Influence of Stratospheric Intrusion on Upper Tropospheric Ozone over the Tropical North Atlantic

This study observed the upper tropospheric ozone enhancement in the northern Atlantic for the Aerosols99 campaign in January-February 1999. To find the origin of this air, we have analyzed the horizontal and vertical fields of Isentropic Potential Vorticity (IPV) and Relative Humidity (RH). The arch-shaped IPV is greater than 1.5 pvus indicating stratospheric air stretches equatorward. These arch-shaped regions are connected with regions of RH less than 20%. The vertical fields of IPV and RH show the folding layer penetrating into the upper troposphere. These features support the idea that the upper tropospheric ozone enhancement originated from the stratosphere. Additionally, we have investigated the climatological frequency of stratospheric intrusion over the tropical north Atlantic using IPV and RH. The total frequency between the equator and 30 degrees N over the tropical north Atlantic exhibits a maximum in northern winter. It suggests that the stratospheric intrusion plays an important role in enhancing ozone in the upper troposphere over the tropical north Atlantic in winter and early spring. Although the tropospheric ozone residual method assumed zonally invariant stratospheric ozone, stratospheric zonal ozone variance could be caused by stratospheric intrusions. This implies that stratospheric intrusion influences ozone variance over the Atlantic in boreal winter and spring, and the intrusion is a possible source for the tropical north Atlantic paradox.