Evolution of the eastward shift in the quasi-stationary minimum of the Antarctic total ozone column

The quasi-stationary pattern of the Antarctic total ozone has changed during the last 4 decades, showing an eastward shift in the zonal ozone minimum. In this work, the association between the longitudinal shift of the zonal ozone minimum and changes in meteorological fields in austral spring (Septe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
Main Authors: Grytsai, Asen, Klekociuk, Andrew, Milinevsky, Gennadi, Evtushevsky, Oleksandr, Stone, Kane Adam
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Copernicus GmbH 2016
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Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/109719
Description
Summary:The quasi-stationary pattern of the Antarctic total ozone has changed during the last 4 decades, showing an eastward shift in the zonal ozone minimum. In this work, the association between the longitudinal shift of the zonal ozone minimum and changes in meteorological fields in austral spring (September–November) for 1979–2014 is analyzed using ERA-Interim and NCEP–NCAR reanalyses. Regressive, correlative and anomaly composite analyses are applied to reanalysis data. Patterns of the Southern Annular Mode and quasi-stationary zonal waves 1 and 3 in the meteorological fields show relationships with interannual variability in the longitude of the zonal ozone minimum. On decadal timescales, consistent longitudinal shifts of the zonal ozone minimum and zonal wave 3 pattern in the middle-troposphere temperature at the southern midlatitudes are shown. Attribution runs of the chemistry–climate version of the Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator (ACCESS-CCM) model suggest that long-term shifts of the zonal ozone minimum are separately contributed by changes in ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases. As is known, Antarctic ozone depletion in spring is strongly projected on the Southern Annular Mode in summer and impacts summertime surface climate across the Southern Hemisphere. The results of this study suggest that changes in zonal ozone asymmetry accompanying ozone depletion could be associated with regional climate changes in the Southern Hemisphere in spring.