Impact of Eastern and Central Pacific El Niño on Lower Tropospheric Ozone in China
Abstract. Tropospheric ozone is an essential atmospheric component as it plays a significant role in influencing radiation equilibrium and ecological health. It is affected not only by anthropogenic activities but also by natural climate variabilities. Here we examine the tropospheric ozone change in China associated with the Eastern Pacific (EP) and Central Pacific (CP) El Niño using satellite observations from 2007 to 2017 and GEOS-Chem simulations from 1980 to 2017. GEOS-Chem simulations reasonably reproduce the satellite-retrieved lower tropospheric ozone (LTO) changes despite a slight underestimation. Results show that El Niño generally exerts negative impacts on LTO concentration in China, except for southeastern China during the pre-CP El Niño autumn and post-EP El Niño summer. The budget analysis further indicates that for both events, LTO changes are dominated by the transport process controlled by circulation patterns and the chemical process influenced by local meteorological anomalies associated with El Niño, especially the solar radiation and relative humidity changes. The differences between EP and CP-induced LTO changes mostly lie in southern China. The different strengths, positions, and duration of western North Pacific anomalous anticyclone (WNPAC) induced by tropical warming are likely responsible for the different EP and CP LTO changes. During the post-EP El Niño summer, the Indian ocean capacitor also plays an important role in controlling LTO changes over southern China.