Association of the vertical ozone structure with the lower‐stratospheric circulation

Abstract

This study aims to examine the role of the atmospheric circulation in the lower stratosphere in relation to the vertical ozone distribution. This analysis is based on the vertical ozone profiles collected by balloon‐borne sondes released at Athens, Greece (38° N, 24° E) during the period 2002–2005 and those derived from Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) observations of ENVISAT. The most pronounced special features of the ozone structure have been used in order to create groups of relevant profiles. The occurrence of the laminated ozone structure, the minimum of ozone partial pressure at the height region of 14–17 km and the ozone minima at the height region of 20–25 km as well as the scalable ozone increment from the region of the characteristic ozone minimum up to the ozone maximum concentration region, correlated with the general circulation, leads to several results. They are (1) the laminated ozone profiles are associated with the north‐north‐west circulation in the lower stratosphere; (2) the characteristic ozone minimum is related to the influence of the subtropical jet stream circulation; (3) the observed ozone depletion at the height region of 20–25 km is characterized by the movement of the polar vortex to the mid‐latitudes, resulting in more intense north‐western circulation above our experimental site; and (4) the scalable ozone increment from the characteristic ozone minimum region at 100 hPa up to the region where the ozone partial pressure takes its maximum value was observed on the southern side of the trough during cyclonic flow.