Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
www.atmos-chem-phys.net
1680-7316
1680-7324
7
3
2007
10.5194/acp-7-961-2007
http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/7/961/2007/
http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/7/961/2007/acp-7-961-2007.html
http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/7/961/2007/acp-7-961-2007.pdf
961
972
2007-02-22
The January 2006 low ozone event over the UK
M. Keil
mike.keil@metoffice.gov.uk
D. R. Jackson
M. C. Hort
Met Office, FitzRoy Road, Exeter, EX1 3PB, UK
In this paper we present a case study of a record low ozone event observed
over the UK in January 2006. We focus on the dynamical processes that
cause this event. This is done by examining the observations, meteorological
analyses and back trajectories calculated by the NAME III atmospheric dispersion
model. We show that this model, hitherto only used for tropospheric
pollution studies, can be an important and effective tool for the
examination of transport in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS)
and mid-stratosphere regions.
<br><br>
A record low total ozone column of 177 DU was observed at Reading, UK, on
19 January 2006. Low ozone values were also recorded at other stations in
Northwest Europe around this date. Ozonesonde measurements indicate the
depletion is occurring in two distinct vertical regions, with around a third
of the reduction in total ozone column values originating from the
mid-stratosphere and the rest from the UTLS region. Evidence suggests that
air inside the stratospheric polar vortex was poor in ozone prior to
19 January and the occurrence of a major stratospheric warming shifted this
air over Northwest Europe. In addition we show that moderate
ozone depletion, related to the lifting of the tropopause and divergence
in the lower stratosphere associated with the presence of an anticyclone,
is also a plausible mechanism for the record low ozone column that is observed.
<br><br>
In order to confirm that both mid-stratosphere and UTLS transport processes are
responsible for the record low ozone values, we perform turbulent back
trajectory calculations using the Met Office NAME III model. The results show
that air parcels in the mid-stratosphere that arrive over the British Isles
on 19 January originate in the polar vortex, and furthermore that air
parcels near the tropopause arrive from low latitudes and are transported
anticyclonically. Therefore this strongly suggests that the record low ozone
values are due to a combination of a raised tropopause with increased divergence
in the lower stratosphere and the presence of low ozone stratospheric air aloft.
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