Simultaneous lidar and EOS MLS measurements, and modeling, of a rare polar ozone filament event over Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii

Abstract

In mid‐March 2005, a rare lower stratospheric polar vortex filamentation event was observed simultaneously by the JPL lidar at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii, and by the EOS MLS instrument onboard the Aura satellite. The event coincided with the beginning of the spring 2005 final warming. On 16 March, the filament was observed by lidar around 0600 UT between 415 K and 455 K, and by MLS six hours earlier. It was seen on both the lidar and MLS profiles as a layer of enhanced ozone, peaking at 1.7 ppmv in a region where the climatological values are usually around or below 1 ppmv. Ozone profiles measured by lidar and MLS were compared to profiles from the Chemical Transport Model MIMOSA‐CHIM. The agreement between lidar, MLS, and the model is excellent considering the difference in the sampling techniques. MLS was also able to identify the filament at another location north of Hawaii.