Articles | Volume 18, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-49-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-49-2018
Research article
 | 
03 Jan 2018
Research article |  | 03 Jan 2018

Observations of ozone depletion events in a Finnish boreal forest

Xuemeng Chen, Lauriane L. J. Quéléver, Pak L. Fung, Jutta Kesti, Matti P. Rissanen, Jaana Bäck, Petri Keronen, Heikki Junninen, Tuukka Petäjä, Veli-Matti Kerminen, and Markku Kulmala

Abstract. We investigated the concentrations and vertical profiles of ozone over a 20-year period (1996–2016) at the SMEAR II station in southern Finland. Our results showed that the typical daily median ozone concentrations were in the range of 20–50 ppb with clear diurnal and annual patterns. In general, the profile of ozone concentrations illustrated an increase as a function of heights. The main aim of our study was to address the frequency and strength of ozone depletion events at this boreal forest site. We observed more than a thousand of 10 min periods at 4.2 m, with ozone concentrations below 10 ppb, and a few tens of cases with ozone concentrations below 2 ppb. Among these observations, a number of ozone depletion events that lasted for more than 3 h were identified, and they occurred mainly in autumn and winter months. The low ozone concentrations were likely related to the formation of a low mixing layer under the conditions of low temperatures, low wind speeds, high relative humidities and limited intensity of solar radiation.

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Short summary
We analysed a 20-year-long dataset collected in a Finnish boreal forest at SMEAR II station to investigate the frequency and strength of ozone depletion events. We could identify a number of ozone depletion events that lasted for more than 3 h, mainly in the autumn and winter months. Their occurrence was likely related to the formation of a low mixing layer under the conditions of low temperatures, low wind speeds, high relative humidities and limited intensity of solar radiation.
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