Although the El Niño/Southern Oscillation phenomenon is the most prominent mode of climate variability and affects weather and climate in large parts of the world, its effects on Europe and the high-latitude stratosphere are controversial. Using historical observations and reconstruction techniques, we analyse the anomalous state of the troposphere and stratosphere in the Northern Hemisphere from 1940 to 1942 that occurred during a strong and long-lasting El Niño event. Exceptionally low surface temperatures in Europe and the north Pacific Ocean coincided with high temperatures in Alaska. In the lower stratosphere, our reconstructions show high temperatures over northern Eurasia and the north Pacific Ocean, and a weak polar vortex. In addition, there is observational evidence for frequent stratospheric warmings and high column ozone at Arctic and mid-latitude sites. We compare our historical data for the period 1940-42 with more recent data and a 650-year climate model simulation. We conclude that the observed anomalies constitute a recurring extreme state of the global troposphere-stratosphere system in northern winter that is related to strong El Niño events.

Abstract. In the present study, source apportionment of the ambient summer and winter time particulate carbonaceous matter (PCM) in aerosol particles (PM1 and PM10) has been conducted for the Norwegian urban and rural background environment. Statistical treatment of data from thermal-optical, 14C and organic tracer analysis using Latin Hypercube Sampling has allowed for quantitative estimates of seven different sources contributing to the ambient carbonaceous aerosol. These are: elemental carbon from combustion of biomass (ECbb) and fossil fuel (ECff), primary and secondary organic carbon arising from combustion of biomass (OCbb) and fossil fuel (OCff), primary biological aerosol particles (OCPBAP, which includes plant debris, OCpbc, and fungal spores, OCpbs), and secondary organic aerosol from biogenic precursors (OCBSOA). Our results show that emissions from natural sources were particularly abundant in summer, and with a more pronounced influence at the rural compared to the urban background site. 80% of total carbon (TCp, corrected for the positive artefact) in PM10 and ca. 70% of TCpin PM1 could be attributed to natural sources at the rural background site in summer. Natural sources account for about 50% of TCp in PM10 at the urban background site as well. The natural source contribution was always dominated by OCBSOA, regardless of season, site and size fraction. During winter anthropogenic sources totally dominated the carbonaceous aerosol (80–90%). Combustion of biomass contributed slightly more than fossil-fuel sources in winter, whereas emissions from fossil-fuel sources were more abundant in summer. Mass closure calculations show that PCM made significant contributions to the mass concentration of the ambient PM regardless of size fraction, season, and site. A larger fraction of PM1 (ca. 40–60%) was accounted for by carbonaceous matter compared to PM10 (ca. 40–50%), but only by a small margin. In general, there were no pronounced differences in the relative contribution of carbonaceous matter to PM with respect to season or between the two sites.

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Abstract. Greatly increased levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation were observed at thirteen Arctic and sub-Arctic ground stations in the spring of 2011, when the ozone abundance in the Arctic stratosphere dropped to the lowest amounts on record. Measurements of the noontime UV Index (UVI) during the low-ozone episode exceeded the climatological mean by up to 77% at locations in the western Arctic (Alaska, Canada, Greenland) and by up to 161% in Scandinavia. The UVI measured at the end of March at the Scandinavian sites was comparable to that typically observed 15–60 days later in the year when solar elevations are much higher. The cumulative UV dose measured during the period of the ozone anomaly exceeded the climatological mean by more than two standard deviations at 11 sites. Enhancements beyond three standard deviations were observed at seven sites and increases beyond four standard deviations at two sites. At the western sites, the episode occurred in March, when the Sun was still low in the sky, limiting absolute UVI anomalies to less than 0.5 UVI units. At the Scandinavian sites, absolute UVI anomalies ranged between 1.0 and 2.2 UVI units. For example, at Finse, Norway, the noontime UVI on 30 March was 4.7, while the climatological UVI is 2.5. Although a UVI of 4.7 is still considered moderate, UV levels of this amount can lead to sunburn and photokeratitis during outdoor activity when radiation is reflected upward by snow towards the face of a person or animal. At the western sites, UV anomalies can be well explained with ozone anomalies of up to 41% below the climatological mean. At the Scandinavian sites, low ozone can only explain a UVI increase of 50–60%. The remaining enhancement was mainly caused by the absence of clouds during the low-ozone period.

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Abstract. The Dutch–Finnish Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on board NASA's Aura spacecraft provides estimates of erythemal (sunburning) ultraviolet (UV) dose rates and erythemal daily doses. These data were compared with ground-based measurements at 13 stations located throughout the Arctic and Scandinavia from 60 to 83° N. The study corroborates results from earlier work, but is based on a longer time series (8 versus 2 years) and considers additional data products, such as the erythemal dose rate at the time of the satellite overpass. Furthermore, systematic errors in satellite UV data resulting from inaccuracies in the surface albedo climatology used in the OMI UV algorithm are systematically assessed. At times when the surface albedo is correctly known, OMI data typically exceed ground-based measurements by 0–11 %. When the OMI albedo climatology exceeds the actual albedo, OMI data may be biased high by as much as 55 %. In turn, when the OMI albedo climatology is too low, OMI data can be biased low by up to 59 %. Such large negative biases may occur when reflections from snow and ice, which increase downwelling UV irradiance, are misinterpreted as reflections from clouds, which decrease the UV flux at the surface. Results suggest that a better OMI albedo climatology would greatly improve the accuracy of OMI UV data products even if year-to-year differences of the actual albedo cannot be accounted for. A pathway for improving the OMI albedo climatology is discussed. Results also demonstrate that ground-based measurements from the center of Greenland, where high, homogenous surface albedo is observed year round, are ideally suited to detect systematic problems or temporal drifts in estimates of surface UV irradiance from space.

The UV Index was established more than 20 years ago as a tool for sun protection and health care. Shortly after its introduction, UV Index monitoring started in several countries either by newly acquired instruments or by converting measurements from existing instruments into the UV Index. The number of stations and networks has increased over the years. Currently, 160 stations in 25 European countries deliver online values to the public via the Internet. In this paper an overview of these UV Index monitoring sites in Europe is given. The overview includes instruments as well as quality assurance and quality control procedures. Furthermore, some examples are given about how UV Index values are presented to the public. Through these efforts, 57% of the European population is supplied with high quality information, enabling them to adapt behaviour. Although health care, including skin cancer prevention, is cost-effective, a proportion of the European population still doesn't have access to UV Index information.

The hot summer of 2007 in southeast Europe has been studied using two regional atmospheric chemistry models; WRF-Chem and EMEP MSC-W. The region was struck by three heat waves and a number of forest fire episodes, greatly affecting air pollution levels. We have focused on ozone and its precursors using state-of-the-art inventories for anthropogenic, biogenic and forest fire emissions. The models have been evaluated against measurement data, and processes leading to ozone formation have been quantified. Heat wave episodes are projected to occur more frequently in a future climate, and therefore this study also makes a contribution to climate change impact research. <br><br> The plume from the Greek forest fires in August 2007 is clearly seen in satellite observations of CO and NO₂ columns, showing extreme levels of CO in and downwind of the fires. Model simulations reflect the location and influence of the fires relatively well, but the modelled magnitude of CO in the plume core is too low. Most likely, this is caused by underestimation of CO in the emission inventories, suggesting that the CO/NO_x ratios of fire emissions should be re-assessed. Moreover, higher maximum values are seen in WRF-Chem than in EMEP MSC-W, presumably due to differences in plume rise altitudes as the first model emits a larger fraction of the fire emissions in the lowermost model layer. The model results are also in fairly good agreement with surface ozone measurements. <br><br> Biogenic VOC emissions reacting with anthropogenic NO_x emissions are calculated to contribute significantly to the levels of ozone in the region, but the magnitude and geographical distribution depend strongly on the model and biogenic emission module used. During the July and August heat waves, ozone levels increased substantially due to a combination of forest fire emissions and the effect of high temperatures. We found that the largest temperature impact on ozone was through the temperature dependence of the biogenic emissions, closely followed by the effect of reduced dry deposition caused by closing of the plants' stomata at very high temperatures. The impact of high temperatures on the ozone chemistry was much lower. The results suggest that forest fire emissions, and the temperature effect on biogenic emissions and dry deposition, will potentially lead to substantial ozone increases in a warmer climate