Summary
The ozone loss simulated with climate models is based on laboratory kinetic data. These laboratory data are difficult to conduct at stratospheric pressures and temperatures and there is substantial uncertainty surrounding these parameters. Atmospheric observations are in some cases inconsistent with these recommended kinetic parameters. Here we provide an overview of the kinetic parameters from atmospheric observations, and their implications for ozone hole simulations. Using Concordiasi observational data, the first quasi-Lagrangian study of ozone loss the Antarctic stratosphere using long duration super pressured balloons, we explore ozone loss rates relative to our current understanding of the kinetics. Concordiasi was a field campaign conducted in the Austral spring of 2010 with balloons deployed from McMurdo station with the overarching aim of validating the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) satellite instrument. On 6 of these balloons ozone was monitored using specially designed ultraviolet photometers, built at the University of Colorado (UCOz) and at Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD, B-Bop) to operate with long life and low power consumption. The ozone data collected from these flights provides for the first time the possibility to study ozone loss rates as the ozone hole developed and deepened in September and October 2010 in-situ. These data are compared with UKCA’s ozone loss rate climatology to provide a test of the skill of this climate model in capturing the ozone hole’s development.
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