Numerical Modeling of Ozone Loss in the Exceptional Arctic Stratosphere Winter–Spring of 2020

Dynamical processes and changes in the ozone layer in the Arctic stratosphere during the winter of 2019–2020 were analyzed using numerical experiments with a chemistry-transport model (CTM) and reanalysis data. The results of numerical calculations using CTM with Dynamic parameters specified from the Modern Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2) reanalysis data, carried out according to several scenarios of accounting for the chemical destruction of ozone, demonstrated that both Dynamic and chemical processes contribute significantly to ozone changes over the selected World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Centre network stations, both in the Eastern and in the Western hemispheres. Based on numerical experiments with the CTM, the specific Dynamic conditions of winter–spring 2019–2020 described a decrease in ozone up to 100 Dobson Units (DU) in the Eastern Hemisphere and over 150 DU in the Western Hemisphere. In this case, the photochemical destruction of ozone in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres at a maximum was about 50 DU with peaks in April in the Eastern Hemisphere and in March and April in the Western Hemisphere. Heterogeneous activation of halogen gases on the surface of polar stratospheric clouds, on the one hand, led to a sharp increase in the destruction of ozone in chlorine and bromine catalytic cycles, and, on the other hand, decreased its destruction in nitrogen catalytic cycles. Analysis of wave activity using 3D Plumb fluxes showed that the enhancement of upward wave activity propagation in the middle of March over the Gulf of Alaska was observed during the development stage of the minor sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event that led to displacement of the stratospheric polar vortex to the north of Canada and decrease of polar stratospheric clouds’ volume.

New Insights into Polar Stratospheric Clouds

New satellite observations of polar stratospheric clouds have advanced our understanding of how, when, and where they form, their composition, and their role in ozone depletion.

Mountain-wave-induced polar stratospheric clouds and their representation in the global chemistry model ICON-ART

Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are a driver for ozone depletion in the lower polar stratosphere. They provide surface for heterogeneous reactions activating chlorine and bromine reservoir species during the polar night. The large-scale effects of PSCs are represented by means of parameterisations in current global chemistry–climate models, but one process is still a challenge: the representation of PSCs formed locally in conjunction with unresolved mountain waves. In this study, we investigate direct simulations of PSCs formed by mountain waves with the ICOsahedral Nonhydrostatic modelling framework (ICON) with its extension for Aerosols and Reactive Trace gases (ART) including local grid refinements (nesting) with two-way interaction. Here, the nesting is set up around the Antarctic Peninsula, which is a well-known hot spot for the generation of mountain waves in the Southern Hemisphere. We compare our model results with satellite measurements of PSCs from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and gravity wave observations of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS). For a mountain wave event from 19 to 29 July 2008 we find similar structures of PSCs as well as a fairly realistic development of the mountain wave between the satellite data and the ICON-ART simulations in the Antarctic Peninsula nest. We compare a global simulation without nesting with the nested configuration to show the benefits of adding the nesting. Although the mountain waves cannot be resolved explicitly at the global resolution used (about 160 km), their effect from the nested regions (about 80 and 40 km) on the global domain is represented. Thus, we show in this study that the ICON-ART model has the potential to bridge the gap between directly resolved mountain-wave-induced PSCs and their representation and effect on chemistry at coarse global resolutions.

Polar Stratospheric Clouds Detection at Belgrano II Antarctic Station with Visible Ground-Based Spectroscopic Measurements

By studying the evolution of the color index (CI) during twilight at high latitudes, polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) can be detected and characterized. In this work, this method has been applied to the measurements obtained by a visible ground-based spectrometer and PSCs have been studied over the Belgrano II Antarctic station for years 2018 and 2019. The methodology applied has been validated by full spherical radiative transfer simulations, which confirm that PSCs can be detected and their altitude estimated with this instrumentation. Moreover, our investigation shows that this method is useful even in presence of optically thin tropospheric clouds or aerosols. PSCs observed in this work have been classified by altitude. Our results are in good agreement with the stratospheric temperature evolution obtained by the global meteorological model ECMWF (European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts) and with satellite PSCs observations from CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol-Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations). To investigate the presence and long-term evolution of PSCs, the methodology used in this work could also be applied to foreseen and/or historical observations obtained with ground-based spectrometers such e. g. those dedicated to Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) for trace gas observation in Arctic and Antarctic sites.

Record springtime stratospheric ozone depletion at 80°N in 2020

<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>