Spatial and Temporal Variation of Total and Tropospheric Ozone Columns Over China

Abstract

Abstract. In this study, total ozone columns collected from nine sites of the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) in China are used to evaluate total ozone column monthly mean products of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). The results show the correlated coefficient of the two datasets is 0.95. The long temporal variations and spatial distributions of the monthly mean products of the total ozone columns and tropospheric ozone columns in spring, summer, autumn and winter were plotted. The result shown in the pictures indicate that the total ozone columns gradually increase from low latitude to high latitude, reach the maximum value in winter and spring in Northeast China, and the values in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are lower than those of other regions of the same latitude. The monthly mean of total ozone columns at low latitude have no obvious seasonal variation. With the increase of latitude, the seasonal variation of monthly mean products of total ozone column becomes more and more obvious. Tropospheric ozone columns are the highest in summer, followed by spring and autumn, and the lowest in winter, which are mainly concentrated in the more developed areas in eastern China. The lowest value of tropospheric ozone column in China occurs in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in winter and the highest value in North China in summer. The study indicates that the total ozone columns vary with latitude while tropospheric ozone columns are more susceptible to human activities and natural conditions.

Long-term detection, mapping, and interpretation of the trend of ozone in China (1978–2020) by constructing long-term consistent ozone datasets

“…At the height of 34 km, it can be seen that the ozone content in low latitudes (i.e., southeast and southwest China) is significantly higher than that in high latitudes (i.e., northeast and northwest China), with the maximum difference of 2.8 ppmv. This finding disagrees with Li et al (2019), which demonstrated that the total ozone content increases with the increase of latitude. The discrepancy can be explained by the fact that the results we present is only for the height of 34 km while the previous study is focused on the whole atmosphere.…”

“…The good performance of AIRS in the range from 800 hp to 250 hp and those less than 50 hp has also been confirmed by Wang et al (2019). Although AIRS present relatively large errors between 250 hp and 50 hp, it can capture the gradient and variability of ozone in the range from 250 hp to 50 hp well (Ma et al, 2019). Based on these studies, it is reasonable to consider that AIRS is able to capture the vertical gradient and variability of ozone in the stratosphere and middle and upper troposphere in China.…”

“…However, the identification of the spatiotemporal distribution of ozone is challenging, because different data sources and different calculation methods result in different findings. For instance, Li et al (2019) analyzed the seasonal variation and spatial distribution characteristics of total ozone in China using 9 AERONET ground sites and the ozone column volume data of OMI. Ohyama et al (2011) extracted the total tropospheric ozone column using Gosat's thermal infrared spectral radiation data.…”