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Ground-based monitoring of stratospheric ozone and temperature over Germany since the 1960s
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  • Wolfgang Steinbrecht,
  • Voltaire Almario Velazco,
  • Ruud Jeroen Dirksen,
  • Lionel Doppler,
  • Peter Oelsner,
  • Roeland Van Malderen,
  • Hugo De Backer,
  • Eliane Maillard Barras,
  • Rene Stübi,
  • Sophie Godin-Beekmann,
  • Allain Hauchecorne
Wolfgang Steinbrecht
Deutscher Wetterdienst

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Voltaire Almario Velazco
Deutscher Wetterdienst (German National Meteorological Service)
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Ruud Jeroen Dirksen
Deutscher Wetterdienst
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Lionel Doppler
Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD)
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Peter Oelsner
Deutscher Wetterdienst
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Roeland Van Malderen
Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium
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Hugo De Backer
Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium
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Eliane Maillard Barras
Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, MeteoSwiss
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Rene Stübi
Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, MeteoSwiss
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Sophie Godin-Beekmann
LATMOS, CNRS, Sorbonne Universite, UVSQ
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Allain Hauchecorne
LATMOS / UVSQ
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Abstract

Routine ground-based measurements of total ozone column (TOC), as well as ozone profile soundings started in the late 1960s in Germany. The resulting ozone and temperature records at Hohenpeissenberg and Berlin / Potsdam / Lindenberg show long-term changes similar to other stations in Central Europe, and to the changes seen globally. Following the increase of ozone depleting substances (ODS), stratospheric ozone has declined from the 1960s until the 1990s. Since about 2000, ozone has leveled or slightly increased, consistent with declining amounts of ODS. The stratosphere has been cooling and the troposphere has been warming, in agreement with general expectations due to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations.
The clearest signs of recovering ozone are seen around 40 km altitude. Two factors contribute to this increase: the decrease of stratospheric chlorine loading and cooling of the upper stratosphere, which slows gas-phase ozone destruction cycles, and enhances the ter-molecular reaction producing ozone. Tropospheric ozone has increased substantially from the 1960s to the early 1990s. Since then, it has remained more or less constant, on a level higher compared to the 1960s and 1970s. Particularly low tropospheric ozone was observed in 2020, due to reduced precursor emissions during the COVID-19 related lockdowns.
The atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases will likely continue to rise, while the concentrations of ozone depleting substances are expected to slowly decline. To see how the atmosphere responds, and to help understand future changes, continued monitoring will be required for many years to come, both over Germany and worldwide.
11 Jul 2024Submitted to ESS Open Archive
12 Jul 2024Published in ESS Open Archive