Airborne lidar observations in the wintertime Arctic stratosphere: Ozone

Abstract

Large‐scale distributions of ozone (O 3 ) were measured with an airborne lidar system as part of the 1989 Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition (AASE). Measurements of O 3 distributions were obtained between January 6 and February 15, 1989, on 15 long‐range flights into the polar vortex from the Sola Air Station, Norway. The observed O 3 distribution was found to clearly indicate the edge of the polar vortex and to be an effective tracer of dynamical processes in the lower stratosphere. On the last two flights of the expedition, large regions with reduced O 3 levels were observed by the lidar inside the polar vortex. Ozone had decreased by as much as 17% in the center of these areas, and using the in situ measurements made on the ER‐2 aircraft, it was concluded that this decline was due to chemical O 3 destruction.