Chemistry and Dynamics of the Ozone Layer

• PD Dr. Björn Martin Sinnhuber (KIT, Karlsruhe)

Lecture content:

Introduction
‐ Ozone concentration/mixing ratio/partial pressure
‐ Solar radiation / radiation transfer in the atmosphere
‐ UV‐B levels at the ground / Effect on ecosystems, humans and agriculture
‐ Distribution of ozone in the atmosphere

Dynamics of the Ozone Layer
‐ Stability of the stratosphere, potential temperature
‐ Mean zonal circulation of the stratosphere, meridional/residual circulation
‐ Polar vortex, subtropical barrier
‐ Waves in the stratosphere, wave ‐ mean flow interaction, “Downward Control” principle

Chemistry of the Ozone Layer
‐ Thermodynamics of chemical reactions
‐ Kinetics of chemical reactions
‐ “Chapman chemistry”, Ox‐chemistry
‐ NOx‐chemistry
‐ HOx‐chemistry
‐ CFCs and halogen‐chemistry

Anthropogenic Ozone Loss / “Ozone Hole”
‐ Heterogeneous chemistry
‐ Aerosols in the stratosphere, polar stratospheric clouds
‐ Polar ozone loss, "ozone hole"
‐ Interaction between climate change and ozone loss

Lab: Coding of a Chemical Model of the Ozone Layer & Model‐based Analysis of
Ozone Layer Properties
‐ Fundamentals of programming in Fortran
‐ Creation of a program flow chart
‐ Coding of the model core
‐ Coding of the remaining model structure
‐ Testing and debugging of the 1‐d model
‐ Integration of the model over 50 years, extension to 2d
‐ Analysis of diurnal and seasonal variation of the model ozone layer at different levels
‐ Analysis of the relation of these to the lifetime of ozone and Ox at different levels
‐ Analysis of the geographical distribution of modeled total ozone
‐ Comparison with measurements / analysis of model deficiencies