Optical monitoring of characteristics of the stratospheric aerosol layer and total ozone content at the Siberian Lidar Station (Tomsk: 56° 30′ N; 85° E)

Abstract

We consider the results of long-term remote optical monitoring obtained at the Siberian Lidar Station of Institute of Atmospheric Optics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk (56° 30′ N, 85° E). The scattering characteristics of stratospheric aerosol layer, obtained according to data of lidar measurements recorded since 1986, are presented. We analyse the trends of changes in the total ozone (TO) content over Tomsk for the period 1996–2013 according to data of spectrophotometric measurements employing Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) data for the period 1979–1994. We determined the periods of elevated content of stratospheric aerosol over Tomsk after a series of explosive eruptions of volcanoes in the Pacific Ring of Fire and Iceland in 2006–2011. Since the second half of the 1990s we have recorded an increasing TO trend, equalling 0.65 DU/year for the period 1996–2013.