Nimbus 4 Observations of Changes in Total Ozone and Stratospheric Temperatures During a Sudden Warming

Abstract

A comparison is made between the values of total ozone inferred from the Backscatter Ultraviolet (BUV) experiment and stratospheric radiances measured by the Satellite Infra–Red Spectrometer (SIRS) flown on Nimbus 4. These SIRS radiances centered at 678 m⁻¹ are highly correlated with mean temperature of a stratospheric layer 100–5 mb (approximately 16–36 km). A positive correlation was found to exist between total ozone and the radiances (temperatures) during the sudden warming of January 1971 in the Northern Hemisphere. Warm regions (high radiances) are correlated with high values and cold regions (low radiances) with low values of total atmospheric ozone, although the relationship of low ozone to cold centers was less clearly defined. Northern Hemispheric maps showing the distribution of total ozone and radiances for selected days from the period of the stratospheric warming are presented. A new result shows that the cells of high total ozone seem to follow the trajectories of moving high radiance (warm temperature) centers. The reversal in the stratospheric circulation, which occurred with the breakdown of polar vortex, is associated with an indicated change of ozone minimum to an ozone maximum at the North Pole. During the stratospheric warming, the high values of total ozone observed at higher latitudes are accompanied by ozone minima at the tropics. Gradients of zonally averaged total ozone values at two different high–latitude zones show a maximum correlation with a one–day lag as compared to the corresponding gradients between zonal averages of radiances. The possible meridional exchange of ozone during the warming period is discussed.