Abstract. The sedimentation of HNO 3 containing Polar Stratospheric Cloud (PSC) particles leads to a permanent removal of HNO 3 and thus to a denitrification of the stratosphere, an effect which plays an important role in stratospheric ozone depletion. The polar vortex in the Arctic winter 2009/2010 was very cold and stable between end of December and end of January. Strong denitrification between 475 to 525 K was observed in the Arctic in mid of January by the Odin Sub Millimetre Radiometer (Odin/SMR). This was the strongest denitrification that had been observed in the entire Odin/SMR measuring period (2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010). Lidar measurements of PSCs were performed in the area of Kiruna, Northern Sweden with the IRF (Institutet för Rymdfysik) lidar and with the Esrange lidar in January 2010. The measurements show that PSCs were present over the area of Kiruna during the entire period of observations. The formation of PSCs during the Arctic winter 2009/2010 is investigated using a microphysical box model. Box model simulations are performed along air parcel trajectories calculated six days backward according to the PSC measurements with the ground-based lidar in the Kiruna area. From the temperature history of the backward trajectories and the box model simulations we find two PSC regions, one over Kiruna according to the measurements made in Kiruna and one north of Scandinavia which is much colder, reaching also temperatures below T ice . Using the box model simulations along backward Correspondence to: F. Khosrawi (farah@misu.su.se) trajectories together with the observations of Odin/SMR, Aura/MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder), CALIPSO (CloudAerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) and the ground-based lidar we investigate how and by which type of PSC particles the denitrification that was observed during the Arctic winter 2009/2010 was caused. From our analysis we find that due to an unusually strong synoptic cooling event in mid January, ice particle formation on NAT may be a possible formation mechanism during that particular winter that may have caused the denitrification observed in mid January. In contrast, the denitrification that was observed in the beginning of January could have been caused by the sedimentation of NAT particles that formed on mountain wave ice clouds.

Abstract. The international research project RECONCILE has addressed central questions regarding polar ozone depletion, with the objective to quantify some of the most relevant yet still uncertain physical and chemical processes and thereby improve prognostic modelling capabilities to realistically predict the response of the ozone layer to climate change. This overview paper outlines the scope and the general approach of RECONCILE, and it provides a summary of observations and modelling in 2010 and 2011 that have generated an in many respects unprecedented dataset to study processes in the Arctic winter stratosphere. Principally, it summarises important outcomes of RECONCILE including (i) better constraints and enhanced consistency on the set of parameters governing catalytic ozone destruction cycles, (ii) a better understanding of the role of cold binary aerosols in heterogeneous chlorine activation, (iii) an improved scheme of polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) processes that includes heterogeneous nucleation of nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) and ice on non-volatile background aerosol leading to better model parameterisations with respect to denitrification, and (iv) long transient simulations with a chemistry-climate model (CCM) updated based on the results of RECONCILE that better reproduce past ozone trends in Antarctica and are deemed to produce more reliable predictions of future ozone trends. The process studies and the global simulations conducted in RECONCILE show that in the Arctic, ozone depletion uncertainties in the chemical and microphysical processes are now clearly smaller than the sensitivity to dynamic variability.

Abstract. The 2015/2016 Arctic winter was one of the coldest stratospheric winters

Abstract. Record breaking loss of ozone (O 3

Abstract. Although the links between stratospheric dynamics, climate and weather have been demonstrated, direct observations of stratospheric winds are lacking, in particular at altitudes above 30 km. We report observations of winds between 8 and 0.01 hPa (~35–80 km) from October 2009 to April 2010 by the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) on the International Space Station. The altitude range covers the region between 35–60 km where previous space-borne wind instruments show a lack of sensitivity. Both zonal and meridional wind components were obtained, though not simultaneously, in the latitude range from 30° S to 55° N and with a single profile precision of 7–9 m s–1 between 8 and 0.6 hPa and better than 20 m s–1 at altitudes above. The vertical resolution is 5–7 km except in the upper part of the retrieval range (10 km at 0.01 hPa). In the region between 1–0.05 hPa, an absolute value of the mean difference < 2 m s–1 is found between SMILES profiles retrieved from different spectroscopic lines and instrumental settings. Good agreement (absolute value of the mean difference of ~2 m s–1) is also found with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) analysis in most of the stratosphere except for the zonal winds over the equator (difference > 5 m s−1). In the mesosphere, SMILES and ECMWF zonal winds exhibit large differences (> 20 m s–1), especially in the tropics. We illustrate our results by showing daily and monthly zonal wind variations, namely the semi-annual oscillation in the tropics and reversals of the flow direction between 50–55° N during sudden stratospheric warmings. The daily comparison with ECMWF winds reveals that in the beginning of February, a significantly stronger zonal westward flow is measured in the tropics at 2 hPa compared to the flow computed in the analysis (difference of ~20 m s–1). The results show that the comparison between SMILES and ECMWF winds is not only relevant for the quality assessment of the new SMILES winds, but it also provides insights on the quality of the ECMWF winds themselves. Although the instrument was not specifically designed for measuring winds, the results demonstrate that space-borne sub-mm wave radiometers have the potential to provide good quality data for improving the stratospheric winds in atmospheric models.