Impact of the Southern Oscillation on Arctic Stratospheric Dynamics and Ozone Layer

Resumo

The impact of the Southern Oscillation on the structure and composition of the Arctic stratosphere is analyzed using sea-surface temperature, potential vorticity, air temperature, ozone mixing ratio, and total ozone reanalysis data for 1980–2016. It is shown that El Niño enhances the instability of the stratospheric circumpolar vortex and precedes sudden stratospheric warmings, thus leading to an increase in total ozone over the Artcic during winter–spring.