Ozone fluctuations in relation to upper air perturbations in the middle latitudes of the southern hemisphere

Abstract

From the correlation coefficients obtained between ozone and 100 and 20 mb temperatures for Brisbane and Aspendale, it is seen that in middle latitudes, on a short-term basis, the ozone changes are not only governed by lower stratospheric waves but also by middle stratospheric perturbations which are most of the time independent of each other. At Brisbane, however, ozone changes are essentially governed by lower stratospheric waves.

On a seasonal basis, the comparison of the mean distributions of ozone with height in autumn over Aspendale (38.0° S, 145.1° E) and Brisbane (27.5°S, 153.0° E) with Tateno (36.1° N, 140.1° E) and Torishima (30.5° N, 140.3° E) in Japan shows significant differences in the ozone content not only in the lower stratosphere but also in the middle stratosphere above about 25 km. Also, at Aspendale ozone content increases at about 30 km in the middle stratosphere after August each year. Ozone and tropopause pressures are not very well correlated on a seasonal basis although there is a good correlation between short-term variation of ozone and tropopause height. All these suggest the significance of the effective changes produced by middle stratospheric circulation.

The mechanisms involved for the daily ozone oscillations are different at least in part from those involved for seasonal oscillations.