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

FROM VOLUME 8, NUMBER 2, FEBRUARY 1995

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
OF GENERAL INTEREST:
OZONE DEPLETION INFLUENCE ON CLIMATE

Item #d95feb7

Two related items in Nature, 372(6504), Nov. 24, 1994:

"Indirect Influence of Ozone Depletion on Climate Forcing by Clouds," R. Toumi (Dept. Phys., Imperial Coll., London SW7 2BZ, UK), S. Bekki, K.S. Law, 348-351. Depletion of the greenhouse gas ozone in the lower stratosphere is known to partially offset the warming effect of other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This paper demonstrates that ozone depletion may also exert an indirect effect on the radiation balance whereby increased ultraviolet alters the oxidation state of the lower atmosphere, leading to increased cloud albedo. A 2-D model shows that this effect is about equal to and in the same sense as the direct effect.

"Dual Effects of Ozone Reduction," I.S.A. Isaksen (Inst. Geophys., Univ. Oslo, POB 1022, Blindern, N-0315 Oslo, Nor.), 322-323. The indirect effect discussed in the previous article adds to the complexity of the climatic impacts of greenhouse gases, and helps prevent any clear linear relation between emissions and changes in climate.

Item #d95feb8

"Climatic Consequences of Observed Ozone Loss in the 1980s: Relevance to the Greenhouse Problem," G.I. Molnar, (Univ. Space Res. Assoc., NASA-Goddard, Greenbelt MD 20771), M.K.W. Ko et al., J. Geophys. Res., 99(D12), 25,755-25,760, Dec. 20, 1994.

Calculations with a 2-D radiative-dynamic seasonal model suggest that surface cooling due to ozone depletion in the lower stratosphere offsets about 30% of the surface warming due to greenhouse gases emitted during the same decade. This result differs from the estimate of Ramaswamy et al. (1992) based solely on forcing evaluations, and shows the importance of a climatic feedback mechanism involving meridional heat transport in the model troposphere.