An estimate of the impact of Stratosphere to Troposphere Transport (STT) on the lower free tropospheric ozone over the Alps using 10Be and 7Be measurements

Zanis, P. et al. (2003) An estimate of the impact of Stratosphere to Troposphere Transport (STT) on the lower free tropospheric ozone over the Alps using 10Be and 7Be measurements. Journal of Geophysical Research, 108((D12)), p. 8520. (doi: 10.1029/2002JD002604)

Abstract

In the framework of the European project STACCATO, combined measurements of Be-10 and Be-7 were carried out regularly during a full year at the high-altitude stations, Jungfraujoch (JUN), Switzerland and Zugspitze (ZUG), Germany. Inspection of the variability of the ratio Be-10/Be-7 in relation to Be-10, Be-7, and relative humidity (RH) reveals that the ratio is independent from processes that have a clear effect on both radionuclides, such as wet scavenging. High ratio values are generally met under cyclonic or northerly advective conditions, which are the synoptic situations mostly related to stratosphere-to-troposphere transport (STT) events over central Europe, while the 10-day back trajectories indicate a stratospheric source for the majority of the cases within the upper 10% quantile of Be-10/Be-7 ratios. The monthly Be-10/Be-7 ratios show a clear May and June peak at JUN and a much weaker seasonality at ZUG. A simple mixing model is used for an independent estimate of the strength of STT throughout the year based on the Be-7 and Be-10 measurements. In spite of the various uncertainties, the results indicate a seasonal cycle of stratospheric ozone percentage contribution with an early spring maximum (3-11%) and autumn minimum (1-2%) at ZUG, while at JUN, a primary maximum in May and June (6-18%), a secondary maximum in March (4-13%), and a minimum again in autumn (1-4%) are revealed. Although the simple method applied here provides an independent estimate for the impact of STT to the lower troposphere, it nevertheless shows relatively good agreement with Lagrangian model calculations, especially for ZUG.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Schnabel, Dr Christoph
• Authors: Zanis, P., Gerasopoulos, E., Priller, A., Schnabel, C., Zerefos, C., Gäggeler, H.W., Tobler, L., Kubik, P.W., Berger, M., Kanter, H.J., Scheel, H.E., Luterbacher, J., and Stohl, A.
• Subjects: Q Science > QE Geology; G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research
• ISSN: 0148-0227