Ozone Variability and Trend Estimates from 20-Years of Ground-Based and Satellite Observations at Irene Station, South Africa

While the stratospheric ozone protects the biosphere against ultraviolet (UV) radiation, tropospheric ozone acts like a greenhouse gas and an indicator of anthropogenic pollution. In this paper, we combined ground-based and satellite ozone observations over Irene site (25.90° S, 28.22° E), one of th...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hassan Bencherif, Abdoulwahab M. Toihir, Nkanyiso Mbatha, Venkataraman Sivakumar, David Jean du Preez, Nelson Bègue, Gerrie Coetzee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
Series:Atmosphere
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/11/1216
_version_ 1797548290103836672
author Hassan Bencherif
Abdoulwahab M. Toihir
Nkanyiso Mbatha
Venkataraman Sivakumar
David Jean du Preez
Nelson Bègue
Gerrie Coetzee
author_facet Hassan Bencherif
Abdoulwahab M. Toihir
Nkanyiso Mbatha
Venkataraman Sivakumar
David Jean du Preez
Nelson Bègue
Gerrie Coetzee
author_sort Hassan Bencherif
collection DOAJ
description While the stratospheric ozone protects the biosphere against ultraviolet (UV) radiation, tropospheric ozone acts like a greenhouse gas and an indicator of anthropogenic pollution. In this paper, we combined ground-based and satellite ozone observations over Irene site (25.90° S, 28.22° E), one of the most ancient ozone-observing stations in the southern tropics. The dataset is made of daily total columns and weekly profiles of ozone collected over 20 years, from 1998 to 2017. In order to fill in some missing data and split the total column of ozone into a tropospheric and a stratospheric column, we used satellite observations from TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer), OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument), and MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder) experiments. The tropospheric column is derived by integrating ozone profiles from an ozonesonde experiment, while the stratospheric column is obtained by subtracting the tropospheric column from the total column (recorded by the Dobson spectrometer), and by assuming that the mesospheric contribution is negligible. Each of the obtained ozone time series was then analyzed by applying the method of wavelet transform, which permitted the determination of the main forcings that contribute to each ozone time series. We then applied the multivariate Trend-Run model and the Mann–Kendall test for trend analysis. Despite the different analytical approaches, the obtained results are broadly similar and consistent. They showed a decrease in the stratospheric column (−0.56% and −1.7% per decade, respectively, for Trend-Run and Mann–Kendall) and an increase in the tropospheric column (+2.37% and +3.6%, per decade, respectively, for Trend-Run and Mann–Kendall). Moreover, the results presented here indicated that the slowing down of the total ozone decline is somewhat due to the contribution of the tropospheric ozone concentration.
first_indexed 2024-03-10T14:57:14Z
format Article
id doaj.art-c7e200c80d99433bab6cb7c676e3e561
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2073-4433
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-10T14:57:14Z
publishDate 2020-11-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Atmosphere
spelling doaj.art-c7e200c80d99433bab6cb7c676e3e5612023-11-20T20:32:40ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332020-11-011111121610.3390/atmos11111216Ozone Variability and Trend Estimates from 20-Years of Ground-Based and Satellite Observations at Irene Station, South AfricaHassan Bencherif0Abdoulwahab M. Toihir1Nkanyiso Mbatha2Venkataraman Sivakumar3David Jean du Preez4Nelson Bègue5Gerrie Coetzee6LACy, Laboratoire de l’Atmosphère et des Cyclones (UMR 8105 CNRS, Université de La Réunion, Météo-France), 97744 Saint-Denis de La Réunion, FranceAgence Nationale de l’Aviation Civile et de la Météorologie, 84646 Moroni, ComorosDepartment of Geography, University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa 3886, South AfricaDiscipline of Physics, School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 3629, South AfricaLACy, Laboratoire de l’Atmosphère et des Cyclones (UMR 8105 CNRS, Université de La Réunion, Météo-France), 97744 Saint-Denis de La Réunion, FranceLACy, Laboratoire de l’Atmosphère et des Cyclones (UMR 8105 CNRS, Université de La Réunion, Météo-France), 97744 Saint-Denis de La Réunion, FranceSouth African Wheather Service, Private Bag X097, Pretoria 0001, South AfricaWhile the stratospheric ozone protects the biosphere against ultraviolet (UV) radiation, tropospheric ozone acts like a greenhouse gas and an indicator of anthropogenic pollution. In this paper, we combined ground-based and satellite ozone observations over Irene site (25.90° S, 28.22° E), one of the most ancient ozone-observing stations in the southern tropics. The dataset is made of daily total columns and weekly profiles of ozone collected over 20 years, from 1998 to 2017. In order to fill in some missing data and split the total column of ozone into a tropospheric and a stratospheric column, we used satellite observations from TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer), OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument), and MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder) experiments. The tropospheric column is derived by integrating ozone profiles from an ozonesonde experiment, while the stratospheric column is obtained by subtracting the tropospheric column from the total column (recorded by the Dobson spectrometer), and by assuming that the mesospheric contribution is negligible. Each of the obtained ozone time series was then analyzed by applying the method of wavelet transform, which permitted the determination of the main forcings that contribute to each ozone time series. We then applied the multivariate Trend-Run model and the Mann–Kendall test for trend analysis. Despite the different analytical approaches, the obtained results are broadly similar and consistent. They showed a decrease in the stratospheric column (−0.56% and −1.7% per decade, respectively, for Trend-Run and Mann–Kendall) and an increase in the tropospheric column (+2.37% and +3.6%, per decade, respectively, for Trend-Run and Mann–Kendall). Moreover, the results presented here indicated that the slowing down of the total ozone decline is somewhat due to the contribution of the tropospheric ozone concentration.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/11/1216atmospheric compositionsouthern tropicsozone trendSouth Africa
spellingShingle Hassan Bencherif
Abdoulwahab M. Toihir
Nkanyiso Mbatha
Venkataraman Sivakumar
David Jean du Preez
Nelson Bègue
Gerrie Coetzee
Ozone Variability and Trend Estimates from 20-Years of Ground-Based and Satellite Observations at Irene Station, South Africa
Atmosphere
atmospheric composition
southern tropics
ozone trend
South Africa
title Ozone Variability and Trend Estimates from 20-Years of Ground-Based and Satellite Observations at Irene Station, South Africa
title_full Ozone Variability and Trend Estimates from 20-Years of Ground-Based and Satellite Observations at Irene Station, South Africa
title_fullStr Ozone Variability and Trend Estimates from 20-Years of Ground-Based and Satellite Observations at Irene Station, South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Ozone Variability and Trend Estimates from 20-Years of Ground-Based and Satellite Observations at Irene Station, South Africa
title_short Ozone Variability and Trend Estimates from 20-Years of Ground-Based and Satellite Observations at Irene Station, South Africa
title_sort ozone variability and trend estimates from 20 years of ground based and satellite observations at irene station south africa
topic atmospheric composition
southern tropics
ozone trend
South Africa
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/11/1216
work_keys_str_mv AT hassanbencherif ozonevariabilityandtrendestimatesfrom20yearsofgroundbasedandsatelliteobservationsatirenestationsouthafrica
AT abdoulwahabmtoihir ozonevariabilityandtrendestimatesfrom20yearsofgroundbasedandsatelliteobservationsatirenestationsouthafrica
AT nkanyisombatha ozonevariabilityandtrendestimatesfrom20yearsofgroundbasedandsatelliteobservationsatirenestationsouthafrica
AT venkataramansivakumar ozonevariabilityandtrendestimatesfrom20yearsofgroundbasedandsatelliteobservationsatirenestationsouthafrica
AT davidjeandupreez ozonevariabilityandtrendestimatesfrom20yearsofgroundbasedandsatelliteobservationsatirenestationsouthafrica
AT nelsonbegue ozonevariabilityandtrendestimatesfrom20yearsofgroundbasedandsatelliteobservationsatirenestationsouthafrica
AT gerriecoetzee ozonevariabilityandtrendestimatesfrom20yearsofgroundbasedandsatelliteobservationsatirenestationsouthafrica