Articles | Volume 16, issue 16
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10455-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10455-2016
Research article
 | 
19 Aug 2016
Research article |  | 19 Aug 2016

The natural oscillations in stratospheric ozone observed by the GROMOS microwave radiometer at the NDACC station Bern

Lorena Moreira, Klemens Hocke, Francisco Navas-Guzmán, Ellen Eckert, Thomas von Clarmann, and Niklaus Kämpfer

Abstract. A multilinear parametric regression analysis was performed to assess the seasonal and interannual variations of stratospheric ozone profiles from the GROMOS (GROund-based Millimeter-wave Ozone Spectrometer) microwave radiometer at Bern, Switzerland (46.95° N, 7.44° E; 577 m). GROMOS takes part in the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). The study covers the stratosphere from 50 to 0.5 hPa (from 21 to 53 km) and extends over the period from January 1997 to January 2015. The natural variability was fitted during the regression analysis through the annual and semi-annual oscillations (AO, SAO), the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the solar activity cycle. Seasonal ozone variations mainly appear as an annual cycle in the middle and upper stratosphere and a semi-annual cycle in the upper stratosphere. Regarding the interannual variations, they are primarily present in the lower and middle stratosphere. In the lower and middle stratosphere, ozone variations are controlled predominantly by transport processes, due to the long lifetime of ozone, whereas in the upper stratosphere its lifetime is relatively short and ozone is controlled mainly by photochemistry. The present study shows agreement in the observed naturally induced ozone signatures with other studies. Further, we present an overview of the possible causes of the effects observed in stratospheric ozone due to natural oscillations at a northern midlatitude station. For instance regarding the SAO, we find that polar winter stratopause warmings contribute to the strength of this oscillation since these temperature enhancements lead to a reduction in upper stratospheric ozone. We have detected a strong peak amplitude of about 5 % for the solar cycle in lower stratospheric ozone for our 1.5 cycles of solar activity. Though the 11-year ozone oscillation above Bern is in phase with the solar cycle, we suppose that the strong amplitude is partly due to meteorological disturbances and associated ozone anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere. Further, our observational study gave the result that ozone above Bern is anti-correlated with the ENSO phenomenon in the lower stratosphere and correlated in the middle stratosphere.

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Short summary
The GROMOS radiometer in Bern has been part of the NDACC since 1994. Our time series of stratospheric ozone profiles allow the assessment of natural oscillations, which are essential for the evaluation of detected stratospheric ozone trends. Among our new findings are the link between the upper stratospheric O3-SAO and the polar stratopause warmings in winter. We have also detected a strong peak amplitude of 5 % related to the solar activity cycle and the ENSO effect in ozone at midlatitudes.
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