Rebound of antarctic ozone
Restrictions on CFCs have led to a gradual decline of Equivalent Effective Stratospheric Chlorine (EESC). A rebound of Antarctic ozone, however, has remained elusive, masked by large interannual changes that dominate its current evolution. A positive response of ozone is not expected to emerge for a...
| Published in: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2011
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/8f08ce9a-72e7-4e2c-bbce-ee4674dc967c https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL047266 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79955857390&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
| Summary: | Restrictions on CFCs have led to a gradual decline of Equivalent Effective Stratospheric Chlorine (EESC). A rebound of Antarctic ozone, however, has remained elusive, masked by large interannual changes that dominate its current evolution. A positive response of ozone is not expected to emerge for at least 1-2 decades, possibly not for half a century. We show that interannual changes of the Antarctic ozone hole are accounted for almost perfectly by changes in dynamical forcing of the stratosphere. The close relationship enables dynamically-induced changes of ozone to be removed, unmasking the climate signal associated with CFCs. The component independent of dynamically-induced changes exhibits a clear upward trend over the last decade - the first signature of a rebound in Antarctic ozone. It enables ozone to be tracked relative to CFCs and other changes of climate. |
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