Antarctic air over New Zealand following vortex breakdown in 1998

• Main Authors: Ajtic, J., Connor, B. J., Randall, C. E., Lawrence, B. N., Bodeker, G. E., Rosenfield, J. E., Heuff, D. N.
• Other Authors: Department of Physics and Astronomy Christchurch (DPA), University of Canterbury Christchurch, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Wellington (NIWA), Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics Boulder (LASP), University of Colorado Boulder, British Atmospheric Data Centre, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)-Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center (GEST), University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), University of Maryland System-University of Maryland System
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2003
• Subjects: [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences; Antarctic; The Antarctic; New Zealand; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00317190; https://hal.science/hal-00317190/document; https://hal.science/hal-00317190/file/angeo-21-2175-2003.pdf

International audience An ozonesonde profile over the Network for Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC) site at Lauder (45.0° S, 169.7° E), New Zealand, for 24 December 1998 showed atypically low ozone centered around 24 km altitude (600 K potential temperature). The origin of the anomaly is explained using reverse domain filling (RDF) calculations combined with a PV/O 3 fitting technique applied to ozone measurements from the Polar Ozone and Aerosol Measurement (POAM) III instrument. The RDF calculations for two isentropic surfaces, 550 and 600 K, show that ozone-poor air from the Antarctic polar vortex reached New Zealand on 24?26 December 1998. The vortex air on the 550 K isentrope originated in the ozone hole region, unlike the air on 600 K where low ozone values were caused by dynamical effects. High-resolution ozone maps were generated, and their examination shows that a vortex remnant situated above New Zealand was the cause of the altered ozone profile on 24 December. The maps also illustrate mixing of the vortex filaments into southern midlatitudes, whereby the overall mid-latitude ozone levels were decreased.