Abstract
In Arctic winter and spring 2020, the stratospheric temperatures were
exceptionally low for a long time period and the polar vortex was very
stable. As a consequence, significant ozone depletion occurred in
Northern polar regions in spring 2020. Here, we present simulations by
the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS) that addresses
the development of chlorine compounds and ozone in the polar
stratosphere in 2020. The simulation is able to reproduce relevant
observations which is shown by comparisons with MLS, ACE-FTS and OMI
data. Although the concentration of chlorine and bromine compounds in
the polar stratosphere has decreased by more than 10% compared to the
peak values around the year 2000, the meteorological conditions in
winter and spring 2020 caused an unprecedented ozone depletion. The
simulated lowest ozone mixing ratio was around 0.05 ppmv and the ozone
depletion in the vortex core in the lower stratosphere reached 133
Dobson Units, which is more than the loss in the years 2011 and 2016
that had the largest Arctic ozone depletion so far.