Transport and mixing in the summer polar stratosphere

The transport and mixing of ozone and other chemically active trace constituents in the summer stratosphere has become the focus of recent studies. This interest is partly due to the failure of three-dimensional chemical transport models to fully reproduce the summer ozone distribution in the polar regions.

Transport and mixing in the summertime northern high latitudes are investigated using a combination of model studies and satellite observations. The results of simulations carried out with high-resolution transport models, both Eulerian and Lagrangian, are examined. We discuss in particular the fate of the polar vortex debris in the transition from spring to summer regimes, and the slow amalgamation of polar and midlatitude air after the polar vortex break-up.