SCOUT-O3 EU Project
Principal Investigator: Martyn Chipperfield, Ken Carslaw, Wuhu Feng, Wenshou Tian
Funded by: EU
Start Date: May 2004
End Date: Apr 2009
Description
Over the past few decades stratospheric ozone depletion has been observed at both high and middle latitudes. Through measures taken to limit emissions of CFCs, and other gases, we expect that this ozone loss will ‘recover' and, other things being equal, the ozone layer will return to its pre-depletion state by 2050. However, there is now a growing understanding that ozone depletion and climate change are linked, and that this may both change the rate/extent of recovery and future changes in surface climate. Moreover, key regions for these interactions are the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS) region and the tropics, where pollutant source gases enter the stratosphere. Better modelling capability and new observations in key data-poor areas are needed.
SCOUT-O3 is a large, EU-funded Integrated Project which will address key issues of chemistry-climate coupling. One overarching focus is the improvement of coupled chemistry-climate models (CCMs), which will be achieved by detailed model-model comparisons and by comparing with new observations. The principal new data will be obtained in the tropical regions through dedicated campaigns in late 2005 ( Darwin ) and 2006 ( Africa ). Other activities include studies of long-term changes in ozone at mid-latitudes, ongoing studies of polar ozone loss in present Arctic winters and laboratory studies of new kinetic data. Overall SCOUT-O3 has 60 European partners and is coordinated the University of Cambridge (PI: J.A. Pyle).
Leeds is extensively involved throughout the SCOUT-O3 work programme. We are using our CCM to participate in the model-model comparisons, which feed into studies such as the WMO/UENP 2006 Ozone Assessment. We are using our SLIMCAT off-line CTM to study mid-high latitude O 3 loss and to assess the ability of such models to produce realistic stratospheric circulations (age-of-air). We are performing studies of aerosols both in the polar regions (i.e. PSCs and their role in denitrification) and in the tropics. The School of Chemistry in Leeds (M. Pilling) is involved in obtaining new rate data for key UT reactions and this is being tested in our atmospheric models.
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