Statistical interpolation of ozone measurements from satellite data (TOMS, SBUV and SAGE II) using the kriging method

This study demonstrates that ordinary kriging in spherical coordinates using experimental semi-variograms provides highly usable results, especially near the pole in winter and/or where there could be data missing over large areas. In addition, kriging allows display of the spatial variability of daily ozone measurements at different pressure levels. Three satellite data sets were used: Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) data, Solar Backscattered UltraViolet (SBUV), and the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE II) ozone profiles. Since SBUV is a nadir-viewing instrument, measurements are only taken along the sun-synchronous polar orbits of the satellite. SAGE II is a limb-viewing solar occultation instrument, and measurements have high vertical resolution but poor daily coverage. TOMS has wider coverage with equidistant distribution of data (resolution 1° × 1.25°) but provides no vertical information. Comparisons of the resulting SBUV-interpolated (column-integrated) ozone field with TOMS data are strongly in agreement, with a global correlation of close to 98%. Comparisons of SBUV-interpolated ozone profiles with daily SAGE II profiles are relatively good, and comparable to those found in the literature. The interpolated ozone layers at different pressure levels are shown.     

Use of coupled ozone fields in a 3-D circulation model of the middle atmosphere

With a detailed chemistry scheme for the middle atmosphere up to 70 km which has been added to the 3-D Karlsruhe simulation model of the middle atmosphere (KASIMA), the effects of coupling chemistry and dynamics through ozone are studied for the middle atmosphere. An uncoupled version using an ozone climatology for determining heating rates and a coupled version using on-line ozone are compared in a 10-month integration with meteorological analyses for the winter 1992/93 as the lower boundary condition. Both versions simulate the meteorological situation satisfactorily, but exhibit a too cold lower stratosphere. The on-line ozone differs from the climatological data between 20 and 40 km by exhibiting too high ozone values, whereas in the lower mesosphere the ozone values are too low. The coupled model version is stable and differs only above 40 km significantly from the uncoupled version. Direct heating effects are identified to cause most of the differences. The well-known negative correlation between temperature and ozone is reproduced in the model. As a result, the coupled version slightly approaches the climatological ozone field. Further feedback effects are studied by using the on-line ozone field as a basis for an artificial climatology. For non-disturbed ozone conditions realistic monthly and zonally averaged ozone data are sufficient to determine the heating rates for modelling the middle atmosphere.     

Very low zonally asymmetric ozone values in March 1997 above the North Atlantic-European region, induced by dynamic processes

The total ozone distribution in March 1997 showed very low values in the North Atlantic-European region, even lower than in the years before. A spatial pattern correlation between the zonally asymmetric part of total ozone and that of the 300 hPa surface geopotential of the Northern Hemisphere was applied to examine the spatial structure of the low ozone values and its dynamic dependence. A trend analysis in the North Atlantic-European region was carried out to determine to what extent the low March 1997 ozone values are related to the decadal change of meteorological parameters in the lower stratosphere, observed since the 1980s, in comparison to the interannual variability. The conclusion is that the very low ozone values above the North Atlantic-European region in March 1997 were mainly induced by dynamic processes, namely their decadal change as well as their interannual variability.     

Validation of GOME total ozone by means of the Norwegian ozone monitoring network

The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) onboard the ERS-2 satellite has been in operation since July 1995. The Norwegian ground-based total ozone network has played an important role both in the main validation during the commissioning phase and in the validation of upgraded versions of the analysis algorithms of the instrument. The ground-based network consists of various spectrometer types (Dobson, Brewer, UV filter instruments). The validation of the second algorithm version used until January 1998 reveals a very good agreement between GOME and ground-based data at solar zenith angles <60° and deviations of GOME total ozone data from ground-based data of up to ±60 DU (∼20%) at zenith angles ≥60°. The deviations strongly depend on the season of the year, being negative in summer and positive in winter/spring, The deviations furthermore show a considerable scattering (up to ±25 DU in monthly average values of 5° SZA intervals), even in close spatial and temporal coincidence with ground-based measurements, especially in the high Arctic. The deviations are also dependent on the viewing geometry/ground pixel size with an additional negative offset for the large pixels used in the backswath mode and at solar zenith angles ≥85°, compared to forward-swath pixels.     

Stratosphere-troposphere exchange in an extratropical cyclone, calculated with a Lagrangian method

A Lagrangian technique is developed and applied to calculate stratosphere-troposphere exchange in an extratropical cyclone. This exchange is computed from the potential vorticity or PV along trajectories, calculated from ECMWF circulation data. Special emphasis is put on the statistical significance of the results. The computed field of the cross-tropopause flux is dominated by elongated patterns of statistically significant large downward and small upward fluxes. The downward fluxes mainly occur in the lower part of the considered tropopause folds. The upward fluxes are found near the entrance of the folds, in the tropopause ridges. The ratio between the area averaged downward and upward cross-tropopause fluxes increases with increasing strength of the cyclone. Since the largest fluxes are shown to occur in the regions with the largest wind shear, where PV-mixing is thought to cause large cross-tropopause fluxes, the results are expected to be reliable, at least in a qualitative sense. The position of a tropopause fold along the northwest coast of Africa is confirmed by total ozone observations. The results indicate that the applied Lagrangian technique is an appropriate tool for diagnosing stratosphere-troposphere exchange.     

Total ozone decrease in the Arctic after REP events

Eight periods of relativistic electron precipitation (REP) with electron energies of more than 300 keV are identified from VLF data (10/14 kHz) monitored along the Aldra (Norway) / Apatity (Kola peninsula) radio trace. In these cases, anomalous ionization below 55/50 km occurred without disturbing the higher layers of the ionosphere. The daily total ozone values in Murmansk for six days before and six days after the REP events are compared. In seven of eight events a decrease in the total ozone of about 20 DU is observed. In one event of 25 March, 1986, the mean total ozone value for six days before the REP is bigger han that for six days after, but this a case of an extremely high ozone increase (144 DU during the six days). However, on days 3 and 4 there was a minimum of about 47 DU with regard to REP days, so this case also confirms the concept of the ozone decrease after REP. The difference between mean ozone values for periods six days before and six days after the REPs was found also for 23 points in Arctic on TOMS data. The difference was negative only in Murmansk longitudinal sector. Along the meridian of the trace it was negative at high latitudes in both hemispheres and was near zero at low latitudes.     

Development of a chemistry module for GCMs: first results of a multiannual integration

The comprehensive chemistry module CHEM has been developed for application in general circulation models (GCMs) describing tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry, including photochemical reactions and heterogeneous reactions on sulphate aerosols and polar stratospheric clouds. It has been coupled to the spectral atmospheric GCM ECHAM3. The model configuration used in the current study has been run in an –off-line mode, i.e. the calculated chemical species do not affect the radiative forcing of the dynamic fields. First results of a 15-year model integration indicate that the model ECHAM3/CHEM runs are numerically efficient and stable, i.e. that no model drift can be detected in dynamic and chemical parameters. The model reproduces the main features regarding ozone, in particular intra- and interannual variability. The ozone columns are somewhat higher than observed (approximately 10%), while the amplitude of the annual cycle is in agreement with observations. A comparison with HALOE data reveals, however, a serious model deficiency regarding lower-stratosphere dynamics at high latitudes. Contrary to what is concluded by observations, the lower stratosphere is characterized by slight upward motions in the polar regions, so that some of the mentioned good agreements must be considered as fortuitous. Nevertheless, ECHAM3/CHEM well describes the chemical processes leading to ozone reduction. It has been shown that the mean fraction of the northern hemisphere, which is covered by polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) as well as the temporal appearance of PSCs in the model, is in fair agreement with observations. The model results show an activation of chlorine inside the polar vortex which is stronger in the southern than in the northern winter hemisphere, yielding an ozone hole over the Antarctic; this hole, however, is also caused to a substantial degree by the dynamics. Interhemispheric differences concerning reformation of chlorine reservoir species HCl and ClONO₂ in spring have also been well reproduced by the model.     

Vertical velocities associated with gravity waves measured in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere with the EISCAT VHF radar

The EISCAT VHF radar (69.4°N, 19.1°E) has been used to record vertical winds at mesopause heights on a total of 31 days between June 1990 and January 1993. The data reveal a motion field dominated by quasi-monochromatic gravity waves with representative apparent periods of 30–40 min, amplitudes of up to 2.5 m s^–1 and large vertical wavelength. In some instances waves appear to be ducted. Vertical profiles of the vertical-velocity variance display a variety of forms, with little indication of systematic wave growth with height. Daily mean variance profiles evaluated for consecutive days of recording show that the general shape of the variance profiles persists over several days. The mean variance evaluated over a 10 km height range has values from 1.2 m²s^–2 to 6.5 m²s^–2 and suggests a semi-annual seasonal cycle with equinoctial minima and solsticial maxima. The mean vertical wavenumber spectrum evaluated at heights up to 86 km has a slope (spectral index) of -1.36 ± 0.2, consistent with observations at lower heights but disagreeing with the predictions of a number of saturation theories advanced to explain gravity-wave spectra. The spectral slopes evaluated for individual days have a range of values, and steeper slopes are observed in summer than in winter. The spectra also appear to be generally steeper on days with lower mean vertical-velocity variance.     

Total ozone and equatorial zonal wind

Spatial correlations between total column ozone observed by TOMS and equatorial zonal winds from 1979 to 2003 have been assessed. Four months and three different altitude levels have been analyzed: January and July (solstice months), April and October (equinoctial months), and 10, 30 and 50 hPa. The results are different for the months and altitudes considered. The highest correlations values appear in tropical zone at 30 hPa. The Brewer–Dobson circulation plays a key role in regulating the abundance of ozone, influenced by the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) circulation. Since the Brewer–Dobson is a slow circulation, correlations considering lags between one and 12 months were estimated. In this case, the highest correlations values are moving to subtropical latitudes at winter hemisphere, with different behaviors for three altitude levels considered.     

On the relationship between vertical ozone distribution and the synoptic situation

Summary The purpose of the paper is to provide a statistical view of the role of circulation patterns and the origin of low stratospheric air in connection with vertical ozone distribution below the ozone maximum, and also with the total ozone amount. Ozonesonde data from the aerological observatory of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI) Prague-Libu (50·0N, 14·7E) for January to April during the period 1979–1990 have been analyzed using an objective method to find the distribution of laminae in the vertical profile of the ozone partial pressure related to the different types of circulation patterns. The synoptic classification following Grosswetterlagen (GWL) was used, the parameters of the ozone profile such as number, magnitude, thickness and height of laminae, or the appearance of the large laminae were obtained for the individual types of GWL and used in other procedures. The total ozone data from the ozone observatory of CHMI in Hradec Králové (50·2N, 15·8E) was also included together with the height of the tropopause and parameters of ozone profiles in the cluster analysis to investigate connections between the ozone distribution and circulation patterns (types of synoptic situation). The ozone low-level index (LLI), defined as the ratio of the integral amount of ozone in D.U. from the surface up to 50 hPa and total ozone were introduced to provide better information about ozone profile response to circulation patterns and thus provide a better grouping of similar types of GWL. The presented results imply the strong confirmation of the huge ozone laminae below the ozone maximum as the source of total ozone positive extremes under appropriate synoptic situations with the near location of the polar vortex edge, which could be used in common forecasts of atmospheric ozone as well as in remote sensing applications.     

Total ozone response to major geomagnetic storms and changes in meteorological situations

Summary The total ozone response to strong major geomagnetic storms (A_p≥60) in winter along the 50° N latitudinal circle is studied. The results add to the recent results of Laštovička et al. (1992) obtained for European middle latitudes (∼50°N) and to the results of Mlch (1994). A significant response of total ozone is only observed in winter under high solar activity/E-phase of QBO conditions (E-max) and seems to be caused by geomagnetic storm-induced changes of atmospheric dynamics. There are two sectors along latitude 50°N, which are sensitive to forcing by geomagnetic storms both in total ozone and the troposphere — north-eastern Atlantic-European and eastern Siberia-Aleutian sectors. The total ozone response under E-max conditions manifests itself mainly as a large decrease in the longitudinal variation of ozone after the storm, which means an increase of ozone in Europe. The observed effects in total ozone consist in redistribution, not production or loss of ozone.     

Late spring ultraviolet levels over the United Kingdom and the link to ozone

Erythemally-weighted ultraviolet (UV_ery) levels measured over southern England, during anticyclonic weather between 30 April and 2 May, 1997, were almost 50 higher than normally expected for clear skies and were similar to mid-summer values for the first time since measurements began in 1990. Investigation of this episode suggests that a combination of both meteorological and chemical effects were responsible for generating record low ozone amounts for the time of year. Further, comparisons between the A band ultraviolet (315 to 400 nm wavelength) amounts, and radiative calculations confirm that the high UV_ery was primarily due to the reduction in total ozone. These results are contrasted with a similar period for 1998, in which near climatological ozone amounts were measured. The prospects for enhanced UV_ery levels in future years are briefly reviewed in the light of expected increases in stratospheric halogen levels and greenhouse gases.     

Spectral characteristics of spring arctic mesosphere dynamics

The spring of 1997 has represented a stable period of operation for the joint University of Tromsø/University of Saskatchewan MF radar, being between refurbishment and upgrades. We examine the horizontal winds from the February to June inclusive and also include estimates of energy dissipation rates derived from signal fading times and presented as upper limits on the turbulent energy dissipation rate, . Here we address the periodicity in the dynamics of the upper mesosphere for time scales from hours to one month. Thus, we are able to examine the changes in the spectral signature of the mesospheric dynamics during the transition from winter to summer states.     

Long-term changes of the upper stratosphere as seen by Japanese rocketsondes at Ryori (39°N, 141°E)

Wind and temperature profiles measured routinely by rockets at Ryori (Japan) since 1970 are analysed to quantify interannual changes that occur in the upper stratosphere. The analysis involved using a least square fitting of the data with a multiparametric adaptative model composed of a linear combination of some functions that represent the main expected climate forcing responses of the stratosphere. These functions are seasonal cycles, solar activity changes, stratospheric optical depth induced by volcanic aerosols, equatorial wind oscillations and a possible linear trend. Step functions are also included in the analyses to take into account instrumental changes. Results reveal a small change for wind data series above 45 km when new corrections were introduced to take into account instrumental changes. However, no significant change of the mean is noted for temperature even after sondes were improved. While wind series reveal no significant trends, a significant cooling of 2.0 to 2.5 K/decade is observed in the mid upper stratosphere using this analysis method. This cooling is more than double the cooling predicted by models by a factor of more than two. In winter, it may be noted that the amplitude of the atmospheric response is enhanced. This is probably caused by the larger ozone depletion and/or by some dynamical feedback effects. In winter, cooling tends to be smaller around 40–45 km (in fact a warming trend is observed in December) as already observed in other data sets and simulated by models. Although the winter response to volcanic aerosols is in good agreement with numerical simulations, the solar signature is of the opposite sign to that expected. This is not understood, but it has already been observed with other data sets.     

Analysis of gravity waves in the tropical middle atmosphere over La Reunion Island (21°S, 55°E) with lidar using wavelet techniques

The capabilities of the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) and the multiresolution analysis (MRA) are presented in this work to measure vertical gravity wave characteristics. Wave properties are extracted from the first data set of Rayleigh lidar obtained between heights of 30 km and 60 km over La Reunion Island (21°S, 55°E) during the Austral winter in 1994 under subtropical conditions. The altitude-wavelength representations deduced from these methods provide information on the time and spatial evolution of the wave parameters of the observed dominant modes in vertical profiles such as the vertical wavelengths, the vertical phase speeds, the amplitudes of temperature perturbations and the distribution of wave energy. The spectra derived from measurements show the presence of localized quasi-monochromatic structures with vertical wavelengths <10 km. Three methods based on the wavelet techniques show evidence of a downward phase progression. A first climatology of the dominant modes observed during the Austral winter period reveals a dominant night activity of 2 or 3 quasi-monochromatic structures with vertical wavelengths between 1/2 km from the stratopause, 3/4 km and 6/10 km observed between heights of 30 km and 60 km. In addition, it reveals a dominant activity of modes with a vertical phase speed of –0.3 m/s and observed periods peaking at 3/4 h and 9 h. The characteristics of averaged vertical wavelengths appear to be similar to those observed during winter in the southern equatorial region and in the Northern Hemisphere at mid-latitudes.     

Diurnal and semidiurnal tide in the upper middle atmosphere during the first year of simultaneous MF radar observations in northern and southern Japan (45°N and 31°N)

The climatology of mean wind, diurnal and semidiurnal tide during the first year (1996–1997) of simultaneous wind observations at Wakkanai (45.4°N, 141.7°E) and Yamagawa (31.2°N, 130.6°E) is presented. The locations of the radars allow us to describe the latitudinal dependence of the tides. Tidal amplitude and phase profiles are compared with those of the global scale wave model (GSWM). While the observed amplitude profiles of the diurnal tide agree well with the GSWM values, the observed phase profiles often indicate longer vertical wavelengths than the GSWM phase profiles. In contrast to the GSWM simulation, the observations show a strong bimodal structure of the diurnal tide, with the phase advancing about 6 hours from summer to winter.     

On the solar/QBO effect on the interannual variability of total ozone and the stratospheric circulation over Northern Europe

Based on total ozone data from the World Ozone Data Center and stratospheric geopotential height data from the Meteorological Institute of Berlin Free University for the months of January through March for the time period of 1958–1996, the influence of the 11-year solar cycle and the equatorial quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) on total ozone and the stratospheric circulation at 30 hPa over Northern Europe is investigated. The analysis is performed for different levels of solar activity. The relationship of the equatorial QBO with ozone and the stratospheric circulation over the study region exhibits unique features attributed to strong opposite connections between the equatorial zonal wind and ozone/stratospheric dynamics during periods of solar minimum and maximum. Using the Solar/QBO effect, a statistical extraction of the interannual variations of total ozone and stratospheric circulation over Northern Europe has been attempted. The variations extracted and observed for late winter show very good correspondence. The solar/QBO effect in total ozone and stratospheric dynamics over Northern Europe appears to be related to planetary wave activity.     

Solar cycle changes to planetary wave propagation and their influence on the middle atmosphere circulation

Recent observations suggest that there may be a causal relationship between solar activity and the strength of the winter Northern Hemisphere circulation in the stratosphere. A three-dimensional model of the atmosphere between 10–140 km was developed to assess the influence of solar minimum and solar maximum conditions on the propagation of planetary waves and the subsequent changes to the circulation of the stratosphere. Ultraviolet heating in the middle atmosphere was kept constant in order to emphasise the importance of non-linear dynamical coupling. A realistic thermo-sphere was achieved by relaxing the upper layers to the MSIS-90 empirical temperature model. In the summer hemisphere, strong radiative damping prevents significant dynamical coupling from taking place. Within the dynamically controlled winter hemisphere, small perturbations are reinforced over long periods of time, resulting in systematic changes to the stratospheric circulation. The winter vortex was significantly weakened during solar maximum and western phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation, in accordance with reported 30 mb geopotential height and total ozone measurements.     

Mountain wave motions determined by the Esrange MST radar

A European campaign of ground-based radar, lidar and optical measurements was carried out during the winter of 1996/1997 (28 December–2 February) to study lee waves in the northern part of Scandinavia. The participants operated ozone lidars, backscatter lidars and MST radars at ALOMAR/Andoya and Esrange/Kiruna, and an ALIS imaging system in Kiruna. The Andoya site was generally windward of the Scandinavian mountains, the Kiruna site on the leeward side. The goal of the experiment was to examine the influence of lee waves on the formation of Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs). This paper studies the radar data from MST-radar ESRAD located at Esrange [68.°N, 21.°E], i.e. in the lee of the mountains. We present three cases where strong lee waves were observed: in one case they propagated upwards to the lower stratosphere and in the other two cases they were trapped or absorbed in the troposphere. We examine the local waves and the direction and strength of the local wind using the radar, the synoptic meteorological situation using weather maps (European Meteorological Bulletin) and the synoptic stratospheric temperatures using ECMWF data. We observed that waves propagate up to the stratosphere during frontal passages. When anticyclonic ridges are present, the propagation to the stratosphere is very weak. This is due to trapping of the waves at or below the tropopause. We also show that the radar data alone can be used to characterise the different weather conditions for the three cases studied (through the variation of the height of the tropopause). The synoptic stratospheric temperatures in the three cases were similar, and were above the expected threshold for PSC formation. Lidar and visual observation of PSCs and nacreous clouds, respectively, showed that these were present only in the case when the lee waves propagated up to the lower stratosphere.