Last Updated:
February 28, 2007

GCRIO Program Overview

Library 
Our extensive collection of documents.

Privacy Policy

Archives of the
Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 1, NUMBER 2, AUGUST 1988

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
SPECIAL SECTION: ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE IN ANTARCTICA

Item #d88aug18

"Atmospheric Sciences in Antarctica," J.W. Meriwether Jr. (Space Phys. Res. Lab., Univ. Mich., Ann Arbor MI 48109) Rev. Geophy. 26(1), 41-43, Feb. 1988.

Introduces a series of reviews evaluating current U.S. atmospheric science research in the Antarctic. It summarizes and updates our present knowledge on a variety of topics that benefitted especially from ground based scientific instrumentation. All articles from this special section are listed, but only those most relevant to global climate change are annotated.

"Research Results from Antarctic Automatic Weather Stations", C.R. Stearns (Dept. Meteor., Univ. Wisconsin, Madison WI 53706), G. Wendler., 45-61.

"Long-term Air Quality Monitoring at the South Pole by the NOAA Program Geophysical Monitoring for Climatic Change," E. Robinson (Mauna Loa Observ., Box 275, Hilo HA 96721), B.A. Bodhaine et al., 63-80.

This discussion emphasizes the long-term Geophysical Monitoring and Climate Change (GMCC) South Pole air chemistry record for carbon dioxide, total ozone, surface ozone, methane, halocarbons, nitrous oxide, and aerosol concentrations, and compares them with other global GMCC data. For total ozone, included are results of recent GMCC ozonesonde operations and an assessment of Dobson ozone spectrophotometer data taken at the South Pole by NOAA since 1964. These data sets are directly applicable to Antarctic "ozone hole" investigations; current relevant findings are discussed.

"Infrared Measurements of Column Abundances of Several Trace Gases in the Antarctic Atmosphere," F.J. Murcray (Dept. Phys., Univ. Denver, Denver CO 80208), F.H. Murcray, D.G. Murcray, 81-88.

Atmospheric emission measurements were made in 1978 from an LC 130 aircraft from California to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, and from McMurdo over the Antarctic continent on other flights. Ground-based spectral measurements were made of total column abundances of HNO3, NO, NO2, HCl, H216O, H218O, HDO, CH₄, and N₂O. These data and any changes that have occurred between 1980 and 1986 are reviewed.

"Antarctic Aerosols: A Review," G.E. Shaw (Geophys. Inst., Univ. Alaska, Fairbanks AK 99775), 89-112.

"Balloon-Borne Measurements of Middle Atmospheric Aerosols and Trace Gases in Antarctica," D.J. Hofmann (Dept. Phys., Univ. Wyoming, Laramie WY 82071), 113-130.

Trace stratospheric gases such as ozone have been measured in Antarctica since 1957 but increased interest in ozone is directly related to the realization, in 1985, that springtime Antarctic total ozone had declined about 50% since 1977. Measurements of aerosols and trace gases up to 1986 are summarized. The new measurements of 1986 have revealed much concerning the nature of the ozone depletion mechanism. While the steady decline in ozone in the 12 to 20 km region in September can probably only be explained by fast chemistry, the phenomenon appears to be shaped spatially and temporally by dynamical phenomena.

"The Mystery of the Antarctic Ozone `Hole'", S. Solomon (Aeronomy Lab., NOAA, Boulder CO 80303), 131-148.

Total ozone levels over Antarctica have declined by about 50% over the past decade, principally during the spring seasons. Observations of the total ozone column and its vertical profile over Antarctica are reviewed. The current status of the evidence supporting various theories of the behavior of ozone in the Antarctic is summarized.

"Snowfall in High Southern Latitudes," D.H. Bromwich (Byrd Polar Res. Ctr., 1255 Oval Mall, Ohio State Univ., Columbus OH 43210), 149-168.

"Surface Winds Over the Antarctic Continent : A Review," T.R. Parish (Dept. Atmos. Sci., Univ. Wyoming, Laramie WY 82071), 169-180.

The interaction between global climate and Antarctic wind patterns represents a large uncertainty in climatic studies. Surface winds over Antarctica, often classified as katabatic, are intimately related to the orientation and steepness of the underlying ice terrain. It is possible to diagnose the time-averaged, near-surface stream-line patterns of cold air drainage currents using recently compiled, detailed Antarctic ice topography maps and appropriate estimates of the strength of the surface temperature inversion.

"Review of Hydromagnetic Wave Studies in the Antarctic," R.L. Arnoldy (Inst. Earth, Oceans and Space, Univ. New Hampshire, Durham NH 03824), L.J. Cahill et al., 181-207.