Record-Breaking Increases in Arctic Solar Ultraviolet Radiation Caused by Exceptionally Large Ozone Depletion in 2020.

Measurements of solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) performed between January and June 2020 at 10 Arctic and subarctic locations are compared with historical observations. Differences between 2020 and prior years are also assessed with total ozone column and UVR data from satellites. Erythemal (sunburning) UVR is quantified with the UV Index (UVI) derived from these measurements. UVI data show unprecedently large anomalies, occurring mostly between early March and mid-April 2020. For several days, UVIs observed in 2020 exceeded measurements of previous years by up to 140%. Historical means were surpassed by more than six standard deviations at several locations in the Arctic. In northern Canada, the average UVI for March was about 75% larger than usual. UVIs in April 2020 were elevated on average by about 25% at all sites. However, absolute anomalies remained below 3.0 UVI units because the enhancements occurred during times when the solar elevation was still low.

Unprecedented Arctic ozone loss in 2011.

Chemical ozone destruction occurs over both polar regions in local winter-spring. In the Antarctic, essentially complete removal of lower-stratospheric ozone currently results in an ozone hole every year, whereas in the Arctic, ozone loss is highly variable and has until now been much more limited. Here we demonstrate that chemical ozone destruction over the Arctic in early 2011 was--for the first time in the observational record--comparable to that in the Antarctic ozone hole. Unusually long-lasting cold conditions in the Arctic lower stratosphere led to persistent enhancement in ozone-destroying forms of chlorine and to unprecedented ozone loss, which exceeded 80 per cent over 18-20 kilometres altitude. Our results show that Arctic ozone holes are possible even with temperatures much milder than those in the Antarctic. We cannot at present predict when such severe Arctic ozone depletion may be matched or exceeded.

Reanalysis intercomparisons of stratospheric polar processing diagnostics.

We compare herein polar processing diagnostics derived from the four most recent full-input reanalysis datasets: the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Climate Forecast System Reanalysis / Climate Forecast System, version 2 (CFSR/CFSv2), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Interim Reanalysis (ERA-Interim), the Japanese Meteorological Agency's Japanese 55-year Reanalysis (JRA-55), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2). We focus on diagnostics based on temperatures and potential vorticity (PV) in the lower to middle stratosphere that are related to formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs), chlorine activation, and the strength, size, and longevity of the stratospheric polar vortex. Polar minimum temperatures (Tmin) and the area of regions having temperatures below PSC formation thresholds (APSC) show large persistent differences between the reanalyses, especially in the southern hemisphere (SH), for years prior to 1999. Average absolute differences of the reanalyses from the reanalysis ensemble mean (REM) in Tmin are as large as 3 K at some levels in the SH (1.5 K in the NH), and absolute differences of reanalysis APSC from the REM up to 1.5% of a hemisphere (0.75% of a hemisphere in the NH). After 1999, the reanalyses converge toward better agreement in both hemispheres, dramatically so in the SH: Average Tmin differences from the REM are generally less than 1 K in both hemispheres, and average APSC differences less than 0.3% of a hemisphere. The comparisons of diagnostics based on isentropic PV for assessing polar vortex characteristics, including maximum PV gradients (MPVG) and the area of the vortex in sunlight (or sunlit vortex area, SVA), show more complex behavior: SH MPVG showed convergence toward better agreement with the REM after 1999, while NH MPVG differences remained largely constant over time; differences in SVA remained relatively constant in both hemispheres. While the average differences from the REM are generally small for these vortex diagnostics, understanding such differences among the reanalyses is complicated by the need to use different methods to obtain vertically-resolved PV for the different reanalyses. We also evaluated other winter season summary diagnostics, including the winter mean volume of air below PSC thresholds, and vortex decay dates. For the volume of air below PSC thresholds, the reanalyses generally agree best in the SH, where relatively small interannual variability has led to many winter seasons with similar polar processing potential and duration, and thus low sensitivity to differences in meteorological conditions among the reanalyses. In contrast, the large interannual variability of NH winters has given rise to many seasons with marginal conditions that are more sensitive to reanalysis differences. For vortex decay dates, larger differences are seen in the SH than in the NH; in general the differences in decay dates among the reanalyses follow from persistent differences in their vortex areas. Our results indicate that the transition from the reanalyses assimilating Tiros Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) data to Advanced TOVS and other data around 1998 - 2000 resulted in a profound improvement in the agreement of the temperature diagnostics presented (especially in the SH) and to a lesser extent the agreement of the vortex diagnostics. We present several recommendations for using reanalyses in polar processing studies, particularly related to the sensitivity to changes in data inputs and assimilation. Because of these sensitivities, we urge great caution for studies aiming to assess trends derived from reanalysis temperatures. We also argue that one of the best ways to assess the sensitivity of scientific results on polar processing is to use multiple reanalysis datasets.

Assessment of upper tropospheric and stratospheric water vapor and ozone in reanalyses as part of S-RIP.

Reanalysis data sets are widely used to understand atmospheric processes and past variability, and are often used to stand in as "observations" for comparisons with climate model output. Because of the central role of water vapor (WV) and ozone (O3) in climate change, it is important to understand how accurately and consistently these species are represented in existing global reanalyses. In this paper, we present the results of WV and O3 intercomparisons that have been performed as part of the SPARC (Stratosphere-troposphere Processes and their Role in Climate) Reanalysis Intercomparison Project (S-RIP). The comparisons cover a range of timescales and evaluate both inter-reanalysis and observation-reanalysis differences. We also provide a systematic documentation of the treatment of WV and O3 in current reanalyses to aid future research and guide the interpretation of differences amongst reanalysis fields. The assimilation of total column ozone (TCO) observations in newer reanalyses results in realistic representations of TCO in reanalyses except when data coverage is lacking, such as during polar night. The vertical distribution of ozone is also relatively well represented in the stratosphere in reanalyses, particularly given the relatively weak constraints on ozone vertical structure provided by most assimilated observations and the simplistic representations of ozone photochemical processes in most of the reanalysis forecast models. However, significant biases in the vertical distribution of ozone are found in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere in all reanalyses. In contrast to O3, reanalysis estimates of stratospheric WV are not directly constrained by assimilated data. Observations of atmospheric humidity are typically used only in the troposphere, below a specified vertical level at or near the tropopause. The fidelity of reanalysis stratospheric WV products is therefore mainly dependent on the reanalyses' representation of the physical drivers that influence stratospheric WV, such as temperatures in the tropical tropopause layer, methane oxidation, and the stratospheric overturning circulation. The lack of assimilated observations and known deficiencies in the representation of stratospheric transport in reanalyses result in much poorer agreement amongst observational and reanalysis estimates of stratospheric WV. Hence, stratospheric WV products from the current generation of reanalyses should generally not be used in scientific studies.

Reanalysis comparisons of upper tropospheric/lower stratospheric jets and multiple tropopauses.

The representation of upper tropospheric/lower stratospheric (UTLS) jet and tropopause characteristics is compared in five modern high-resolution reanalyses for 1980 through 2014. Climatologies of upper tropospheric jet, subvortex jet (the lowermost part of the stratospheric vortex), and multiple tropopause frequency distributions in MERRA (Modern Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications), ERA-I (the ECMWF interim reanalysis), JRA-55 (the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis), and CFSR (the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis) are compared with those in MERRA-2. Differences between alternate products from individual reanalysis systems are assessed; in particular, a comparison of CFSR data on model and pressure levels highlights the importance of vertical grid spacing. Most of the differences in distributions of UTLS jets and multiple tropopauses are consistent with the differences in assimilation model grids and resolution: For example, ERA-I (with coarsest native horizontal resolution) typically shows a significant low bias in upper tropospheric jets with respect to MERRA-2, and JRA-55 a more modest one, while CFSR (with finest native horizontal resolution) shows a high bias with respect to MERRA-2 in both upper tropospheric jets and multiple tropopauses. Vertical temperature structure and grid spacing are especially important for multiple tropopause characterization. Substantial differences between MERRA and MERRA-2 are seen in mid- to high-latitude southern hemisphere winter upper tropospheric jets and multiple tropopauses, and in the upper tropospheric jets associated with tropical circulations during the solstice seasons; some of the largest differences from the other reanalyses are seen in the same times and places. Very good qualitative agreement among the reanalyses is seen between the large scale climatological features in UTLS jet and multiple tropopause distributions. Quantitative differences may, however, have important consequences for transport and variability studies. Our results highlight the importance of considering reanalyses differences in UTLS studies, especially in relation to resolution and model grids; this is particularly critical when using high-resolution reanalyses as an observational reference for evaluating global chemistry climate models.

Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) Experiment Version 3 data retrievals.

Version 3 of the Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment data set for some 30 trace and minor gas profiles is available. From the IR solar-absorption spectra measured during four Space Shuttle missions (in 1985, 1992, 1993, and 1994), profiles from more than 350 occultations were retrieved from the upper troposphere to the lower mesosphere. Previous results were unreliable for tropospheric retrievals, but with a new global-fitting algorithm profiles are reliably returned down to altitudes as low as 6.5 km (clouds permitting) and include notably improved retrievals of H2O, CO, and other species. Results for stratospheric water are more consistent across the ATMOS spectral filters and do not indicate a net consumption of H2 in the upper stratosphere. A new sulfuric-acid aerosol product is described. An overview of ATMOS Version 3 processing is presented with a discussion of estimated uncertainties. Differences between these Version 3 and previously reported Version 2 ATMOS results are discussed. Retrievals are available at http://atmos.jpl.nasa.gov/atmos.