SOLAR Project: stratospheric ozone monitoring at Argentina subpolar region

E. QUEL, E. WOLFRAM, J. SALVADOR, L. OTERO, J. PALLOTTA, R. D’ELIA, S. GODIN-BECKMANN, A. PAZMIÑO, H. NAKANE, M. ONO, A. MIZUNO, T. NAGAHAMA.

Proceedings of International Symposium Asian Collaboration in International Polar Year 2007-2008.

Año: 2007 p. 85 - 88

The depletion of the polar ozone layer is one of the strongest anthropogenic signals in the Earth system. Subpolar regions as the Patagonia, Argentina, in the southern part of South America are affected by this phenomenon, covered sometimes by air masses with less ozone than normal with the corresponding UV enhancements at ground surface. Motivated by these atmospheric events, Argentine, Japanese and French researchers cooperated to carry out field campaigns with the objective to monitor atmospheric species and parameters at southern part of Argentina. Since 2005, the CEILAP Lidar Division, with the financial support of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and the collaboration with IPSL, France, has installed an atmospheric laboratory in the Patagonian city of Río Gallegos (51º 36’ S, 69º 19’ W) for the measurements of stratospheric ozone, aerosols and water vapour. The principal remote sensing instruments used in this site are lidars, but other ground based radiometers are also deployed for solar UV measurements. During 2005-2006 springs, the SOLAR Campaign was carried out, giving the opportunity to measure the evolution of stratospheric ozone profiles and the influence of polar vortex overpass over southern part of Argentina.  This field campaign is in the frame of IPY, and it is proposed to continue for obtaining the data during 2007-08. In this paper we describe some results of this campaign for the first measured period, and entitled the future activities for the next two years related to IPY events. (www.division-lidar.com.ar).