Premium
An extreme anomaly in stratospheric ozone over Europe in 1940–1942
Author(s) -
Brönnimann S.,
Luterbacher J.,
Staehelin J.,
Svendby T. M.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2004gl019611
Subject(s) - stratosphere , ozone , radiosonde , troposphere , ozone layer , climatology , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , anomaly (physics) , ozone depletion , tropospheric ozone , meteorology , geology , geography , physics , condensed matter physics
Reevaluated historical total ozone data reveal extraordinarily high values over several European sites in 1940–1942, concurrent with extreme climatic anomalies at the Earth's surface. Using historical radiosonde data, reconstructed upper‐level fields, and total ozone data from Arosa (Switzerland), Dombås, and Tromsø (Norway), this unusual case of stratosphere‐troposphere coupling is analyzed. At Arosa, numerous strong total ozone peaks in all seasons were due to unusually frequent upper troughs over central Europe and related ozone redistribution in the lower stratosphere. At the Norwegian sites, high winter total ozone was most likely caused by major stratospheric warmings in Jan./Feb. 1940, Feb./Mar. 1941, and Feb. 1942. Results demonstrate that the dynamically driven interannual variability of total ozone can be much larger than that estimated based on the past 25–40 years.