Total Column Ozone Concentration Research Articles

Comparative study of variation of ground level ozone concentrations and total column ozone concentrations over Klang Valley

Ozone is a gas that plays important role in balancing the Earth’s atmosphere thermal and chemical. Ozone is capable of absorbing the harmful sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The stratospheric ozone has protecting humans and the ecosystems on Earth from solar radiation. However, ground level ozone (GLO) has been related to secondary pollutants and greenhouse gases that give adverse impacts on human health and crop yield. Hence, determining ozone concentration measurement is important for air quality status for the environmental and public health warnings. Variations of ground level ozone (GLO) and total column ozone (TCO) concentrations over Klang Valley, Malaysia in 2014 and 2015 were determined in this study. The GLO measurement data was acquired from Department of Environment (DOE) Malaysia and is measured using standard method instrument, UV Absorption Ozone Analyzer Model 400A while, TCO measurement using Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). The analysis suggests that GLO concentrations in all four stations in Klang Valley exceeded the Malaysia Ambient Air Quality Standard (NMAAQS) 2020 prescribed limit of 90 ppb per hour. In both 2014 and 2015, TCO concentration observed higher from May to August with the highest concentration of 290 DU and lowest from November to February with the lowest concentration of 230 DU, suggesting that there is seasonal fluctuation caused by Northeast Monsoon (NEM) and Southwest Monsoon (SWM). This is due to environmental factors during SWM that favour a rise in TCO concentration, such as low precipitation, low relative humidity, high temperature, and prolonged sunshine hours. On the other hand, NEM results in lower TCO concentration due to high precipitation, high relative humidity, cold temperature, and short sunshine hours. Meanwhile, GLO peaks are usually seen towards the end of March through April and in October, according to GLO trend research (40 to 50 ppb). This is during the transitional monsoon season, where the west part of Peninsular Malaysia received precipitation lower than usual.

Evaluation of the ACCESS – chemistry–climate model for the Southern Hemisphere

Abstract. Chemistry–climate models are important tools for addressing interactions of composition and climate in the Earth system. In particular, they are used to assess the combined roles of greenhouse gases and ozone in Southern Hemisphere climate and weather. Here we present an evaluation of the Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator – chemistry–climate model (ACCESS-CCM), focusing on the Southern Hemisphere and the Australian region. This model is used for the Australian contribution to the international Chemistry–Climate Model Initiative, which is soliciting hindcast, future projection and sensitivity simulations. The model simulates global total column ozone (TCO) distributions accurately, with a slight delay in the onset and recovery of springtime Antarctic ozone depletion, and consistently higher ozone values. However, October-averaged Antarctic TCO from 1960 to 2010 shows a similar amount of depletion compared to observations. Comparison with model precursors shows large improvements in the representation of the Southern Hemisphere stratosphere, especially in TCO concentrations. A significant innovation is seen in the evaluation of simulated vertical profiles of ozone and temperature with ozonesonde data from Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica from 38 to 90° S. Excess ozone concentrations (greater than 26 % at Davis and the South Pole during winter) and stratospheric cold biases (up to 10 K at the South Pole during summer and autumn) outside the period of perturbed springtime ozone depletion are seen during all seasons compared to ozonesondes. A disparity in the vertical location of ozone depletion is seen: centred around 100 hPa in ozonesonde data compared to above 50 hPa in the model. Analysis of vertical chlorine monoxide profiles indicates that colder Antarctic stratospheric temperatures (possibly due to reduced mid-latitude heat flux) are artificially enhancing polar stratospheric cloud formation at high altitudes. The model's inability to explicitly simulate a supercooled ternary solution may also explain the lack of depletion at lower altitudes. Analysis of the simulated Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index compares well with ERA-Interim data, an important metric for correct representation of Australian climate. Accompanying these modulations of the SAM, 50 hPa zonal wind differences between 2001–2010 and 1979–1998 show increasing zonal wind strength southward of 60° S during December for both the model simulations and ERA-Interim data. These model diagnostics show that the model reasonably captures the stratospheric ozone-driven chemistry–climate interactions important for Australian climate and weather while highlighting areas for future model development.

Temporal Distribution of Total Column Ozone over Cochin—A Study Based on <i>in Situ</i> Measurements and ECMWF Reanalysis

The variability of Atmospheric ozone is very important to understand the radiative balance of the earth-atmospheric system and climate change. In order to understand the temporal variability of total column ozone (TCO) over the coastal station Cochin (9.95°N, 76.27°E), we used the ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) reanalysis TCO and ground based measurements using Microtop II Sun Photometer (Ozonometer). The trend, seasonal changes and diurnal variation of ozone concentration have been studied in detail for the period 1981-2014. Cochin is a tropical coastal station with tropical monsoon climate and hence we examined the variability of TCO during pre-monsoon (March-May), monsoon (June-September) and post monsoon (October-December) seasons. Significant variations are noted in the TCO for the different seasons during the period of study. Based on the measurements and analysis, it is observed that TCO is maximum during monsoon and minimum during pre- and post-monsoon. We computed the TCO climatology for pre-monsoon (262.0 DU), monsoon (275 DU) and post-monsoon (253 DU) seasons and found that TCO shows a decadal trend (solar cycle). During monsoon season TCO varies with an increase of approximately 14 DU from the pre-monsoon value and a decrease of 22 DU from the post-monsoon value. The increase in TCO concentration during monsoon may be attributed to the monsoonal wind circulations and organized convection. The validation of ECMWF TCO with in situ measurements using Microtop II Ozonometer has been carried out for the year 2015 and found that the values are positively correlated. The diurnal variability of TCO was examined for vernal and autumnal equinox days and noticed the change in variability.

Initial in-orbit results from a low-cost atmospheric ozone monitor operating on board the FASat-Bravo microsatellite.

In 1994, a collaborative programme was set up between the University of Surrey and the Chilean Air Force to design and build a low-cost 50 kg microsatellite with instrumentation capable of monitoring the distribution and concentration of stratospheric ozone, particularly over Chilean territory. This resulted in the joint design and development of the ozone-layer monitoring experiment (OLME), which was flown on board the resultant FASat-Bravo microsatellite, launched in July 1998 into an 820 km altitude Sun-synchronous orbit. The nadir-pointing OLME measures the solar ultraviolet light backscattered from the atmosphere in four spectral bands. From these raw radiometric data, total column ozone concentrations can be deduced. Since the launch, a series of high-spatial-resolution measurements have been made over Chilean scientific stations, while continuous low-spatial-resolution measurements have been used to provide global coverage. To date, the University of Surrey has concentrated on these global measurements, and has used a simplified ozone retrieval algorithm to check the results qualitatively against ozone maps produced by NASA's Earth Probe Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) payload. These initial results look promising, with apparently good correlation between the two datasets. A novel, more-complex retrieval algorithm has been applied to the high-resolution data, and early results have shown agreement with the TOMS.

Seasonal and diurnal variations in ultraviolet-B and ultraviolet-A irradiances at and below the sea surface at Helgoland (North Sea) over a 6-year period

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation at four wavelengths (305, 320, 340 and 380 nm) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) were measured from May 1994 to October 1999 using Biospherical UV radiometers. A surface reference sensor located on the roof of the Marine Station at Helgoland recorded values every 5 min, and an equivalent profiling underwater sensor was used for measurements in the sea at approximately monthly intervals. The ratio of 305-nm radiation to PAR varied seasonally, with a 14-fold increase from winter to summer. A much weaker seasonal trend (ca. 1.5-fold) was apparent in the ratio of 320-nm radiation to PAR, but there was no seasonal trend in the ratios of 340- or 380-nm radiation to PAR. The year-to-year variations in 305-nm radiation were also much greater relative to PAR than for the other UV wavelengths, but there was no evidence of a change in the 305 nm:PAR ratio over the study period. The ratios of both 305- and 320-nm radiation to PAR increased from dawn to midday, but those of 340- and 380-nm radiation were almost constant through the day, except shortly before sunrise and after sunset when the proportions of 340- and 380-nm radiation increased. Underwater measurements of PAR and UV suggest that the 1% depth for 305-nm radiation was little more than 1 m, but this estimate is valid only for summer and autumn because, in other seasons, few reliable readings for 305-nm radiation could be obtained underwater, and no attenuation coefficient could be calculated. The 1% depths recorded for the other UV wavelengths in the middle 6 months of the year were 2.0 m for 320 nm, 2.6 m for 340 nm and 4.6 m for 380 nm, compared with 12 m for PAR, but the attenuation of all wavebands increased sharply in October and remained higher until March. An analysis of the influence of sun angle, total column ozone concentration, the proportion of skylight, and cloud cover on the ratio of UV wavelengths to PAR in surface irradiance demonstrated that solar angle has a greater influence than ozone concentration on the irradiance at 305 nm, and that the typical occurrence of ozone holes in spring may not result in higher UV-B irradiances than occur under higher ozone concentrations in summer. The implications of the data for attempts to model the biological effects of natural UV radiation on marine organisms are considered.

A preliminary comparison between TOVS and GOME level 2 ozone data

A preliminary comparison between total column ozone concentration values derived from TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) and Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) has been carried out. Two comparisons of ozone datasets have been made: a) TOVS ozone analysis maps vs. GOME level 2 data; b) TOVS data located at Northern Hemisphere Ground Ozone Stations (NHGOS) vs. GOME data. Both analyses consistently showed an offset in the value of the total column ozone between the datasets [for analyses a) 35 Dobson Units (DU); and for analyses b) 10 DU], despite a good correlation between the spatial and temporal features of the datasets. A noticeably poor correlation in the latitudinal bands 10°/20° North and 10°/20° South was observed—the reasons for which are discussed. The smallest region which was statistically representative of the ozone value correlation dataset of TOVS data at NHGOS and GOME level‐2 data was determined to be a region that was enclosed by effective radius of 0.75 arc‐degrees (83.5km).