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A climatology of ozone mini‐holes over the northern hemisphere
Author(s) -
James P. M.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international journal of climatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.58
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-0088
pISSN - 0899-8418
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0088(1998100)18:12<1287::aid-joc315>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - total ozone mapping spectrometer , climatology , northern hemisphere , ozone , environmental science , tropospheric ozone , atmospheric sciences , storm track , southern hemisphere , latitude , annual cycle , troposphere , storm , ozone layer , meteorology , geography , geology , geodesy
A comprehensive climatology of ozone mini‐hole occurrence over mid‐latitudes of the northern hemisphere is constructed, based on daily measurements of total column ozone from the Nimbus‐7 TOMS (total ozone mapping spectrometer) satellite, using version‐7 data, over a 14‐year period. An ozone mini‐hole is a synoptic‐scale area of strongly reduced total column ozone amount, which undergoes a cycle of growth and decay, in direct association with tropospheric weather systems. A computer‐based analytical method for searching for local minima in the daily TOMS ozone fields is employed to build up a catalogue of mini‐hole events, tracking location and intensity. Geographical and seasonal variations in the resulting data are summarised and possible trends over the data period are assessed. Ozone mini‐hole activity exhibits a strong annual cycle, peaking in the late winter. Mini‐holes are shown to be generally more frequent over the N. Atlantic/European sector than the N. Pacific/N. American sector. An alternative method of defining a threshold is also discussed in which ozone minima are viewed as anomalies from local climatological mean ozone levels. Mini‐hole activity is seen to exhibit a close spatial correlation to each of the storm‐track regions of the hemisphere. © 1998 Royal Meteorological Society