Atmospheric Ozone Response to the Disrupted 2015-2016 Quasi-Biennial Oscillation

Abstract: The quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) – a quasi-periodic alternation between easterly and westerly zonal winds in the tropical stratosphere – is a main driver of inter-annual ozone variability in the stratosphere. During the late-2015 through 2016 time period, the QBO experienced a major disruption unlike any observed since wind measurements began in 1953. We examined the ozone response to this QBO disruption using profile ozone measurements from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and Ozone…