Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Yingli Niu, Fei Xie, Shaohua Wu
Summary: This study investigated the impact of ENSO Modoki on Antarctic stratospheric ozone variability in austral spring using observation and reanalysis data. It found that ENSO Modoki generates planetary wave anomalies in the troposphere, which subsequently affect the polar vortex and interannual variations in Antarctic stratospheric ozone. Analysis also revealed that wave-1 and wave-3 components play a significant role, while wave-2 effects are opposite and offset by waves 1 and 3. Furthermore, the study evaluated the performance of CMIP6 models in simulating the impacts of ENSO Modoki on the southern stratospheric polar vortex and ozone, finding that only two models closely resemble the reanalysis results.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nikos Daskalakis, Laura Gallardo, Maria Kanakidou, Johann Rasmus Nuess, Camilo Menares, Roberto Rondanelli, Anne M. Thompson, Mihalis Vrekoussis
Summary: This study investigates the spatiotemporal variability of ozone mixing ratio in the pristine South Pacific Ocean using 21-year-long ozone records. The findings reveal that even the most pristine oceanic region is influenced by distant biomass burning emissions, with significant impacts on CO and ozone levels in the area.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Samuel Bartusek, Yutian Wu, Mingfang Ting, Cheng Zheng, Arlene Fiore, Michael Sprenger, Johannes Flemming
Summary: Understanding the transport of ozone from the stratosphere to the troposphere is crucial, and a systematic analysis of the relationship between tropopause folding and tropospheric ozone is limited. Comparing high-resolution reanalysis ERA5 and low-resolution chemical reanalysis CAMSRA, it is found that high-resolution folding is more frequent and better correlated with tropospheric ozone. It suggests that tropopause folding is more responsible for stratosphere-to-troposphere ozone transport.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Edward Charlesworth, Felix Ploeger, Thomas Birner, Rasul Baikhadzhaev, Marta Abalos, Nathan Luke Abraham, Hideharu Akiyoshi, Slimane Bekki, Fraser Dennison, Patrick Joeckel, James Keeble, Doug Kinnison, Olaf Morgenstern, David Plummer, Eugene Rozanov, Sarah Strode, Guang Zeng, Tatiana Egorova, Martin Riese
Summary: Water vapor plays a crucial role in the climate system, affecting various aspects including radiation, cloud formation, atmospheric chemistry, and dynamics. The abundance of water vapor in the lowermost stratosphere has a significant impact on the atmospheric circulation in both the stratosphere and troposphere. Current climate models show a moist bias in this region, which can be attributed to the transport scheme used. This study highlights the importance of accurately representing lowermost stratospheric water vapor in models and suggests the use of a less diffusive Lagrangian scheme to improve model performance.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiaozhen Xiong, Xu Liu, Wan Wu, K. Emma Knowland, Qiguang Yang, Jason K. Welsh, Daniel Zhou
Summary: A process-oriented analysis of a stratospheric intrusion event was conducted using CrIS SFOV products and model data. The study revealed a correlation between the location and strength of O3 enhancement and PV contours, and demonstrated the use of TCO to identify SI events.
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
S. Vishnupriya, E. Suhas, S. Sandeep
Summary: Low-pressure systems make a significant contribution to the summer monsoon rainfall in the Indian subcontinent, with a portion of them being amplified by disturbances from the western North Pacific. Analysis shows that 43% of these amplifications are caused by extratropical stratospheric air intrusions, which lead to high tropospheric potential vorticity and initiate and intensify low-level cyclonic vortices.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Peer Nowack, Paulo Ceppi, Sean M. Davis, Gabriel Chiodo, Will Ball, Mohamadou A. Diallo, Birgit Hassler, Yue Jia, James Keeble, Manoj Joshi
Summary: Future increases in stratospheric water vapour could worsen climate change and slow down ozone layer recovery. However, climate models disagree on the extent of these increases under global warming. This study provides a constrained estimate of stratospheric water vapour changes using historical observations and reveals that many climate models are inconsistent with observational evidence.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yujing Zhang, Jie Li, Wenyi Yang, Huiyun Du, Xiao Tang, Qian Ye, Zixi Wang, Yele Sun, Xiaole Pan, Lili Zhu, Zifa Wang
Summary: This study investigates the impact of a stratospheric-to-tropospheric transport event on surface high ozone episodes over heavily industrialized regions in northern China during summer. The results show that the stratospheric contribution has a certain influence on surface high ozone events in the target region, which is important for understanding the influence of natural processes in heavily polluted areas during summer.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
F. Robertson, L. E. Revell, H. Douglas, A. T. Archibald, O. Morgenstern, D. Frame
Summary: The year when total column ozone (TCO) returns to 1980 levels is commonly used to measure recovery from ozone-depleting substances. However, this metric fails to account for internal variability and the timing of significant TCO losses. Using the signal-to-noise (S/N) metric, this study investigates how TCO can return to pre-disturbance conditions. The findings suggest that TCO de-emerges before returning to its 1980 value, making S/N a suitable metric for determining TCO recovery.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
F. Robertson, L. E. Revell, H. Douglas, A. T. Archibald, O. Morgenstern, D. Frame
Summary: Research suggests that the year when total column ozone (TCO) returns to 1980 levels is commonly used as an indicator of recovery from ozone-depleting substances. However, this date is somewhat arbitrary. In this study, the signal-to-noise (S/N) metric from climate change research is used to investigate how TCO might return to pre-ozone hole era levels. The findings show that a return to 1980 levels does not necessarily represent TCO recovery to pre-disturbance conditions, and the S/N ratio is a more appropriate and complementary metric.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Ying Dai, Peter Hitchcock
Summary: The study shows that air-sea interactions over the North Pacific lead to the basin-asymmetric response to sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs), while SSWs occurring without atmospheric precursors exhibit a basin-symmetric response.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Renguang Wu, Yuqi Wang, Xi Cao
Summary: This study investigates the factors affecting the year-to-year change in the intensity of synoptic-scale variability over the tropical western North Pacific during summer and fall. The study finds that sea surface temperature anomalies in the equatorial Pacific play a key role in modulating the background fields and intensity of synoptic-scale disturbances in the region. Furthermore, the research shows that SST anomalies in the tropical western Pacific have a notable impact on the intensity of synoptic-scale variability in the region. Opposite SST anomalies in different types of years lead to a weak relationship between the TWNP SSV and equatorial eastern Pacific SST.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Patrick W. Keys, Elizabeth A. Barnes, Noah S. Diffenbaugh, James W. Hurrell, Curtis M. Bell
Summary: As global warming becomes more severe, there is increasing interest in solar radiation modification as a potential solution. Stratospheric aerosol injection is one strategy that could help mitigate global warming, but the effectiveness of this method may be masked by internal climate variability, leading to perceived failure.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Leonhard Hufnagl, Roland Eichinger, Hella Garny, Thomas Birner, Ales Kuchar, Patrick Joeckel, Phoebe Graf
Summary: The increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations affects circulation by changing the atmospheric temperature distribution. This study quantifies the modification of the circulation response to CO2 forcing by stratospheric ozone through model simulations. The results show that ozone changes dampen the CO2-induced strengthening of the circulation, leading to various impacts on temperature gradients and polar vortices.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Liubov Poshyvailo-Strube, Rolf Mueller, Stephan Fueglistaler, Michaela Hegglin, Johannes C. Laube, C. Michael Volk, Felix Ploeger
Summary: The stratospheric meridional overturning circulation plays a crucial role in controlling the composition and climate of the stratosphere. This study explores how the mean age of air trends can be estimated using a combination of stratospheric water vapor (H2O) and methane (CH4) data. The results reveal the uncertainties in these estimations and offer practical advice for obtaining more reliable results.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuanyu Xie, Meiyun Lin, Bertrand Decharme, Christine Delire, Larry W. Horowitz, David M. Lawrence, Fang Li, Roland Seferian
Summary: The study predicts the impact of increased wildfires on air quality in a warming climate. The results show a significant increase in CO2 emissions from wildfires, leading to a twofold to threefold increase in PM2.5 pollution in the US Pacific Northwest. Even with strong mitigation efforts, PM2.5 in the western US is projected to increase by around 50%. These findings highlight the significant impact of wildfires on air quality.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Olaf Morgenstern, Douglas E. Kinnison, Michael Mills, Martine Michou, Larry W. Horowitz, Pu Lin, Makoto Deushi, Kohei Yoshida, Fiona M. O'Connor, Yongming Tang, N. Luke Abraham, James Keeble, Fraser Dennison, Eugene Rozanov, Tatiana Egorova, Timofei Sukhodolov, Guang Zeng
Summary: Using nine chemistry-climate and eight associated no-chemistry models, this study examines the persistence and timing of cold episodes in the Arctic and Antarctic stratosphere from 1980 to 2014. The results show systematic differences in behavior between the chemistry and no-chemistry models, with the chemistry models exhibiting longer and earlier cold episodes compared to the lowest temperatures. Furthermore, the chemistry models often experience delayed lowest temperature occurrence by 1-3 weeks. The study highlights the need to retune chemistry-climate models compared to their no-chemistry counterparts.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Hui Yang, Xinyuan Huang, Daniel M. Westervelt, Larry Horowitz, Wei Peng
Summary: Millions of premature deaths are caused by ambient particulate air pollution, and reducing fossil fuel combustion can decrease exposure to harmful particulates. However, socio-demographic factors play a dominant role in health outcomes related to air pollution globally.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Pamela S. Rickly, Matthew M. Coggon, Kenneth C. Aikin, Raul J. Alvarez II, Sunil Baidar, Jessica B. Gilman, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Colin Harkins, Jian He, Aaron Lamplugh, Andrew O. Langford, Brian C. McDonald, Jeff Peischl, Michael A. Robinson, Andrew W. Rollins, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Christoph J. Senff, Carsten Warneke, Steven S. Brown
Summary: Increasing trends in biomass burning emissions significantly impact air quality in North America. The transport of smoke from local and long-range fires has been found to increase the mixing ratios of ozone (O3) in urban areas. This is primarily due to the transport of pyrogenic volatile organic compounds (PVOCs) and the influence of O3 produced within the smoke. Detailed chemical measurements have shown that both local and long-range smoke periods lead to increases in carbon monoxide, background O3, OH reactivity, and total VOCs, while the NOx mixing ratios remain constant. Box-model calculations indicate that local O3 production is in the NOx-sensitive regime, with PVOCs substantially increasing O3 production in the transition and NOx-saturated regimes.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Martyn P. Chipperfield, Andreas Chrysanthou, Robert Damadeo, Martin Dameris, Sandip S. Dhomse, Vitali Fioletov, Stacey M. Frith, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Birgit Hassler, Jane Liu, Rolf Mueller, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Michelle L. Santee, Ryan M. Stauffer, David Tarasick, Anne M. Thompson, Mark Weber, Paul J. Young
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Chloe Yuchao Gao, Vaishali Naik, Larry W. Horowitz, Paul Ginoux, Fabien Paulot, John Dunne, Michael Mills, Valentina Aquila, Peter Colarco
Summary: This study modified the atmospheric component of the GFDL Earth System Model to simulate stratospheric sulfate aerosols and investigate the impact of volcanic eruptions. The results showed that the simulated stratospheric sulfate mass burden and aerosol optical depth are sensitive to injection height, emission amount, and aerosol size. The optimal combination of parameters depends on the observational metric used for evaluation.
JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN MODELING EARTH SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Kai-Lan Chang, Owen R. Cooper, Gavin Rodriguez, Laura T. Iraci, Emma L. Yates, Matthew S. Johnson, Audrey Gaudel, Daniel A. Jaffe, Noah Bernays, Hannah Clark, Peter Effertz, Thierry Leblanc, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Bastien Sauvage, David W. Tarasick
Summary: This study improves the estimation of free tropospheric ozone trends above western North America by combining various data sources and investigating ozone variability across different percentiles and seasons. The results show increasing ozone trends in the region, particularly in winter and summer, despite a temporary decrease in 2020 due to the COVID-19 economic downturn. Additionally, the study finds negative surface trends in rural areas, indicating a disconnect between surface trends and the overall increase in free tropospheric ozone.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Andrew O. Langford, Christoph J. Senff, Raul J. Alvarez, Ken C. Aikin, Ravan Ahmadov, Wayne M. Angevine, Sunil Baidar, W. Alan Brewer, Steven S. Brown, Eric P. James, Brandi J. McCarty, Scott P. Sandberg, Michael L. Zucker
Summary: Ground-level ozone (O-3) in northern Colorado was exceptionally high in the summer of 2021, exceeding the levels of previous years. Wildfire smoke from Arizona, California, and the Pacific Northwest contributed to the increased ozone concentrations. Measurements indicate that the smoke transported by pyrogenic VOCs led to an average increase of 8 ppbv in July, 3 ppbv in August, and 2 ppbv in September.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
James Gomez, Robert J. Allen, Steven T. Turnock, Larry W. Horowitz, Kostas Tsigaridis, Susanne E. Bauer, Dirk Olivie, Erik S. Thomson, Paul Ginoux
Summary: Analyses of Earth system model simulations suggest that higher concentrations of dust and secondary organic aerosol in the atmosphere due to an intensified West African monsoon and enhanced emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds, respectively, are projected to degrade air quality in a warmer world. Thirteen models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 all indicate an increase in global average concentrations of fine particulate matter in response to rising carbon dioxide concentrations, with the main contributors being dust and secondary organic aerosols via the intensified West African monsoon and enhanced emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds. Understanding biogenic volatile organic compounds emissions due to climate change is essential for numerically assessing future air quality.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xiaomeng Jin, Arlene M. Fiore, Ronald C. Cohen
Summary: The frequency of wildfires in the western United States has increased, and their impact on ground-level ozone (O-3) precursors and chemistry has been examined. Satellite observations show that wildfires in 2020 led to an overall increase in annual average columns of formaldehyde (HCHO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in California. The increase in NO2 offsets the reduction in anthropogenic NOx emission during the COVID-19 lockdown, while the increase in HCHO extends from the source regions to urban areas due to secondary production.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jeff Peischl, Kenneth C. Aikin, Brian C. McDonald, Colin Harkins, Ann M. Middlebrook, Andrew O. Langford, Owen R. Cooper, Kai -Lan Chang, Steven S. Brown
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic led to lockdowns in the United States, resulting in decreased on-road emissions and lower concentrations of pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and particulate matter (PM2.5). The concentrations of these pollutants generally decreased in 9 U.S. cities during late March and early April, and decadal trends showed decreases in the summer months. The analysis also revealed anomalous increases in pollutants in western U.S. cities during late summer, attributed to wildfire emissions.
ELEMENTA-SCIENCE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Dillon Elsbury, Amy H. Butler, John R. Albers, Melissa L. Breeden, Andrew O'Neil Langford
Summary: Stratosphere-to-troposphere transport (STT) is a significant source of ozone for the troposphere, particularly in western North America. The variability and location of the Pacific jet stream and the amount of ozone in the lower stratosphere are important factors controlling STT in this region, which may change with increasing greenhouse gas concentrations.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Cynthia H. Whaley, Kathy S. Law, Jens Liengaard Hjorth, Henrik Skov, Stephen R. Arnold, Joakim Langner, Jakob Boyd Pernov, Garance Bergeron, Ilann Bourgeois, Jesper H. Christensen, Rong-You Chien, Makoto Deushi, Xinyi Dong, Peter Effertz, Gregory Faluvegi, Mark Flanner, Joshua S. Fu, Michael Gauss, Greg Huey, Ulas Im, Rigel Kivi, Louis Marelle, Tatsuo Onishi, Naga Oshima, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Jeff Peischl, David A. Plummer, Luca Pozzoli, Jean-Christophe Raut, Tom Ryerson, Ragnhild Skeie, Sverre Solberg, Manu A. Thomas, Chelsea Thompson, Kostas Tsigaridis, Svetlana Tsyro, Steven T. Turnock, Knut von Salzen, David W. Tarasick
Summary: This study summarizes recent research on the observations and modeling of tropospheric ozone in the Arctic, revealing significant differences in the seasonal cycles of surface ozone at different locations. The 12 state-of-the-art models used in this study lack the necessary surface halogen chemistry to accurately simulate coastal Arctic surface ozone depletion. The multi-model median underestimates Arctic surface ozone by 5% to 15% depending on the location, and there is a wide variability among the models.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xiaomeng Jin, Arlene M. Fiore, Ronald C. Cohen
Summary: The frequency of wildfires in the western United States has increased in recent decades, impacting ground-level ozone (O-3) precursors and the O-3-NOx-VOC chemistry. Satellite observations reveal that extensive wildfires in 2020 led to an overall increase in statewide annual average formaldehyde (HCHO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations. The increase in NO2 partially offset the reduction in anthropogenic NOx emissions due to COVID-19 lockdown, while the enhancement of HCHO extended from the source regions to downwind urban areas, contributing to more efficient O-3 production.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Monika Mayer, Stefan F. Schreier, Wolfgang Spangl, Christoph Staehle, Heidelinde Trimmel, Harald E. Rieder
Summary: Despite significant reductions in emissions, summer surface ozone concentrations in Austria still exceed health protection standards. The temperature sensitivity of ozone production increases in spring and summer, and rising temperatures may offset future emission reductions. Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) are the dominant source of hydrocarbons in urban areas during the ozone season. Decreasing anthropogenic nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions remains the most effective short-term measure to reduce surface ozone concentrations.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-ATMOSPHERES
(2022)
