Ozone temperature correlations in the upper stratosphere as a measure of chlorine content

Abstract

We use data from the Nimbus‐7 Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) for the 1978–1979 period together with data from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite Microwave Limb Sounder (UARS MLS) for the years 1993 to 1999, the Aura MLS for the years 2004 to 2011, and the Aura High Resolution Infrared Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) for the years 2005 to 2007 to examine ozone‐temperature correlations in the upper stratosphere. Our model simulations indicate that the sensitivity coefficient of the ozone response to temperature (Δln(O3)/Δ(1/T)) decreases as chlorine has increased in the stratosphere and should increase in the future as chlorine decreases. The data are in agreement with our simulation of the past. We also find that the sensitivity coefficient does not change in a constant‐chlorine simulation. Thus the change in the sensitivity coefficient depends on the change in chlorine, but not on the change in greenhouse gases. We suggest that these and future data can be used to track the impact of chlorine added to the stratosphere and also to track the recovery of the stratosphere as chlorine is removed under the provisions of the Montreal Protocol.