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On the influence of polar stratospheric cloud formation on chemical composition during the 1988/89 Arctic winter
Author(s) -
Jones R. L.,
McKenna D. S.,
Poole L. R.,
Solomon S.
Publication year - 1990
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/gl017i004p00545
Subject(s) - polar vortex , polar , atmospheric sciences , northern hemisphere , ozone depletion , sudden stratospheric warming , arctic , forcing (mathematics) , environmental science , stratosphere , zonal and meridional , climatology , ozone , southern hemisphere , vortex , ozone layer , meridional flow , meteorology , geology , oceanography , physics , astronomy
The northern winter polar vortex is more disturbed dynamically and warmer than the Antarctic equivalent, and correspondingly fewer polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are observed to form. However, the rapid flow of stratospheric air through slow moving synoptically forced PSC regions can result in exposure of both vortical and extra vortical air to PSCs intermittently throughout the winter months. This periodic exposure to PSCs may be sufficient to perturb the chemical composition of large volumes of northern hemisphere air. The synoptic forcing also leads to marked meridional flow which has a profound effect on chemical composition, having major impacts on both short term ozone depletion and the longer term recovery to lower ClO x abundances. Accurate simulation of the air flow is thus essential for the reliable calculation of ozone loss in polar regions.