EGU21-12668, updated on 04 Mar 2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-12668
EGU General Assembly 2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

The Influence of Ozone Feedbacks on Surface Climate following Spring Arctic Ozone Depletion

Marina Friedel1, Gabriel Chiodo1,2, Andrea Stenke1, Daniela Domeisen1, Stefan Muthers3, Julien Anet4, and Thomas Peter1
Marina Friedel et al.
  • 1ETH Zürich, Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, Department for Environmental System Science, Switzerland (marina.friedel@env.ethz.ch)
  • 2Applied Physics and Applied Math, Columbia University, New York (NY), USA
  • 3German Meteorological Service, Freiburg, Germany
  • 4ZHAW School of Engineering, Winterthur, Switzerland

Links between springtime Arctic stratospheric ozone anomalies and anomalous surface weather in the Northern Hemisphere have been found recently. Stratospheric ozone thus provides valuable information which may help to improve seasonal predictability. However, the extent and causality of the ozone-surface climate coupling remain unclear and many state-of-the-art forecast models lack any representation of ozone feedbacks on planetary circulation.

We investigate the importance of the ozone-surface climate coupling with two Chemistry Climate Models, contrasting simulations with fully interactive ozone against prescribed zonally averaged climatological ozone under fixed present-day boundary conditions. We focus on springtime Arctic ozone minima and compare subsequent surface patterns in runs with and without interactive ozone, thus rendering a detailed and physically-based quantification of the stratospheric ozone impact on surface climate possible.  

All model simulations show a connection between Arctic ozone minima and a positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation in the month after the depletion in spring. Runs with interactive ozone chemistry show an amplified surface response and a 40% stronger Arctic Oscillation index after ozone depletion. This amplified Arctic Oscillation goes along with enhanced positive surface temperature anomalies over Eurasia. Moreover, composite surface patterns after spring ozone minima in model simulations with interactive ozone show a better agreement with composites in reanalysis data compared to runs with prescribed ozone.

Mechanisms whereby stratospheric ozone affects both the stratospheric and tropospheric circulation are explored. These include the reduction of short-wave heating over the pole due to ozone loss, thus amplifying stratospheric temperature anomalies and allowing for an intensification of the polar vortex with subsequent impacts on wave propagation and the stratospheric meridional circulation. This suggests that ozone is not only passively responding to stratospheric dynamics, but actively feeds back into the circulation. Following these results, stratospheric ozone anomalies actively contribute to anomalous surface weather in spring, emphasizing the potential importance of interactive ozone chemistry for seasonal predictions.

How to cite: Friedel, M., Chiodo, G., Stenke, A., Domeisen, D., Muthers, S., Anet, J., and Peter, T.: The Influence of Ozone Feedbacks on Surface Climate following Spring Arctic Ozone Depletion, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-12668, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-12668, 2021.

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