scholarly journals Observations of ozone-poor air in the tropical tropopause layer

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 5157-5171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Newton ◽  
Geraint Vaughan ◽  
Eric Hintsa ◽  
Michal T. Filus ◽  
Laura L. Pan ◽  
...  

Abstract. Ozonesondes reaching the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) over the west Pacific have occasionally measured layers of very low ozone concentrations – less than 15 ppbv – raising the question of how prevalent such layers are and how they are formed. In this paper, we examine aircraft measurements from the Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment (ATTREX), the Coordinated Airborne Studies in the Tropics (CAST) and the Convective Transport of Active Species in the Tropics (CONTRAST) experiment campaigns based in Guam in January–March 2014 for evidence of very low ozone concentrations and their relation to deep convection. The study builds on results from the ozonesonde campaign conducted from Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, as part of CAST, where ozone concentrations as low as 12 ppbv were observed between 100 and 150 hPa downwind of a deep convective complex. TTL measurements from the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft show a marked contrast between the hemispheres, with mean ozone concentrations in profiles in the Southern Hemisphere between 100 and 150 hPa of between 10.7 and 15.2 ppbv. By contrast, the mean ozone concentrations in profiles in the Northern Hemisphere were always above 15.4 ppbv and normally above 20 ppbv at these altitudes. The CAST and CONTRAST aircraft sampled the atmosphere between the surface and 120 hPa, finding very low ozone concentrations only between the surface and 700 hPa; mixing ratios as low as 7 ppbv were regularly measured in the boundary layer, whereas in the free troposphere above 200 hPa concentrations were generally well in excess of 15 ppbv. These results are consistent with uplift of almost-unmixed boundary-layer air to the TTL in deep convection. An interhemispheric difference was found in the TTL ozone concentrations, with values < 15 ppbv measured extensively in the Southern Hemisphere but seldom in the Northern Hemisphere. This is consistent with a similar contrast in the low-level ozone between the two hemispheres found by previous measurement campaigns. Further evidence of a boundary-layer origin for the uplifted air is provided by the anticorrelation between ozone and halogenated hydrocarbons of marine origin observed by the three aircraft.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Newton ◽  
Geraint Vaughan ◽  
Eric Hintsa ◽  
Michal T. Filus ◽  
Laura L. Pan ◽  
...  

Abstract. Ozonesondes reaching the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) over the West Pacific have occasionally measured layers of very low ozone concentrations – less than 15 ppbv – raising the question of how prevalent such layers are and how they are formed. In this paper we examine aircraft measurements from the ATTREX, CAST and CONTRAST campaigns based in Guam in January–March 2014 for evidence of very low ozone concentrations and their relation to deep convection. The study builds on results from the ozonesonde campaign conducted from Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, as part of CAST, where ozone concentrations as low as 12 ppbv were observed between 100 and 150 hPa downwind of a deep convective complex. TTL measurements from the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft show a marked contrast between the hemispheres, with mean ozone concentrations in profiles in the Southern Hemisphere between 100 hPa and 150 hPa of between 10.5 ppbv and 14.2 ppbv. By contrast, the mean ozone concentrations in profiles in the Northern Hemisphere were always above 15 ppbv and normally above 20 ppbv at these altitudes. The CAST and CONTRAST aircraft sampled the atmosphere between the surface and 120 hPa, finding very low ozone concentrations only between the surface and 700 hPa; mixing ratios as low as 7 ppbv were regularly measured in the boundary layer, whereas in the free troposphere above 200 hPa concentrations were generally well in excess of 15 ppbv. These results are consistent with uplift of almost-unmixed boundary layer air to the TTL in deep convection. An interhemispheric difference was found in the TTL ozone concentrations, with values


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 3615-3627 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. D. Homan ◽  
C. M. Volk ◽  
A. C. Kuhn ◽  
A. Werner ◽  
J. Baehr ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present airborne in situ measurements made during the AMMA (African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis)/SCOUT-O3 campaign between 31 July and 17 August 2006 on board the M55 Geophysica aircraft, based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. CO2 and N2O were measured with the High Altitude Gas Analyzer (HAGAR), CO was measured with the Cryogenically Operated Laser Diode (COLD) instrument, and O3 with the Fast Ozone ANalyzer (FOZAN). We analyse the data obtained during five local flights to study the dominant transport processes controlling the tropical tropopause layer (TTL, here ~350–375 K) and lower stratosphere above West-Africa: deep convection up to the level of main convective outflow, overshooting of deep convection, and horizontal inmixing across the subtropical tropopause. Besides, we examine the morphology of the stratospheric subtropical barrier. Except for the flight of 13 August, distinct minima in CO2 mixing ratios indicate convective outflow of boundary layer air in the TTL. The CO2 profiles show that the level of main convective outflow was mostly located at potential temperatures between 350 and 360 K, and for 11 August reached up to 370 K. While the CO2 minima indicate quite significant convective influence, the O3 profiles suggest that the observed convective signatures were mostly not fresh, but of older origin (several days or more). When compared with the mean O3 profile measured during a previous campaign over Darwin in November 2005, the O3 minimum at the main convective outflow level was less pronounced over Ouagadougou. Furthermore O3 mixing ratios were much higher throughout the whole TTL and, unlike over Darwin, rarely showed low values observed in the regional boundary layer. Signatures of irreversible mixing following overshooting of convective air were scarce in the tracer data. Some small signatures indicative of this process were found in CO2 profiles between 390 and 410 K during the flights of 4 and 8 August, and in CO data at 410 K on 7 August. However, the absence of expected corresponding signatures in other tracer data makes this evidence inconclusive, and overall there is little indication from the observations that overshooting convection has a profound impact on gas-phase tracer TTL composition during AMMA. We find the amount of photochemically aged air isentropically mixed into the TTL across the subtropical tropopause to be not significant. Using the N2O observations we estimate the fraction of aged extratropical stratospheric air in the TTL to be 0.0±0.1 up to 370 K during the local flights. Above the TTL this fraction increases to 0.3±0.1 at 390 K. The subtropical barrier, as indicated by the slope of the correlation between N2O and O3 between 415 and 490 K, does not appear as a sharp border between the tropics and extratropics, but rather as a gradual transition region between 10° N and 25° N where isentropic mixing between these two regions may occur.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 25049-25084 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. D. Homan ◽  
C. M. Volk ◽  
A. C. Kuhn ◽  
A. Werner ◽  
J. Baehr ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present airborne in situ measurements made during the AMMA (African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis)/SCOUT-O3 campaign between 31 July and 17 August 2006 on board the M55 Geophysica aircraft, based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. CO2 and N2O were measured with the High Altitude Gas Analyzer (HAGAR), CO was measured with the Cryogenically Operated Laser Diode (COLD) instrument, and O3 with the Fast Ozone ANalyzer (FOZAN). We analyze the data obtained during five local flights to study the dominant transport processes controlling the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) above West-Africa: deep convection up to the level of main convective outflow, overshooting of deep convection, horizontal inmixing across the subtropical tropopause, and horizontal transport across the subtropical barrier. Except for the flight of 13 August, distinct minima in CO2 indicate convective outflow of boundary layer air in the TTL. The CO2 profiles show that the level of main convective outflow was mostly located between 350 and 360 K, and for 11 August reached up to 370 K. While the CO2 minima indicate quite significant convective influence, the O3 profiles suggest that the observed convective signatures were mostly not fresh, but of older origin. When compared with the mean O3 profile measured during a previous campaign over Darwin in November 2005, the O3 minimum at the main convective outflow level was less pronounced over Ouagadougou. Furthermore O3 mixing ratios were much higher throughout the whole TTL and, unlike over Darwin, rarely showed low values observed in the regional boundary layer. Signatures of irreversible mixing following overshooting of convective air were scarce in the tracer data. Some small signatures indicative of this process were found in CO2 profiles between 390 and 410 K during the flights of 4 and 8 August, and in CO data at 410 K on 7 August. However, the absence of expected corresponding signatures in other tracer data makes this evidence inconclusive, and overall there is little indication from the observations that overshooting convection has a profound impact on TTL composition during AMMA. We find the amount of photochemically aged air isentropically mixed into the TTL across the subtropical tropopause to be not significant. Using the N2O observations we estimate the fraction of aged extratropical stratospheric air in the TTL to be 0.0±0.1 up to 370 K during the local flights, increasing above this level to 0.2±0.15 at 390 K. The subtropical barrier, as indicated by the slope of the correlation between N2O and O3 between 415 and 490 K, does not appear as a sharp border between the tropics and extratropics, but rather as a gradual transition region between 10 and 25° N latitude where isentropic mixing between these two regions may occur.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 16655-16696 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Newton ◽  
G. Vaughan ◽  
H. M. A. Ricketts ◽  
L. L. Pan ◽  
A. J. Weinheimer ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present a series of ozonesonde profiles measured from Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, during February 2014. The experiment formed a part of a wider airborne campaign involving three aircraft based in Guam, to characterise the atmospheric composition above the tropical West Pacific in unprecedented detail. Thirty-nine ozonesondes were launched between 2 and 25 February, of which 34 gave good ozone profiles. Particular attention was paid to measuring the background current of the ozonesonde before launch, as this can amount to half the measured signal in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). An unexpected contamination event affected these measurements and required a departure from standard operating procedures for the ozonesondes. Comparison with aircraft measurements allows validation of the measured ozone profiles and confirms that for well-characterized sondes (background current <50 nA) a constant background current should be assumed throughout the profile, equal to the minimum value measured during preparation just before launch. From this set of 34 ozonesondes, the minimum reproducible ozone concentration measured in the TTL was 12–13 ppbv; no examples of near-zero ozone concentration as reported by other recent papers were measured. The lowest ozone concentrations coincided with outflow from extensive deep convection to the east of Manus, consistent with uplift of ozone-poor air from the boundary layer. However, these minima were lower than the ozone concentration measured through most of the boundary layer, and were matched only by measurements at the surface in Manus.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 4755-4761 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.-M. Sinnhuber ◽  
I. Folkins

Abstract. The contribution of bromoform to the stratospheric bromine loading is estimated using the one-dimensional tropical mean model of Folkins and Martin (2005), which is constrained by observed mean profiles of temperature and humidity. In order to reach the stratosphere, bromoform needs to be lifted by deep convection into the tropical tropopause layer (TTL), above the level of zero radiative heating. The contribution of bromoform to stratospheric bromine then depends critically on the rate of removal of the degradation products of bromoform (collectively called Bry here) from the TTL, which is believed to be due to scavenging by falling ice. This relates the transport of short-lived bromine species into the stratosphere to processes of dehydration in the TTL. In the extreme case of dehydration occurring only through overshooting deep convection, the loss of Bry from the TTL may be negligible and consequently bromoform will fully contribute with its boundary layer mixing ratio to the stratospheric bromine loading, i.e. with 3 pptv for an assumed 1 pptv of bromoform in the boundary layer. For the other extreme that Bry is removed from the TTL almost instantaneously, the model calculations predict a contribution of about 0.5 pptv for the assumed 1 pptv of boundary layer bromoform. While this gives some constraints on the contribution of bromoform to stratospheric bromine, a key uncertainty in estimating the contribution of short-lived bromine source gases to the stratospheric bromine loading is the mechanism and rate of removal of Bry within the TTL.


2011 ◽  
Vol 50 (7) ◽  
pp. 1403-1416 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Sivakumar ◽  
H. Bencherif ◽  
N. Bègue ◽  
A. M. Thompson

AbstractIn this paper, tropopause characteristics observed from tropical to subtropical Southern Hemisphere stations using Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesonde (SHADOZ) data are presented for the 11-yr period of 1998–2008. Three different definitions of tropopause—cold-point tropopause (CPT), lapse-rate tropopause (LRT), and ozone tropopause (OT)—are determined, and their variability for nine different SHADOZ sites is studied for the purpose of evaluating their usefulness as indicators of possible tropopause trends. For each station, the OT is uniquely defined by the ozone gradient and is found to be more variable than either LRT or CPT. The OT roughly coincides with the upper boundary of the region of most active convective mixing over the western Pacific Ocean and with the lower boundary of the transition region from the troposphere to the lower stratosphere that is generally referred to as the tropical tropopause layer. The monthly and year-to-year variations in the tropopause are examined, and the annual cycle in OT, the dominant signal, is described. The distance of separation of the OT from the CPT or LRT is smaller for the tropics (stations at 0°–15°S) than for the subtropics (15°–25°S). The decadal trend in tropopause heights is measured using a statistical model that accounts for natural variations expressed in El Niño–Southern Oscillation, the quasi-biennial oscillation, and the Indian Ocean dipole. The decadal trend estimation shows no statistically significant trend for the CPT and LRT in the tropics, in contrast to other studies. A decrease in altitude for the OT is significant. In the subtropics, the CPT and LRT decline significantly, by −240 and −190 m (10 yr)−1, respectively, but the OT increases.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 619-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Newton ◽  
G. Vaughan ◽  
H. M. A. Ricketts ◽  
L. L. Pan ◽  
A. J. Weinheimer ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present a series of ozonesonde profiles measured from Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, during February 2014, with new insights on the calibration of ozonesondes for measurements in the tropical troposphere. The experiment formed a part of a wider airborne campaign involving three aircraft based in Guam, to characterise the atmospheric composition above the tropical West Pacific in unprecedented detail. Thirty-nine ozonesondes were launched between 2 and 25 February of which 34 gave good ozone profiles. Particular attention was paid to evaluating the background current of the ozonesondes, as this can amount to half the measured signal in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). An unexpected contamination event affected the measurements and required a departure from standard operating procedures for the ozonesondes. The most significant departure was not exposing the sondes to ozone during preparation, which meant that the background current remained stable before launch. Comparison with aircraft measurements allows validation of the measured ozone profiles and confirms that for well-characterized sondes (background current ∼  50 nA) a constant background current could be assumed throughout the profile, equal to the minimum value measured during preparation just before launch. From this set of 34 ozonesondes, the minimum reproducible ozone concentration measured in the TTL was 12–13 ppbv; no examples of ozone concentrations  <  5 ppbv, as reported by other recent papers, were measured. The lowest ozone concentrations coincided with outflow from extensive deep convection to the east of Manus, consistent with uplift of ozone-poor air from the boundary layer. However, these minima were lower than the ozone concentration measured through most of the boundary layer, and were matched only by measurements at the surface in Manus.


2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 12939-12956 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.-M. Sinnhuber ◽  
I. Folkins

Abstract. The contribution of bromoform to the stratospheric bromine loading is estimated using the one-dimensional tropical mean model of Folkins and Martin (2005), which is constrained by observed mean profiles of temperature and humidity. In order to reach the stratosphere, bromoform needs to be lifted by deep convection into the tropical tropopause layer (TTL), above the level of zero radiative heating. The contribution of bromoform to stratospheric bromine depends then critically on the rate of removal of the degradation products of bromoform (collectively called Bry here) from the TTL, which is believed to be due to scavenging by falling ice. This relates the transport of short-lived bromine species into the stratosphere to processes of dehydration in the TTL. In the extreme case of dehydration occurring only through overshooting deep convection, the loss of Bry from the TTL may be negligible and consequently bromoform will fully contribute with its boundary layer mixing ratio to the stratospheric bromine loading, i.e. with 3 pptv for an assumed 1 pptv of bromoform in the boundary layer. For the other extreme that Bry is removed from the TTL almost instantaneously, the model calculations predict a contribution of about 0.5 pptv for the assumed 1 pptv of boundary layer bromoform. While this gives some constraints on the contribution of bromoform to stratospheric bromine, it is argued that a more precise number cannot be given until the mechanisms of dehydration in the TTL are better understood.


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 19617-19647
Author(s):  
L. C. Paulik ◽  
T. Birner

Abstract. Dynamics on a vast range of spatial and temporal scales, from individual convective plumes to planetary-scale circulations, play a role in driving the temperature variability in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). Here, we aim to better quantify the deep convective temperature signal within the TTL using multiple datasets. First, we investigate the link between ozone and temperature in the TTL using the Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesondes (SHADOZ) dataset. Low ozone concentrations in the TTL are indicative of deep convective transport from the boundary layer. We confirm the usefulness of ozone as an indicator of deep convection by identifying a typical temperature signal associated with reduced ozone events: mid and upper tropospheric warming and TTL cooling. We quantify these temperature signals using two diagnostics: (1) the "ozone minimum" diagnostic, which has been used in previous studies and identifies the upper tropospheric minimum ozone concentration as a proxy for the level of main convective outflow; and (2) the "ozone mixing height", which we introduce in order to identify the maximum altitude in a vertical ozone profile up to which reduced ozone concentrations, typical of transport from the boundary layer are observed. Results indicate that the ozone mixing height diagnostic better separates profiles with convective influence than the ozone minimum diagnostic. Next, we collocate deep convective clouds identified by CloudSat 2B-CLDCLASS with COSMIC GPS temperature profiles. We find a robust large-scale deep convective TTL temperature signal, that is persistent in time. However, it is only the convective events that penetrate into the upper half of the TTL that have a significant impact on TTL temperature. A distinct seasonal difference in the spatial scale and the persistence of the temperature signal is identified. Deep-convective cloud top heights are found to be well described by the level of neutral buoyancy.


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 12183-12195 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. C. Paulik ◽  
T. Birner

Abstract. Dynamics on a vast range of spatial and temporal scales, from individual convective plumes to planetary-scale circulations, play a role in driving the temperature variability in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). Here, we aim to better quantify the deep convective temperature signal within the TTL using multiple datasets. First, we investigate the link between ozone and temperature in the TTL using the Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesondes (SHADOZ) dataset. Low ozone concentrations in the TTL are indicative of deep convective transport from the boundary layer. We confirm the usefulness of ozone as an indicator of deep convection by identifying a typical temperature signal associated with reduced ozone events: an anomalously warm mid to upper troposphere and an anomalously cold upper TTL. We quantify these temperature signals using two diagnostics: (1) the "ozone minimum" diagnostic, which has been used in previous studies and identifies the upper tropospheric minimum ozone concentration as a proxy for the level of main convective outflow; and (2) the "ozone mixing height", which we introduce in order to identify the maximum altitude in a vertical ozone profile up to which reduced ozone concentrations, typical of transport from the boundary layer are observed. Results indicate that the ozone mixing height diagnostic better separates profiles with convective influence than the ozone minimum diagnostic. Next, we collocate deep convective clouds identified by CloudSat 2B-CLDCLASS with temperature profiles based on Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) Global Position System (GPS) radio occultations. We find a robust large-scale deep convective TTL temperature signal, that is persistent in time. However, it is only the convective events that penetrate into the upper half of the TTL that have a significant impact on TTL temperature. A distinct seasonal difference in the spatial scale and the persistence of the temperature signal is identified. Deep-convective cloud top heights are on average found to be well described by the level of neutral buoyancy.


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