Model Simulations of Ozone in the Summer Lower Stratosphere

The Goddard 3D chemistry and transport model (CTM) uses winds and temperatures from the Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation System (GEOS DAS); thus CTM simulations can be compared directly with observations from satellite, balloon and aircraft. In general, aspects of these comparisons show remarkable agreement between observation and model. One significant difference is that the model ozone is high biased below the ozone peak. The bias is apparently largest at high latitudes during the summer months. At the same time, comparisons with HALOE observations show that at mid to high latitudes, the ozone mixing ratio peak appears persistently at a lower altitude than observed by HALOE; the peak mixing ratio is also overestimated by the model. Both transport and photochemistry are possible contributors to the biased ozone in the lower stratosphere - excessive downward motion would increase lower stratospheric ozone, as would a too large vertical gradient in ozone. On the other hand, comparisons of model N2O and NOy with observations suggest transport deficiencies in the opposite sense, i.e., model N2O can be high relative to observations (particularly during winter), suggesting the need for stronger downward transport. Sensitivity studies have been carried out using parameterizations for ozone production and loss, NOy production and loss, and N2O loss. The goal of these studies is to clarify how problems in the photochemical scheme at and above the ozone peak influence the lower stratospheric ozone.