IONS-04 (INTEX Ozonesonde Network Study, 2004): Perspective on Summertime UT/LS (Upper Troposphere/Lower Stratosphere) Ozone over Northeastern North America

 

Anne M Thompson1, Jesse B Stone1, Jacquelyn C Witte2, R Bradley Pierce3, Robert B Chatfield4, Samuel J Oltmans5, Owen R Cooper6, Brett F Taubman1, Bryan J Johnson5, Everette Joseph7, Tom L Kucsera2, John T Merrill8, Gary A Morris9, Scott Hersey10, Michael J Newchurch11, F J Schmidlin12, David W Tarasick13, Valerie Thouret14, Jean-Pierre Cammas14

1 Meteorology Department, Penn State University, 503 Walker Bldg, University Park, PA 16802-5013; 814-865-0479, fax-814-865-3663; anne@met.psu.edu
2 SSAI (Lanham, MD 20706); also at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Code 613.3, Greenbelt, MD 20771; 301-614-6046, 301-614-5903; witte@gavial.gsfc.nasa.gov; tlk@croc.gsfc.nasa.gov
3 NASA/Langley Research Center, Atmospheric Sciences Competency, Hampton, VA 23681; 757-864-5918; fax, 757-864-7790; r.b.pierce@larc.nasa.gov
4 NASA/Ames Research Center, SGG Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035; 650-604-5490; fax 650-604-3625; chatfield@clio,arc.nasa.gov
5 NOAA/Earth Systems Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO 80305; 303-497-6676 (SJO); 303-497-6842 (BJJ); samuel.j.oltmans@noaa.gov; bryan.johnson@noaa.gov
6 CIRES = Colorado Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences; also at NOAA/EarthSystems Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO 80305; 303-497-3599; owen.r.cooper@noaa.gov
7 Howard University Department of Physics and Astronomy, 2355 6th St NW, Washington, DC 20059; 202-806-6256; fax- 202-806-5830; ejoseph@howard.edu
8 Graduate School of Oceanography, 312 CACS Building, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI 02882; 401-874 6715; jmerrill@gso.uri.edu
9 Department of Physics and Astronomy, 1610 Chapel Dr. East, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN 46383; 219-464-5516; 219-464-5489 (fax); gmorris@valpo.edu
10 Department of Physics and Astronomy, MS-61, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005; 713-348-5727; 713-348-4150 (fax); shersey@rice.edu
11 Atmospheric Science Department, University of Alabama in Huntsville, 320 Sparkman Drive, NSSTC 3040, Huntsville, AL 35806; 256-961-7825; 256-961-7751 (fax); mike@nsstc.uah.edu
12 NASA/Goddard, Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA 23337; 757-824-1618; fax 757-824-1036; fjs@osb1.wff.nasa.gov
13 Environment Canada - Meteorological Services Centre, Downsview, ONT M3H 5T4 416-739-4623; david.tarasick@ec.gc.ca
14 CNRS, (UMR 5560), Laboratoire d'Aérologie, OMP, 14 Avenue E. Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France; 33-0561- 3327-71 Fax: 33-0561- 332790; thov@aero.obs-mip.fr; camjp@aero.obs-mip.fr

 

24 April 2006 Submitted to J. of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres (INTEX Issue) 2006JD007441

 

ABSTRACT Coordinated ozonesonde launches from IONS (INTEX [Intercontinental Transport Experiment] Ozonesonde Network Study <http://croc.gsfc.nasa.gov/intex/ions.html>) in July-August 2004 provided nearly 300 O3 profiles from eleven North American sites and the R/V R H Brown in the Gulf of Maine. With the IONS period dominated by low-pressure conditions over northeastern North America (NENA), the free troposphere in that region was frequently enriched by stratospheric O3. Stratospheric O3 contributions (ST) to the NENA tropospheric O3 budget are computed through analyses of O3 laminae (Pierce and Grant [1998]; Teitelbaum et al., 1996), tracers (potential vorticity, water vapor) and trajectories. The ST component ranged from 16 to 34% (mean, 26% + 7%) of below-tropopause O3 over the R/V R H Brown and six sites in MI, VA, MD, RI, and Nova Scotia. Analysis of potential vorticity, Wallops ozonesondes (37.9N, 75.5W), and MOZAIC (Measurements of Ozone by Airbus In-service Aircraft) O3 profiles for NENA airports in JJA (June-July-August) 1996-2004 shows that the stratospheric fraction in 2004 may be typical. Boundary layer (BL) O3 at Wallops and northeast US sites during IONS also resembled O3 climatology (JJA 1996-2003). However, statistical classification of Wallops O3 profiles shows the frequency of profiles with background, non-polluted BL O3 was greater than normal during IONS.

 

Robert.B.Chatfield@nasa.gov