American Geophysical Union, Journal of Geophysical Research, D22(116), p. n/a-n/a, 2011
DOI: 10.1029/2011jd016020
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We present ozone loss estimated from airborne measurements in the Arctic winter 2003. The first half of the winter was characterized by unusually cold temperatures and the second half by a major stratospheric sudden warming that culminated around 15-18 January 2003. The potential vorticity maps show a vortex split in the lower stratosphere during the major warming (MW) period in late January and during the minor warming period in mid-February due to wave 1 amplification. The ozone depletion computed from the ASUR measurements sampled inside the vortex shows a maximum of 1.3{plus minus}0.2 ppmv at 450-500 K by late March. The partial column loss derived from the ASUR ozone profiles reaches up to 61{plus minus}4 DU in 400-550 K. The evolution of ozone and ozone loss in the ASUR measurements are in very good agreement with that of POAM observations. This study reveals that the Arctic winter 2003 is unique as it had three minor warmings and a MW, yet showed large loss in ozone, whereas no such feature was observed in any other Arctic winter in 1989-2010. An unusually large ozone loss in December, 0.5{plus minus}0.2 ppmv at 450-500 K or 12{plus minus}1 DU in 400-550 K, was estimated for the first time in the Arctic. A careful and detailed diagnosis of ozone loss from all available published results for this winter exhibits an average loss of about 1.5{plus minus}0.3 ppmv at 450-500 K or 65{plus minus}5 DU at 400-550 K by the end of March, which exactly matches the depletion derived in this study.