Zonal wave-1 structure in TOMS tropical stratospheric ozone

Abstract

Using measurements of the stratospheric ozone column observed by NIMBUS-7 TOMS above high-altitude clouds observed by the collocated Temperature Humidity InfraRed (THIR) sensor, we analyze the stratospheric ozone column zonal wave structure in the tropics. A zonal wave-1 structure occurs roughly longitudinally coincident with the total-ozone wave with its peak near the prime meridian and trough near the central Pacific Ocean. The monthly average stratospheric ozone exhibits a wave-1 pattern with amplitude of ˜4 DU and a maximum peak-to-trough difference of ˜13 DU in the 1979-1984 time period. This stratospheric amplitude represents about one half of the ˜7 DU amplitude in total column ozone. This partitioning of some of the total ozone column wave into the stratosphere affects the tropospheric ozone component of derivations that assume stratospheric zonal invariance.