Premium
Downward transport of ozone‐rich air near Mt. Everest
Author(s) -
Zhu Tong,
Lin Weili,
Song Yu,
Cai Xuhui,
Zou Han,
Kang Ling,
Zhou Libo,
Akimoto Hajime
Publication year - 2006
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 - 10.1029/2006gl027726
Subject(s) - katabatic wind , snow , atmospheric sciences , atmosphere (unit) , ozone , glacier , environmental science , climatology , troposphere , geology , meteorology , geography , geomorphology
High ozone concentrations (70–80 ppb) were found from late afternoon to midnight at sites at ca. 5000 m above sea level (m.a.s.l.) on Mt. Everest. Observational data suggest that katabatic wind from Mt. Everest was “pumping down” ozone‐rich air from the upper troposphere. Numerical modelling demonstrates that cooling of glaciers and snow on the northern mountain slopes and heating of the valley surface play important roles in forming katabatic winds and accelerating vertical exchange between the upper atmosphere and surface air. These results suggest that the “pump‐down” mechanism at high mountains covered with snow/glaciers is an important process in terrestrial intercontinental transport of ozone and atmosphere–land exchanges of masses and energy.