Influence of Asian Topography on the Arctic Stratospheric Ozone

• Published in: Journal of geophysical research. Atmospheres 2023-09, Vol.128 (18), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Wang, Qilu, Duan, Anmin, Pan, Zhulei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accumulation; Arctic circulation; Arctic ozone; Arctic stratospheric ozone; Asian topography; Atmospheric chemistry; Climate models; Eddy kinetic energy; Evolution; Geophysics; Global ozone; Impact damage; Kinetic energy; Lower stratosphere; Numerical simulations; Ozone; Ozone layer; Ozone transport; Ozonosphere; Planetary waves; Plateaus; Polar environments; Polar regions; Polar vortex; Radiation damage; residual mean circulation; Robustness (mathematics); Stratosphere; Stratospheric dynamics; Topography; Ultraviolet radiation; Uplift; Vortices; Wavelengths; Winter
• ISSN: 2169-897X; 2169-8996
• DOI: 10.1029/2023JD038994

Evaluating the impact of topography on stratospheric ozone is a crucial step toward achieving a deeper comprehension of the role of topography uplift in driving paleoclimatic evolution and stratospheric dynamics and chemistry. This paper quantitatively estimates the contribution of Asian topography to Arctic stratospheric ozone by topography experiments in the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model version 6. The results indicate that Asian topography exerts an especially robust influence on Arctic stratospheric ozone during winter. Compared to the flattened topography, Asian topography significantly increases the ozone by 15% in the lower Arctic stratosphere, accompanied by the highest accumulation of total ozone appearing in the polar region north to the North American continent. The intensified residual mean circulation transport is principally responsible for the increase in ozone, and Asian topography has a stronger impact on the vertical residual mean transport than on the meridional residual mean transport. Further examination demonstrates that the robust strengthening of planetary waves caused by Asian topography significantly contributes to the enhancement of the residual mean circulation. Specifically, the upper Arctic stratosphere experiences a 42.7% increase in the amplitude of planetary waves with wavenumber 1, which means the weakened polar vortex. The diagnosis of the mean Lorenz energy cycle further indicates that Asian topography decreases the zonal mean kinetic energy and increases the eddy kinetic energy in the stratosphere. Therefore, the enhancement of residual mean circulation transport and the weakening of the polar vortex both work together to promote the accumulation of Arctic ozone. Plain Language Summary The stratosphere refers to the atmospheric layer located between 15 to 50 km above the surface, which contains approximately 90% of the global ozone. The stratospheric ozone layer serves as a protective shield for the Earth's ecosystem, safeguarding it against the damaging impacts of ultraviolet radiation. Through numerical simulations with and without the Asian topography (e.g., the Tibetan Plateau), this study evaluates how the Asian topography affects stratospheric ozone, which helps to understand the role of topography uplift in driving paleoclimatic evolution and stratospheric dynamics and chemistry. The results show that the Arctic experiences the strongest influence from Asian topography on stratospheric ozone. In compar