| Since 2000, ozone over above Antarctica has shown much larger year to year variations than in the 1990s. The purpose of this study was to examine a possible explanation for these ozone variations through the influence of stratospheric dynamics on stratospheric temperatures. The vertical component of Eliassen-Palm flux, eddy heat flux, is a good proxy for measuring the energy that is transported from the troposphere to the stratosphere. When energy is transferred, it warms the polar stratosphere and fewer polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are able to form. With less PSCs, ozone loss is less and the ozone hole is smaller. The first part of this study looked at PSC volumes and the correlation between PSCs and ozone. PSC volumes were estimated by calculating the volume where the temperatures were less than 195 K. PSC volumes do display more variations after 2000 than between 1990 and 2000 and have a strong anti-correlation with ozone loss. Eddy heat flux was calculated using the temperature and v-wind data from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data set for the pressure level of 100 hPa over 40 to 80°S. Eddy heat flux has an anti-correlation with PSC volumes since the year 2000 and was found to have a correlation with ozone loss over McMurdo Station. Eddy heat flux also has an anti-correlation with ozone hole area over the entire continent of Antarctica. When the correlation was examined in greater detail, it was found that eddy heat flux has had a stronger effect on ozone since 2003 than the previous decade. This was a surprising result and implies that more energy has been transferred to the stratosphere from the troposphere in the last decade. This could mean planetary waves are stronger and if planetary waves continue to grow stronger, the ozone hole may recover faster than currently predicted. |
