Distinguishing the impacts of ozone-depleting substances and well-mixed greenhouse gases on Arctic stratospheric ozone and temperature trends

Whether stratospheric cooling due to increases in well-mixed greenhouse gases (WMGHG) could increase the depletion of Arctic stratospheric ozone has been the subject of scientific and public attention for decades. Here we provide evidence that changes in the concentrations of ozone-depleting substan...

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Main Authors: Rieder, Harald E., Polvani, Lorenzo M., Solomon, Susan
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97919
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2020-7581
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author Rieder, Harald E.
Polvani, Lorenzo M.
Solomon, Susan
author2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
author_facet Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Rieder, Harald E.
Polvani, Lorenzo M.
Solomon, Susan
author_sort Rieder, Harald E.
collection MIT
description Whether stratospheric cooling due to increases in well-mixed greenhouse gases (WMGHG) could increase the depletion of Arctic stratospheric ozone has been the subject of scientific and public attention for decades. Here we provide evidence that changes in the concentrations of ozone-depleting substances (ODS), not WMGHG, have been the primary driver of observed Arctic lower stratospheric trends in both ozone and temperature. We do so by analyzing polar cap ozone and temperature trends in reanalysis data: these clearly suggest that both trends are mainly driven by ODS in the lower stratosphere. This observation-based finding is supported by results from a stratosphere-resolving chemistry-climate model driven with time-varying ODS and WMGHG, specified in isolation and in combination. Taken together, these results provide strong evidence that ODS are the main driver of changes in the Arctic lower stratospheric temperatures and ozone, whereas WMGHG are the primary driver of changes in the upper stratosphere.
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spelling mit-1721.1/979192022-10-01T11:48:32Z Distinguishing the impacts of ozone-depleting substances and well-mixed greenhouse gases on Arctic stratospheric ozone and temperature trends Rieder, Harald E. Polvani, Lorenzo M. Solomon, Susan Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Solomon, Susan Whether stratospheric cooling due to increases in well-mixed greenhouse gases (WMGHG) could increase the depletion of Arctic stratospheric ozone has been the subject of scientific and public attention for decades. Here we provide evidence that changes in the concentrations of ozone-depleting substances (ODS), not WMGHG, have been the primary driver of observed Arctic lower stratospheric trends in both ozone and temperature. We do so by analyzing polar cap ozone and temperature trends in reanalysis data: these clearly suggest that both trends are mainly driven by ODS in the lower stratosphere. This observation-based finding is supported by results from a stratosphere-resolving chemistry-climate model driven with time-varying ODS and WMGHG, specified in isolation and in combination. Taken together, these results provide strong evidence that ODS are the main driver of changes in the Arctic lower stratospheric temperatures and ozone, whereas WMGHG are the primary driver of changes in the upper stratosphere. 2015-07-29T15:24:23Z 2015-07-29T15:24:23Z 2014-04 2014-01 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 00948276 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97919 Rieder, Harald E., Lorenzo M. Polvani, and Susan Solomon. “Distinguishing the Impacts of Ozone-Depleting Substances and Well-Mixed Greenhouse Gases on Arctic Stratospheric Ozone and Temperature Trends.” Geophysical Research Letters 41, no. 7 (April 11, 2014): 2652–2660. © 2014 American Geophysical Union https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2020-7581 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014gl059367 Geophysical Research Letters Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf American Geophysical Union (AGU) Other univ. web domain
spellingShingle Rieder, Harald E.
Polvani, Lorenzo M.
Solomon, Susan
Distinguishing the impacts of ozone-depleting substances and well-mixed greenhouse gases on Arctic stratospheric ozone and temperature trends
title Distinguishing the impacts of ozone-depleting substances and well-mixed greenhouse gases on Arctic stratospheric ozone and temperature trends
title_full Distinguishing the impacts of ozone-depleting substances and well-mixed greenhouse gases on Arctic stratospheric ozone and temperature trends
title_fullStr Distinguishing the impacts of ozone-depleting substances and well-mixed greenhouse gases on Arctic stratospheric ozone and temperature trends
title_full_unstemmed Distinguishing the impacts of ozone-depleting substances and well-mixed greenhouse gases on Arctic stratospheric ozone and temperature trends
title_short Distinguishing the impacts of ozone-depleting substances and well-mixed greenhouse gases on Arctic stratospheric ozone and temperature trends
title_sort distinguishing the impacts of ozone depleting substances and well mixed greenhouse gases on arctic stratospheric ozone and temperature trends
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97919
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2020-7581
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