Observation of widespread depletion of ozone in the springtime boundary layer of the central Arctic linked to mesoscale synoptic conditions

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research
• Main Authors: Jacobi, Hans-Werner, Morin, Samuel, Bottenheim, Jan W.
• Other Authors: CHANG, Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Department of Bentho-pelagic processes, Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung = Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research = Institut Alfred-Wegener pour la recherche polaire et marine (AWI), Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft = Helmholtz Association-Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft = Helmholtz Association-Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung = Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research = Institut Alfred-Wegener pour la recherche polaire et marine (AWI), Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft = Helmholtz Association-Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft = Helmholtz Association, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), German Science Foundation (DFG); (project 2006-SR1-MD-065, European Project:
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2010
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Arctic Basin
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00561265; https://hal.science/hal-00561265/document; https://hal.science/hal-00561265/file/2010JD013940.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD013940

International audience Recurrent and episodic depletions of ozone (O3) in the atmospheric boundary layer have been observed at arctic coastal sites during springtime for the past 25 years. Additional measurements from the central Arctic Ocean in April 2003 and 2007 confirm previous observations in 1994 indicating that low (<5 nmol mol‑1) O3 levels most likely represent the normal state of the boundary layer of the Arctic Ocean in springtime. Ozone mixing ratios increase sporadically to typical remote background values only during the approach of lows moving northward into the central Arctic from midlatitudes, bringing O3-rich air into the Arctic basin. During a vast majority of the observed O3 transitions related to the influence of lows, O3 mixing ratios are strongly negatively correlated to atmospheric pressure. This negative correlation is generally stronger than the correlation between O3 mixing ratios and air temperature. The observations indicate that the stable boundary layer, which is a large-scale feature of the Arctic Ocean in springtime, may regularly be void of O3 implying a shift to halogen radicals as the major oxidizing agent on the same spatial scale. The removal of O3 in the boundary layer on such a large scale may contribute to a reduction of the warming caused by tropospheric O3 in the Arctic, although the overall impact on the radiation budget is currently unknown.