Impact of polar vortex on ozone profile in the Atmospheric Observatory of South Patagonia, Río Gallegos, Argentina

ELIAN A WOLFRAM; JACOBO SALVADOR; FACUNDO ORTE; DANIELA BULNES; RAUL D'ELIA; A PAZMIÑO; GODIN-BEEKMANN, S.; ALBERT OSIRIS SOFIA; E. J. QUEL

Queenstown

Simposio; SPARC General Assembly; 2014

The Atmospheric Observatory of Austral Patagonia (OAPA) is a remote sensing site located near the Río Gallegos city in South Patagonia (51º 55?S, 69º 14?W), in subpolar region affected by the polar vortex. It is a convenient monitoring site of the atmosphere in the southern hemisphere especially for ozone studies. This site is operating a differential absorption lidar instrument (DIAL) for the measurement of ozone vertical distribution. This instrument is part of Network Data for Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). The altitude range of the ozone measurement is 14-45 km, which provides the opportunity to monitor the perturbations due to the passage of stratospheric polar air over Río Gallegos. Since 2005, systematic stratospheric ozone profile measurements have been carried on in this experimental site. The position of the station with respect to the polar vortex was analyzed from the use of equivalent latitude maps. We identified three major perturbation related to the ozone hole on the stratospheric ozone profile record in Río Gallegos: extension of the polar vortex towards the station during late winter, passage of the ozone hole over the station in middle spring and dilution process during late spring. All these three processes change the shape of the stratospheric ozone profile and produce variation in the total ozone column over the OAPA. These perturbations in the middle atmosphere induce change in solar UV radiation at ground surface of great importance for the health of people leaving in the area. In this article, we review the main conclusions regarding the observation of stratospheric ozone profiles and surface UV radiation measurements in the OAPA for the period 2005-2012, including the analysis of the exceptional final warming of November 2009 vortex breakdown (Wolfram, et al, 2012).