical processes estimated using the column amount difference between ozone and the passive ozone tracer is between 10&ndash;20% of the total anomaly in March. The lower ozone levels in the Arctic spring during the QBO-W/Smin years are associated with a stronger Arctic polar vortex from late winter to early spring, which is linked to the reduced occurrence of sudden stratospheric warming in the winter during the QBO-W/Smin years.

Development of the Extratropical Response to the Stratospheric Quasi-Biennial Oscillation

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-44
Author(s):  
Jian Rao ◽  
Chaim I. Garfinkel ◽  
Ian P. White
Keyword(s):  
Climate Models ◽  
Meridional Circulation ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Flux Divergence ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Atlantic Sector ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Surface Response ◽  
Biennial Oscillation

AbstractUsing the Model of an Idealized Moist Atmosphere (MiMA) capable of spontaneously generating a Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO), the gradual establishment of the extratropical response to the QBO is explored. The period and magnitude of the QBO and the magnitude of the polar Holton-Tan (HT) relationship is simulated in a free-running configuration of MiMA, comparable to that in state-of-the-art climate models. In order to isolate mechanisms whereby the QBO influences variability outside of the tropical atmosphere, a series of branch experiments are performed with nudged QBO winds. When easterly QBO winds maximized around 30 hPa are relaxed, an Eliassen-Palm (E-P) flux divergence dipole quickly forms in the extratropical middle stratosphere as a direct response to the tropical meridional circulation, in contrast to the HT mechanism which is associated with wave propagation near the zero wind line. This meridional circulation response to the relaxed QBO winds develops within the first 10 days in seasonally-varying and fixed-seasonal experiments. No detectable changes in upward propagation of waves in the midlatitude lowermost stratosphere are evident for at least 20 days after branching, with the first changes only evident after 20 days in perpetual midwinter and season-varying runs, but after 40 days in perpetual November runs. The polar vortex begins to respond around the 20th day, and subsequently a near-surface response in the Atlantic sector forms in mid-to-late winter runs. These results suggest that the maximum near-surface response observed in mid-to-late winter is not simply due to a random seasonal synchronization of the QBO phase, but also due to the long (short) lag of the surface response to a QBO relaxation in early (mid-to-late) winter.

scholarly journals Surface impacts of the Quasi Biennial Oscillation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley J. Gray ◽  
James A. Anstey ◽  
Yoshio Kawatani ◽  
Hua Lu ◽  
Scott Osprey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Pacific ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Early Winter ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Stratospheric Polar Vortex ◽  
Tropical Precipitation ◽  
The North ◽  
Biennial Oscillation ◽  
The North Pacific

Abstract. Teleconnections between the Quasi Biennial Oscillation (QBO) and the Northern Hemisphere zonally-averaged zonal winds, mean sea level pressure (mslp) and tropical precipitation are explored using regression analysis. A novel technique is introduced to separate responses associated with the stratospheric polar vortex from other underlying mechanisms. A previously reported mslp response in January, with a pattern that resembles the positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) under QBO westerly conditions, is confirmed and found to be primarily associated with a QBO modulation of the stratospheric polar vortex. This mid-winter response is relatively insensitive to the exact height of the maximum QBO westerlies and a maximum response occurs with westerlies over a relatively deep range between 10–70 hPa. Two additional mslp responses are reported, in early winter (December) and late winter (February/March). In contrast to the January response the early and late winter responses show maximum sensitivity to the QBO winds at ~ 20 hPa and ~ 70 hPa but are relatively insensitive to the QBO winds in between (~ 50 hPa). The late winter response is centred over the North Pacific and is associated with QBO influence from the lowermost stratosphere at tropical/subtropical latitudes. The early winter response consists of anomalies over both the North Pacific and Europe, but the mechanism is unclear and requires further investigation. QBO anomalies are found in tropical precipitation amounts and a southward shift of the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone under westerly QBO conditions is also evident.

scholarly journals Analysis of Arctic Spring Ozone Anomaly in the Phases of QBO and 11-Year Solar Cycle for 1979–2017

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 582
Author(s):  
Yousuke Yamashita ◽  
Hideharu Akiyoshi ◽  
Masaaki Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cycle ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Negative Anomaly ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Biennial Oscillation

Arctic ozone amount in winter to spring shows large year-to-year variation. This study investigates Arctic spring ozone in relation to the phase of quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO)/the 11-year solar cycle, using satellite observations, reanalysis data, and outputs of a chemistry climate model (CCM) during the period of 1979–2017. For this duration, we found that the composite mean of the Northern Hemisphere high-latitude total ozone in the QBO-westerly (QBO-W)/solar minimum (Smin) phase is slightly smaller than those averaged for the QBO-W/Smax and QBO-E/Smax years in March. An analysis of a passive ozone tracer in the CCM simulation indicates that this negative anomaly is primarily caused by transport. The negative anomaly is consistent with a weakening of the residual mean downward motion in the polar lower stratosphere. The contribution of chemical processes estimated using the column amount difference between ozone and the passive ozone tracer is between 10–20% of the total anomaly in March. The lower ozone levels in the Arctic spring during the QBO-W/Smin years are associated with a stronger Arctic polar vortex from late winter to early spring, which is linked to the reduced occurrence of sudden stratospheric warming in the winter during the QBO-W/Smin years.

scholarly journals Energetic particle precipitation: A major driver of the ozone budget in the Antarctic upper stratosphere

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (7) ◽  
pp. 3554-3562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Damiani ◽  
Bernd Funke ◽  
Manuel López Puertas ◽  
Michelle L. Santee ◽  
Raul R. Cordero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energetic Particle ◽  
Particle Precipitation ◽  
Energetic Particle Precipitation ◽  
The Antarctic

scholarly journals Mesospheric N<sub>2</sub>O enhancements as observed by MIPAS on Envisat during the polar winters in 2002–2004

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (19) ◽  
pp. 5787-5800 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Funke ◽  
M. López-Puertas ◽  
M. Garcia-Comas ◽  
G. P. Stiller ◽  
T. von Clarmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energetic Particle ◽  
Major Part ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Chemical Production ◽  
Additional Source ◽  
Particle Precipitation ◽  
N2o Production ◽  
Energetic Particle Precipitation ◽  
Production Mechanisms

Abstract. N2O abundances ranging from 0.5 to 6 ppbv were observed in the polar upper stratosphere/lower mesosphere by the MIPAS instrument on the Envisat satellite during the Arctic and Antarctic winters in the period July 2002 to March 2004. A detailed study of the observed N2O-CH4 correlations shows that such enhancements cannot be explained by dynamics without invoking an upper atmospheric chemical source of N2O. The N2O enhancements observed at 58 km occurred in the presence of NOx intrusions from the upper atmosphere which were related to energetic particle precipitation. Further, the inter-annual variability of mesospheric N2O correlates well with observed precipitating electron fluxes. The analysis of possible chemical production mechanisms shows that the major part of the observed N2O enhancements is most likely generated under dark conditions by the reaction of NO2 with atomic nitrogen at altitudes around 70–75 km in the presence of energetic particle precipitation (EPP). A possible additional source of N2O in the middle and upper polar atmosphere is the reaction of N2(A3Σu+), generated by precipitating electrons, with O2, which would lead to N2O production peaking at altitudes around 90–100 km. N2O produced by the latter mechanism could then descend to the mesosphere and upper stratosphere during polar winter. The estimated fraction of EPP-generated N2O to the total stratospheric N2O inside the polar vortex above 20 km (30 km) never exceeds 1% (10%) during the 2002–2004 winters. Compared to the global amount of stratospheric N2O, the EPP-generated contribution is negligible.

scholarly journals Surface impacts of the Quasi Biennial Oscillation

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 8227-8247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley J. Gray ◽  
James A. Anstey ◽  
Yoshio Kawatani ◽  
Hua Lu ◽  
Scott Osprey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Stratospheric Polar Vortex ◽  
Zonal Winds ◽  
Orthogonal Function ◽  
The North ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Biennial Oscillation ◽  
The North Pacific

Abstract. Teleconnections between the Quasi Biennial Oscillation (QBO) and the Northern Hemisphere zonally averaged zonal winds, mean sea level pressure (mslp) and tropical precipitation are explored. The standard approach that defines the QBO using the equatorial zonal winds at a single pressure level is compared with the empirical orthogonal function approach that characterizes the vertical profile of the equatorial winds. Results are interpreted in terms of three potential routes of influence, referred to as the tropical, subtropical and polar routes. A novel technique is introduced to separate responses via the polar route that are associated with the stratospheric polar vortex, from the other two routes. A previously reported mslp response in January, with a pattern that resembles the positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation under QBO westerly conditions, is confirmed and found to be primarily associated with a QBO modulation of the stratospheric polar vortex. This mid-winter response is relatively insensitive to the exact height of the maximum QBO westerlies and a maximum positive response occurs with westerlies over a relatively deep range between 10 and 70 hPa. Two additional mslp responses are reported, in early winter (December) and late winter (February/March). In contrast to the January response the early and late winter responses show maximum sensitivity to the QBO winds at ∼ 20 and ∼ 70 hPa respectively, but are relatively insensitive to the QBO winds in between (∼ 50 hPa). The late winter response is centred over the North Pacific and is associated with QBO influence from the lowermost stratosphere at tropical/subtropical latitudes in the Pacific sector. The early winter response consists of anomalies over both the North Pacific and Europe, but the mechanism for this response is unclear. Increased precipitation occurs over the tropical western Pacific under westerly QBO conditions, particularly during boreal summer, with maximum sensitivity to the QBO winds at 70 hPa. The band of precipitation across the Pacific associated with the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) shifts southward under QBO westerly conditions. The empirical orthogonal function (EOF)-based analysis suggests that this ITCZ precipitation response may be particularly sensitive to the vertical wind shear in the vicinity of 70 hPa and hence the tropical tropopause temperatures.

scholarly journals Observational evidence of energetic particle precipitation NO<sub><i>x</i></sub> (EPP-NO<sub><i>x</i></sub>) interaction with chlorine curbing Antarctic ozone loss

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 2819-2836
Author(s):  
Emily M. Gordon ◽  
Annika Seppälä ◽  
Bernd Funke ◽  
Johanna Tamminen ◽  
Kaley A. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Energetic Particle ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Observational Evidence ◽  
Particle Precipitation ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Ozone Loss ◽  
Ozone Destruction ◽  
Antarctic Ozone ◽  
Energetic Particle Precipitation ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. We investigate the impact of the so-called energetic particle precipitation (EPP) indirect effect on lower stratospheric ozone, ClO, and ClONO2 in the Antarctic springtime. We use observations from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on Aura, the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment – Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) on SCISAT, and the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) on Envisat, covering the period from 2005 to 2017. Using the geomagnetic activity index Ap as a proxy for EPP, we find consistent ozone increases with elevated EPP during years with an easterly phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) in both OMI and MLS observations. While these increases are the opposite of what has previously been reported at higher altitudes, the pattern in the MLS O3 follows the typical descent patterns of EPP-NOx. The ozone enhancements are also present in the OMI total O3 column observations. Analogous to the descent patterns found in O3, we also found consistent decreases in springtime MLS ClO following winters with elevated EPP. To verify if this is due to a previously proposed mechanism involving the conversion of ClO to the reservoir species ClONO2 in reaction with NO2, we used ClONO2 observations from ACE-FTS and MIPAS. As ClO and NO2 are both catalysts in ozone destruction, the conversion to ClONO2 would result in an ozone increase. We find a positive correlation between EPP and ClONO2 in the upper stratosphere in the early spring and in the lower stratosphere in late spring, providing the first observational evidence supporting the previously proposed mechanism relating to EPP-NOx modulating Clx-driven ozone loss. Our findings suggest that EPP has played an important role in modulating ozone depletion in the last 15 years. As chlorine loading in the polar stratosphere continues to decrease in the future, this buffering mechanism will become less effective, and catalytic ozone destruction by EPP-NOx will likely become a major contributor to Antarctic ozone loss.

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