Spatial variation of ozone depletion rates in the springtime antarctic polar vortex

Journal Article · Fri May 11 04:00:00 EDT 1990 · Science (Washington, D.C.); (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.11538181· OSTI ID:6418733

Yung, Y L; Allen, M; Crisp, D; Zurek, R W; Sander, S P ^[1]

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1. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (USA)

An area-mapping technique, designed to filter out synoptic perturbations of the Antarctic polar vortex such as distortion or displacement away from the pole, was applied to the Nimbus-7 TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) data. This procedure reveals the detailed morphology of the temporal evolution of column O{sub 3}. The results for the austral spring of 1987 suggest the existence of a relatively stable collar region enclosing an interior that is undergoing large variations. There is tentative evidence for quasi-periodic O{sub 3} fluctuations in the collar and for upwelling of tropospheric air in late spring. A simplified photochemical model of O{sub 3} loss and the temporal evolution of the area-mapped polar O{sub 3} are used to constrain the chlorine monoxide (ClO) concentrations in the springtime Antarctic vortex. The concentrations required to account for the observed loss of O{sub 3} are higher than those previously reported by Anderson et al. but are comparable to their recently revised values. However, the O{sub 3} loss rates could be larger than deduced here because of underestimates of total O{sub 3} by TOMS near the terminator. This uncertainty, together with the uncertainties associated with measurements acquired during the Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment, suggests that in early spring, closer to the vortex center, there may be even larger ClO concentrations than have yet been detected.

• OSTI ID: 6418733
• Journal Information: Science (Washington, D.C.); (USA), Journal Name: Science (Washington, D.C.); (USA) Vol. 248:4956; ISSN SCIEA; ISSN 0036-8075
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
AIR POLLUTION
ANTARCTIC REGIONS
ANTARCTICA
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
CHLORINE OXIDES
DISTRIBUTION
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
LAYERS
MAPPING
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OZONE
OZONE LAYER
PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTIONS
POLAR REGIONS
POLLUTION
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
SPECTROMETERS
UPWELLING
VARIATIONS