Spatiotemporal Variations of the Correlation between the Arctic Atmospheric Ozone and Temperature

In this study, the daily AIRS total ozone and temperature profile in 2015 are used to investigate the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of the correlations between the Arctic atmospheric ozone and temperature in the lower stratosphere and tropopshere. The results show that a remarkable seasonal split exists in the correlation between the Arctic ozone and temperature. In the lower stratosphere, the ozone and temperature present a positive correlation in winter and summer, while showing weak or not significant correlation in spring and autumn. In the troposphere, the ozone and temperature have a strong negative correlation in spring and autumn, while presenting a weak or not significant negative correlation in winter and summer. In the stratosphere, the biggest positive correlation coefficients are 0.8 and above at the Barents Sea in summer, and 0.6 to 0.8 at the Baffin Bay in winter. In troposphere, the biggest negative correlation coefficients reach −0.9 and above at the Greenland-Queen Elizabeth Islands in spring. As for the vertical distribution of the correlation between the Arctic ozone and temperature, the correlation coefficients are positive in lower stratosphere, negative in troposphere and zero at tropopause and the distribution varies with seasons and regions dramatically.