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Dynamical and temporal characterization of the total ozone column over Spain

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Abstract

As the ozone is one of the most relevant variables in the climate system, to get further in its long-term characterization is a critical issue. In this study, measurements of total ozone column (TOC) from five well-calibrated Brewer spectrophotometers placed in the Iberian Peninsula are analyzed. The temporal trend rate for TOC is +9.3 DU per decade for the period 1993–2012 in Central Iberian Peninsula. However, the low TOC levels during 2011 and 2012 over the study region notably reduce this rate. Empirical linear relationships are established between TOC and pressure, height, and temperature of the tropopause. The linear fits showed seasonal and latitudinal dependence, with stronger relationships during winter and spring. Events with the presence of a double tropopause (DT) are proved to be characteristic of the study region. The decrease in TOC levels when these anomalous events occur is quantified around 10 % in winter and spring with respect to the usual cases with a single tropopause. The total weight of the DT events with respect to the annual values is about 20 %, with a negligible occurrence in summer and autumn and being latitudinal-dependent. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index explains 30 % of the total ozone variability in winter. The DT events are found to be more frequent during phases with positive NAO.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the teams responsible for the provision of data used in this paper: the Brewer TOC data have been provided by the Spanish Agency of Meteorology (Madrid, Murcia, Zaragoza, and A Coruña) and the Spanish Institute of Aerospace Technique (El Arenosillo); the ERA-Interim data have been provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Manuel Antón thanks Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Fondo Social Europeo for the award of a postdoctoral grant (Ramón y Cajal). This work was partially supported the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación through project CGL2011-29921-C02-01.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Física, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. de Elvas s/n, CP 06006, Badajoz, Spain

    D. Mateos, M. Antón, G. Sáenz & J. A. García

  2. Departamento de Producción, Agencia Estatal de Meteorología, Madrid, Spain

    M. Bañón

  3. Departamento de la Tierra, Teledetección y Atmósfera, Estación de Sondeos Atmosférico El Arenosillo, INTA, Huelva, Spain

    J. M. Vilaplana

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  1. D. Mateos
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Correspondence to D. Mateos.

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Mateos, D., Antón, M., Sáenz, G. et al. Dynamical and temporal characterization of the total ozone column over Spain. Clim Dyn 44, 1871–1880 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-014-2223-4

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