Climate impacts and potential drivers of the unprecedented Antarctic ozone holes of 2020 and 2021

Yook, Simchan, Thompson, David W. J. and Solomon, Susan (2022) Climate impacts and potential drivers of the unprecedented Antarctic ozone holes of 2020 and 2021. Geophysical Research Letters, 49 (10). ISSN 0094-8276

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Abstract

The latter months of 2020 and 2021 were marked by two of the largest Antarctic ozone holes on record. That such large ozone holes occurred despite ongoing ozone recovery raises questions about their origins and climate impacts. Here we provide novel evidence that supports the hypothesis that the ozone holes were influenced by two distinct and extraordinary events: the Australian wildfires of early 2020 and the eruption of La Soufriere in 2021. We further reveal that both ozone holes were associated with widespread changes in Southern Hemisphere climate that are consistent with the established climate impacts of Antarctic ozone depletion, including a strengthening of the polar stratospheric vortex, enhanced surface westerlies over the Southern Ocean, and surface temperature changes over Antarctica and Australia. The results thus provide suggestive evidence that injections of both wildfire smoke and volcanic emissions into the stratosphere can lead to hemispheric-scale changes in surface climate.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data Availability Statement: Data sets used in the analysis are freely available from the listed sources: OMPS-LP aerosol and ozone data are available at the Goddard Disc (https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/datasets/OMPS_NPP_LP_L2_AER_DAILY_2/summary?keywords=OMPS_NPP_LP_L2_AER_DAILY_2 and https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/datasets/OMPS_NPP_LP_L2_O3_DAILY_2/summary?keywords=OMPS_NPP_LP_L2_O3_DAILY_2), polar cap ozone data are available from the website (http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov), and ERA5 data are available at the Copernicus Climate Change Service Climate Data Store (https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.bd0915c6). Funding information: D. W. J. Thompson and S. Yook are supported by the NSF Climate and Large-Scale Dynamics program (AGS-1848785). S. Solomon is supported by NSF Climate and Large-Scale Dynamics program (AGS-1848863).
Uncontrolled Keywords:	sdg 13 - climate action ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Climatic Research Unit Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	14 Apr 2025 13:30
Last Modified:	24 Apr 2025 12:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/99022
DOI:	10.1029/2022GL098064

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