Simulation of denitrification and ozone loss for the Arctic winter 2002/2003

• Main Authors: Grooß, J.-U., Günther, G., Müller, R., Konopka, P., Bausch, S., Schlager, H., Voigt, C., Volk, C.M., Toon, G. C.
• Other Authors: Institut für Chemie und Dynamik der Geosphäre - Stratosphäre (ICG-1), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft = Helmholtz Association-Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft = Helmholtz Association, DLR Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre (IPA), Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt Oberpfaffenhofen-Wessling (DLR), Institut für Meteorologie und Geophysik Frankfurt, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2005
• Subjects: [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; Arctic
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00295667; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00295667/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00295667/file/acp-5-1437-2005.pdf

International audience We present simulations with the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS) for the Arctic winter 2002/2003. We integrated a Lagrangian denitrification scheme into the three-dimensional version of CLaMS that calculates the growth and sedimentation of nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) particles along individual particle trajectories. From those, we derive the HNO 3 downward flux resulting from different particle nucleation assumptions. The simulation results show a clear vertical redistribution of total inorganic nitrogen ( ), with a maximum vortex average permanent removal of over 5ppb in late December between 500 and 550K and a corresponding increase of of over 2ppb below about 450K. The simulated vertical redistribution of is compared with balloon observations by MkIV and in-situ observations from the high altitude aircraft Geophysica. Assuming a globally uniform NAT particle nucleation rate of 7.8x10 -6 cm -3 h -1 in the model, the observed denitrification is well reproduced. In the investigated winter 2002/2003, the denitrification has only moderate impact (?14%) on the simulated vortex average ozone loss of about 1.1ppm near the 460K level. At higher altitudes, above 600K potential temperature, the simulations show significant ozone depletion through -catalytic cycles due to the unusual early exposure of vortex air to sunlight.