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Sensitivity of Southern Hemisphere climate to zonal asymmetry in ozone
Author(s) -
Crook Julia A.,
Gillett Nathan P.,
Keeley Sarah P. E.
Publication year - 2008
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 - 10.1029/2007gl032698
Subject(s) - stratosphere , northern hemisphere , ozone , southern hemisphere , atmospheric sciences , climatology , ozone depletion , environmental science , ozone layer , troposphere , tropospheric ozone , asymmetry , climate model , climate change , geology , meteorology , geography , physics , oceanography , quantum mechanics
Climate model simulations of past and future climate invariably contain prescribed zonal mean stratospheric ozone. While the effects of zonal asymmetry in ozone have been examined in the Northern Hemisphere, much greater zonal asymmetry occurs in the Southern Hemisphere during the break up of the Antarctic ozone hole. We prescribe a realistic three‐dimensional distribution of ozone in a high vertical resolution atmospheric model and compare results with a simulation containing zonal mean ozone. Prescribing the three dimensional ozone distribution results in a cooling of the stratosphere and upper troposphere comparable to that caused by ozone depletion itself. Our results suggest that changes in the zonal asymmetry of ozone have had important impacts on Southern Hemisphere climate, and will continue to do so in the future.