scholarly journals Simulation of the record Arctic stratospheric ozone depletion in 2020

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens-Uwe Grooß ◽  
Rolf Müller
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Lagrangian Model ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Ozone Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Polar Stratosphere ◽  
Year 2000

<p>In Arctic winter/spring 2019/2020, the stratospheric temperatures  were exceptionally low until early April and the polar vortex was  very stable.  As a consequence, significant chemical ozone depletion  occurred in Northern polar regions in spring 2020.  Here, we present  simulations by the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere  (CLaMS) that address the development of chlorine compounds and  ozone in the polar stratosphere in 2020.  The simulation reproduces  relevant observations of ozone and chlorine compounds, as shown by  comparisons with data from Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), Atmospheric  Chemistry Experiment - Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS),  in-situ ozone sondes and the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI).  Although the concentration of chlorine and bromine compounds in the  polar stratosphere has decreased by more than 10% compared to the  peak values around the year 2000, the meteorological conditions in  winter/spring 2019/2020 caused an unprecedented ozone depletion. The  simulated lowest ozone mixing ratio was around 0.05 ppmv and the  calculated partial ozone column depletion in the vortex core in the  lower stratosphere reached 141 Dobson Units between 350 and 600 K  potential temperature, which is more than the  loss in the years 2011 and 2016 which until 2020 had seen the  largest Arctic ozone depletion on record.</p>

scholarly journals Midlatitude ClO during the maximum atmospheric chlorine burden: in situ balloon measurements and model simulations

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 875-909
Author(s):  
B. Vogel ◽  
R. Müller ◽  
A. Engel ◽  
J.-U. Grooß ◽  
D. Toohey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Lagrangian Model ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Model Simulations ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
Chlorine Monoxide ◽  
Similar Good ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract. Chlorine monoxide (ClO) plays a key role in stratospheric ozone loss processes at midlatitudes. We present two balloonborne in situ measurements of ClO conducted in northern hemisphere midlatitudes during the period of the maximum of total inorganic chlorine loading in the atmosphere. Both ClO measurements were conducted on board the TRIPLE balloon payload, launched in November 1996 in León, Spain, and in May 1999 in Aire sur l'Adour, France. For both flights a ClO daylight and night time vertical profile could be derived over an altitude range of approximately 15–31 km. ClO mixing ratios are compared to model simulations performed with the photochemical box model version of the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS). Simulations along 24-h backward trajectories were performed to study the diurnal variation of ClO in the midlatitude lower stratosphere. Model simulations for the flight launched in Aire sur l'Adour 1999 show a good agreement with the ClO measurements. For the flight launched in León 1996, a similar good agreement is found, except at around ≈650 K potential temperature (≈26 km altitude). However, a tendency is found that for solar zenith angles greater than 86°–87° the simulated ClO mixing ratios substantially overestimate measured ClO by approximately a factor of 2.5 or more for both flights. Therefore we conclude that no indication can be deduced from the presented ClO measurements that substantial uncertainties exist in midlatitude chlorine chemistry of the stratosphere. An exception is the situation at solar zenith angles greater than 86°–87° where model simulations substantial overestimate ClO observations.

scholarly journals Quantification of the impact in mid-latitudes of chemical ozone depletion in the 1999/2000 Arctic polar vortex prior to the vortex breakup

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1911-1940 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Koch ◽  
H. Wernli ◽  
S. Buss ◽  
J. Staehelin ◽  
T. Peter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Model Calculations ◽  
Air Masses ◽  
Future Evolution ◽  
Ozone Destruction ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Polar Ozone

Abstract. For the winter 1999/2000 transport of air masses out of the vortex to mid-latitudes and ozone destruction inside and outside the northern polar vortex is studied to quantify the impact of earlier winter (before March) polar ozone destruction on mid-latitude ozone. Nearly 112 000 trajectories are started on 1 December 1999 on 6 different potential temperature levels between 500–600 K and for a subset of these trajectories photo-chemical box-model calculations are performed. We linked a decline of −0.9% of mid-latitude ozone in this layer occurring in January and February 2000 to ozone destruction inside the vortex and successive transport of these air masses to mid-latitudes. Further, the impact of denitrification, PSC-occurrence and anthropogenic chlorine loading on future stratospheric ozone is determined by applying various scenarios. Lower stratospheric temperatures and denitrification were found to play the most important role in the future evolution of polar ozone depletion.

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 Northern Hemisphere Stratospheric Ozone Depletion Caused by Solar Proton Events: The Role of the Polar Vortex

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 2115-2124 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. H. Denton ◽  
R. Kivi ◽  
T. Ulich ◽  
M. A. Clilverd ◽  
C. J. Rodger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Solar Proton ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone Depletion ◽  
Solar Proton Events

scholarly journals Ozone Chemistry during the 2002 Antarctic Vortex Split

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 860-870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens-Uwe Grooß ◽  
Paul Konopka ◽  
Rolf Müller
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Polar Region ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Dilution Effect ◽  
Lagrangian Model ◽  
Chemical Effect ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Air Masses ◽  
Antarctic Polar Vortex ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract In September 2002, the Antarctic polar vortex was disturbed, and it split into two parts caused by an unusually early stratospheric major warming. This study discusses the chemical consequences of this event using the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS). The chemical initialization of the simulation is based on Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) measurements. Because of its Lagrangian nature, CLaMS is well suited for simulating the small-scale filaments that evolve during this period. Filaments of vortex origin in the midlatitudes were observed by HALOE several times in October 2002. The results of the simulation agree well with these HALOE observations. The simulation further indicates a very rapid chlorine deactivation that is triggered by the warming associated with the split of the vortex. Correspondingly, the ozone depletion rates in the polar vortex parts rapidly decrease to zero. Outside the polar vortex, where air masses of midlatitude origin were transported to the polar region, the simulation shows high ozone depletion rates at the 700-K level caused mainly by NOx chemistry. Owing to the major warming in September 2002, ozone-poor air masses were transported into the midlatitudes and caused a decrease of midlatitude ozone by 5%–15%, depending on altitude. Besides this dilution effect, there was no significant additional chemical effect. The net chemical ozone depletion in air masses of vortex origin was low and did not differ significantly from that of midlatitude air, in spite of the different chemical composition of the two types of air masses.

scholarly journals Ozone Loss and Recovery and the Preconditioning of Upward-Propagating Planetary Wave Activity

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (12) ◽  
pp. 3977-3994 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Albers ◽  
Terrence R. Nathan
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Planetary Wave ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Wave Drag ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Residual Circulation ◽  
Wave Amplification ◽  
Ozone Loss

Abstract A mechanistic chemistry–dynamical model is used to evaluate the relative importance of radiative, photochemical, and dynamical feedbacks in communicating changes in lower-stratospheric ozone to the circulation of the stratosphere and lower mesosphere. Consistent with observations and past modeling studies of Northern Hemisphere late winter and early spring, high-latitude radiative cooling due to lower-stratospheric ozone depletion causes an increase in the modeled meridional temperature gradient, an increase in the strength of the polar vortex, and a decrease in vertical wave propagation in the lower stratosphere. Moreover, it is shown that, as planetary waves pass through the ozone loss region, dynamical feedbacks precondition the wave, causing a large increase in wave amplitude. The wave amplification causes an increase in planetary wave drag, an increase in residual circulation downwelling, and a weaker polar vortex in the upper stratosphere and lower mesosphere. The dynamical feedbacks responsible for the wave amplification are diagnosed using an ozone-modified refractive index; the results explain recent chemistry–coupled climate model simulations that suggest a link between ozone depletion and increased polar downwelling. The effects of future ozone recovery are also examined and the results provide guidance for researchers attempting to diagnose and predict how stratospheric climate will respond specifically to ozone loss and recovery versus other climate forcings including increasing greenhouse gas abundances and changing sea surface temperatures.

scholarly journals A Match-based approach to the estimation of polar stratospheric ozone loss using Aura Microwave Limb Sounder observations

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (17) ◽  
pp. 9945-9963 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. Livesey ◽  
M. L. Santee ◽  
G. L. Manney
Keyword(s):  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Air Mass ◽  
Ozone Loss ◽  
Chemical Destruction ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The well-established "Match" approach to quantifying chemical destruction of ozone in the polar lower stratosphere is applied to ozone observations from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on NASA's Aura spacecraft. Quantification of ozone loss requires distinguishing transport- and chemically induced changes in ozone abundance. This is accomplished in the Match approach by examining cases where trajectories indicate that the same air mass has been observed on multiple occasions. The method was pioneered using ozonesonde observations, for which hundreds of matched ozone observations per winter are typically available. The dense coverage of the MLS measurements, particularly at polar latitudes, allows matches to be made to thousands of observations each day. This study is enabled by recently developed MLS Lagrangian trajectory diagnostic (LTD) support products. Sensitivity studies indicate that the largest influence on the ozone loss estimates are the value of potential vorticity (PV) used to define the edge of the polar vortex (within which matched observations must lie) and the degree to which the PV of an air mass is allowed to vary between matched observations. Applying Match calculations to MLS observations of nitrous oxide, a long-lived tracer whose expected rate of change is negligible on the weekly to monthly timescales considered here, enables quantification of the impact of transport errors on the Match-based ozone loss estimates. Our loss estimates are generally in agreement with previous estimates for selected Arctic winters, though indicating smaller losses than many other studies. Arctic ozone losses are greatest during the 2010/11 winter, as seen in prior studies, with 2.0 ppmv (parts per million by volume) loss estimated at 450 K potential temperature (~ 18 km altitude). As expected, Antarctic winter ozone losses are consistently greater than those for the Arctic, with less interannual variability (e.g., ranging between 2.3 and 3.0 ppmv at 450 K). This study exemplifies the insights into atmospheric processes that can be obtained by applying the Match methodology to a densely sampled observation record such as that from Aura MLS.

scholarly journals Denitrification by large NAT particles: the impact of reduced settling velocities and hints on particle characteristics

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (20) ◽  
pp. 11525-11544 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Woiwode ◽  
J.-U. Grooß ◽  
H. Oelhaf ◽  
S. Molleker ◽  
S. Borrmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Spherical Particles ◽  
Lagrangian Model ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Reference Scenario ◽  
Climate Interactions ◽  
Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract. Vertical redistribution of HNO3 through large HNO3-containing particles associated with polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) plays an important role in the chemistry of the Arctic winter stratosphere. During the RECONCILE (Reconciliation of essential process parameters for an enhanced predictability of Arctic stratospheric ozone loss and its climate interactions) campaign, apparently very large NAT (nitric acid trihydrate) particles were observed by the airborne in situ probe FSSP-100 (Molleker et al., 2014). Our analysis shows that the FSSP-100 observations associated with the flight on 25 January 2010 cannot easily be explained assuming compact spherical NAT particles due to much too short growing time at temperatures below the existence temperature of NAT (TNAT). State-of-the-art simulations using CLaMS (Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere; Grooß et al., 2014) suggest considerably smaller particles. We consider the hypothesis that the simulation reproduces the NAT particle masses in a realistic way, but that real NAT particles may have larger apparent sizes compared to compact spherical particles, e.g. due to non-compact morphology or aspheric shape. Our study focuses on the consequence that such particles would have reduced settling velocities compared to compact spheres, altering the vertical redistribution of HNO3. Utilising CLaMS simulations, we investigate the impact of reduced settling velocities of NAT particles on vertical HNO3 redistribution and compare the results with observations of gas-phase HNO3 by the airborne Fourier transform spectrometer MIPAS-STR associated with two RECONCILE flights. The MIPAS-STR observations confirm conditions consistent with denitrification by NAT particles for the flight on 25 January 2010 and show good agreement with the simulations within the limitations of the comparison. Best agreement is found if settling velocities between 100 and 50% relative to compact spherical particles are considered (slight preference for the 70% scenario). In contrast, relative settling velocities of 30% result in too weak vertical HNO3 redistribution. Sensitivity simulations considering temperature biases of ±1 K and multiplying the simulated nucleation rates by factors of 0.5 and 2.0 affect the comparisons to a similar extent, but result in no effective improvement compared to the reference scenario. Our results show that an accurate knowledge of the settling velocities of NAT particles is important for quantitative simulations of vertical HNO3 redistribution.

scholarly journals Observations of filamentary structures near the vortex edge in the Arctic winter lower stratosphere

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 10859-10871 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Kalicinsky ◽  
J.-U. Grooß ◽  
G. Günther ◽  
J. Ungermann ◽  
J. Blank ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Lagrangian Model ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Air Mass ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
Passive Tracers

Abstract. The CRISTA-NF (Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescope for the Atmosphere – New Frontiers) instrument is an airborne infrared limb sounder operated aboard the Russian research aircraft M55-Geophysica. The instrument successfully participated in a large Arctic aircraft campaign within the RECONCILE (Reconciliation of essential process parameters for an enhanced predictability of Arctic stratospheric ozone loss and its climate interactions) project in Kiruna (Sweden) from January to March 2010. This paper concentrates on the measurements taken during one flight of the campaign, which took place on 2 March in the vicinity of the polar vortex. We present two-dimensional cross-sections of derived volume mixing ratios for the trace gases CFC-11, O3, and ClONO2 with an unprecedented vertical resolution of about 500 to 600 m for a large part of the observed altitude range (≈ 6–19 km) and a dense horizontal sampling along flight direction of ≈ 15 km. The trace gas distributions show several structures, for example a part of the polar vortex and a vortex filament, which can be identified by means of O3–CFC-11 tracer–tracer correlations. The observations made during this flight are interpreted using the chemistry and transport model CLaMS (Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere). Comparisons of the observations with the model results are used to assess the performance of the model with respect to advection, mixing, and the chemistry in the polar vortex. These comparisons confirm the capability of CLaMS to reproduce even very small-scale structures in the atmosphere, which partly have a vertical extent of only 1 km. Based on the good agreement between simulation and observation, we use artificial (passive) tracers, which represent different air mass origins (e.g. vortex, tropics), to further analyse the CRISTA-NF observations in terms of the composition of air mass origins. These passive tracers clearly illustrate the observation of filamentary structures that include tropical air masses. A characteristic of the Arctic winter 2009/10 was a sudden stratospheric warming in December that led to a split of the polar vortex. The vortex re-established at the end of December. Our passive tracer simulations suggest that large parts of the re-established vortex consisted to about 45% of high- and mid-latitude air.

scholarly journals MIPAS-STR measurements in the Arctic UTLS in winter/spring 2010: instrument characterization, retrieval and validation

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1205-1228 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Woiwode ◽  
H. Oelhaf ◽  
T. Gulde ◽  
C. Piesch ◽  
G. Maucher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Trace Gases ◽  
Michelson Interferometer ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Radiometric Calibration ◽  
Mid Infrared ◽  
Mean Differences

Abstract. The mid-infrared FTIR-limb-sounder Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding–STRatospheric aircraft (MIPAS-STR) was deployed onboard the research aircraft M55 Geophysica during the RECONCILE campaign (Reconciliation of Essential Process Parameters for an Enhanced Predictability of Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Loss and its Climate Interactions) in the Arctic winter/spring 2010. From the MIPAS-STR measurements, vertical profiles and 2-dimensional vertical cross-sections of temperature and trace gases are retrieved. Detailed mesoscale structures of polar vortex air, extra vortex air and vortex filaments are identified in the results at typical vertical resolutions of 1 to 2 km and typical horizontal sampling densities of 45 or 25 km, depending on the sampling programme. Results are shown for the RECONCILE flight 11 on 2 March 2010 and are validated with collocated in-situ measurements of temperature, O3, CFC-11, CFC-12 and H2O. Exceptional agreement is found for the in-situ comparisons of temperature and O3, with mean differences (vertical profile/along flight track) of 0.2/−0.2 K for temperature and −0.01/0.05 ppmv for O3 and corresponding sample standard deviations of the mean differences of 0.7/0.6 K and 0.1/0.3 ppmv. The comparison of the retrieved vertical cross-sections of HNO3 from MIPAS-STR and the infrared limb-sounder Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere–New Frontiers (CRISTA–NF) indicates a high degree of agreement. We discuss MIPAS-STR in its current configuration, the spectral and radiometric calibration of the measurements and the retrieval of atmospheric parameters from the spectra. The MIPAS-STR measurements are significantly affected by continuum-like contributions, which are attributed to background aerosol and broad spectral signatures from interfering trace gases, and are important for mid-infrared limb-sounding in the Upper Troposphere/Lower Stratosphere (UTLS) region. Taking into consideration continuum-like effects, we present a scheme suitable for accurate retrievals of temperature and an extended set of trace gases, including the correction of a systematic line-of-sight offset.

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