Reply on RC1

Abstract

We investigate the temporal variations of the ground-level ozone and balloon-based ozone profiles at Pohang (36.02° N, 129.23° E) in Korean Peninsula. Satellite measurements and chemical reanalysis products are also intercompared to address their capability of providing a consistent information on the temporal and vertical variability of atmospheric ozone. Sub-seasonal variations of the summertime lower tropospheric ozone exhibit a bimodal pattern related to atmospheric weather patterns modulated by the East Asian monsoon circulation. The peak ozone abundances occur during the pre-summer monsoon with enhanced ozone formation due to favorable meteorological conditions (dry and sunny). Ozone concentrations reach its minimum during the summer monsoon and then remerges in autumn before the winter monsoon arrives. Profile measurements indicates that ground-level ozone is vertically mixed up 400 hPa in summer while the impact of the summer monsoon on ozone dilution is found up to 600 hPa. Compared to satellite measurements, reanalysis products largely overestimate ozone abundances in both troposphere and stratosphere and give inconsistent features of temporal variations. Nadir-viewing measurements from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) slightly underestimate the boundary layer ozone, but well represent the bimodal peaks of ozone in the lower troposphere and the interannual changes of the lower tropospheric ozone in August, with higher ozone concentrations during the strong El Niño events and the low ozone concentrations in during the 2020 La Niña event.