Abstract
As the most prominent feature of the polar stratosphere, polar vortex results in widespread changes in the climate system, especially in the ozone variation. In this study, the linkage between polar vortex and ozone depletion in Antarctic stratosphere during the period 1979–2016 is investigated; we calculated the averaged total column ozone within the polar vortex based on the vortex edge (−28.8 PVU PV contour) instead of the geographical region defined by latitude and longitude. Results from the spatial patterns of ozone and polar vortex suggest that the morphological changes of polar vortex can impact the horizontal distribution of ozone and the ozone within the polar vortex experiences a severe depletion in spring. The negative relationship between ozone and polar vortex in terms of vortex area, strength, and breakup time is significant with the correlation coefficients of −0.57, −0.68, and −0.76, respectively. The breakup time of polar vortex plays an important role in the relation between polar vortex and ozone depletion with the highest-value correlation coefficient among three polar vortex parameters. Furthermore, the possible mechanism for this relationship is also discussed in this article.
Highlights
The ozone layer is well known as shielding the earth’s surface from being damaged by ultraviolet radiation (UV), which decreases the incidence of skin cancer and other diseases of humans, animals, and plants [1, 2]
550 K isentropic level is selected to analyze the relationship between polar vortex and ozone depletion as the vortex edge on this surface is closest to the mean edge ranges from 450 K to 650 K
The Antarctic polar vortex forms in late April and decays in November; it exists stably from May to October despite the large interannual variations [13]. These 6 months are selected to analyze the Antarctic polar vortex in this study, and the pattern for each month is presented in Figures 1(a)–1(f), respectively
Summary
The ozone layer is well known as shielding the earth’s surface from being damaged by ultraviolet radiation (UV), which decreases the incidence of skin cancer and other diseases of humans, animals, and plants [1, 2]. The intense cyclonic vortices that form over the winter pole are one of the most prominent features of the stratospheric circulation [7,8,9]. A typical vortex is marked by strong circumpolar winds and Advances in Meteorology cold temperatures in the interior of vortex region, which is recognized as the key ingredient in the destruction of ozone and the formation of the ozone hole in polar region [3]. Schoeberl and Hartmann [3] further revealed the chemical process in the polar vortex during winter and found that the temperature within the polar vortex falls low enough to form the polar stratospheric clouds of nitric acid trihydrate and ice, which can affect the conversion of chlorine from the inactive reservoir species to the radical species that attack ozone. The dynamical characteristics of polar vortex provide the substance isolation to favor the ozone hole development
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