Abstract
LONG-TERM depletion of ozone has been observed since the early 1980s in the Antarctic polar vortex, and more recently at mid-latitudes in both hemispheres, with most of the ozone loss occurring in the lower stratosphere1. Insufficient measurements of ozone exist, however, to determine decadal trends in ozone concentration in the Arctic winter. Several studies of ozone concentrations in the Arctic vortex have inferred that chemical ozone loss has occurred2–11; but because natural variations in ozone concentration at any given location can be large, deducing long-term trends from time series is fraught with difficulties. The approaches used previously have often been indirect, typically relying on relationships between ozone and long-lived tracers. Most recently Manney et al.11used such an approach, based on satellite measurements, to conclude that the observed ozone decrease of about 20% in the lower stratosphere in February and March 1993 was caused by chemical, rather than dynamical, processes. Here we report the results of a new approach to calculate chemical ozone destruction rates that allows us to compare ozone concentrations in specific air parcels at different times, thus avoiding the need to make assumptions about ozone/tracer ratios. For the Arctic vortex of the 1991-92 winter we find that, at 20 km altitude, chemical ozone loss occurred only between early January and mid February and that the loss is proportional to the exposure to sunlight. The timing and magnitude are broadly consistent with existing understanding of photochemical ozone-depletion processes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Harris, N. R. P. et al. Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 1994 Ch. 1 (WMO Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Project, Report No. 37) (World Meteorological Organisation, Geneva, 1995).
Hofmann, D. J. et al. Nature 340, 117–121 (1989).
Schoeberi, M. R. et al. Geophys. Res. Lett. 17, 469–472 (1990).
McKenna, D. S. et al. Geophys. Res. Lett. 17, 553–556 (1990).
Hofmann, D. J. & Deshler, T. Nature 349, 300–305 (1991).
Koike, M. et al. Geophys. Res. Lett. 18, 791–794 (1991).
Kyrö, E. et al. J. geophys. Res. 97, 8083–8091 (1992).
Proffitt M. H. et al. Science 261, 1150–1154 (1993).
Braathen, G. O. et al. Geophys. Res. Lett. 21, 1407–1410 (1994).
Larsen, N., Knudsen, B. M., Mikkelsen, I. St., Jørgensen, T. S. & Eriksen, P. Geophys. Res. Lett. 21, 1611–1614 (1994).
Manney, G. L. et al. Nature 370, 429–434 (1994).
Knudsen, B. M. & Carver, G. D. Geophys. Res. Lett. 21, 1199–1202 (1994).
Kerr, J. B. et al. Atmosphere-Ocean 32, 685–716 (1994).
Carver, G. D., Norton, W. A. & Pyle, J. A. Geophys. Res. Lett. 21, 1451–1454 (1994).
Geleyn, J. F. & Hollingsworth, A. Beitr. Phys. Atmos. 52, 1–16 (1979).
Morcrette, J. J. Tech. Memo. 165 (Res. Dep. Eur. Cent. for Medium Range Weather Fore-casts, Reading, UK, 1989).
Morcrette, J. J. J. geophys. Res. 96, 9121–9132 (1991).
Lutman, E. R., Toumi, R., Jones, R. L., Lary, D. J. & Pyle, J. A. Geophys. Res. Lett. 21, 1415–1418 (1994).
Müller, R. et al. Geophys. Res. Lett. 21, 1427–1430 (1994).
Browell, E. V. et al. Science 261, 1155–1158 (1993).
Salawitch, R. J. et al. Science 261, 1146–1149 (1993).
Hoskins, B. J., Mclntyre, M. E. & Robinson, A. W. Q. Jl R. met. Soc. 111, 877–946 (1985).
Rosenfield, J. E., Newman, P. A. & Schoeberl, M. R. J. geophys. Res. 99, 16677–16689 (1994).
Strahan, S. E., Rosenfield, J. E., Loewenstein, M., Podolske, J. R. & Weaver, A. J. geophys. Res. 99, 20713–20723 (1994).
Farman, J. C., O'Neill, A. & Swinbank, R. Geophys. Res. Lett. 21, 1195–1198 (1994).
Naujokat, B., Petzoldt, K., Labitzke, K. (Met. Inst. report Beilage zur Berliner Wetterkarte, SO 18/92, Berlin, 1992).
Newman, P. A. et al. Science 261, 1130–1158 (1993).
Godin, S. et al. Geophys. Res. Lett. 21, 1335–1338 (1994).
Waters, J. W. et al. Nature 362, 597–602 (1993).
Geophys. Res. Lett. 21, 1189–1490 (1994).
Geophys. Res. Lett. 20, 2499–2578 (1993).
Science 261, 1130–1158 (1993).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
von der Gathen, P., Rex, M., Harris, N. et al. Observational evidence for chemical ozone depletion over the Arctic in winter 1991–92. Nature 375, 131–134 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/375131a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/375131a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Antarctic Polar Vortex Dynamics Depending on Wind Speed Along the Vortex Edge
Pure and Applied Geophysics (2022)
-
Unprecedented Arctic ozone loss in 2011
Nature (2011)
-
Exposure to ultraviolet radiation delays photosynthetic recovery in Arctic kelp zoospores
Photosynthesis Research (2006)
-
The southern hemisphere ozone hole split in 2002
Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2002)
-
The Scandinavia ozone loss and surface heating
Advances in Atmospheric Sciences (2001)