Global impact of the Antarctic ozone hole - Dynamical dilution with a three-dimensional chemical transport model

The hypothesis that, once the Antarctic ozone hole is photochemically generated in the spring, the ozone deficit remains in the stratosphere throughout the year was investigated using a three-dimensional chemical transport model (CTM) for the stratosphere with linearized ozone chemistry. An Antarctic ozone hole was imposed on the basis of observations, and the dynamical dilution of the ozone-depleted air was followed for the next 12 months. The CTM calculations show that the transport of ozone-poor air from the Antarctic vortex results in measurable decreases to column ozone, extending to 30 deg S during the austral summer. By the end of the year, about 70 percent of the initially prescribed ozone deficit is replenished through stratospheric chemistry.