The Seasonal and Latitudinal Behavior of Trace Gases and O₃as Simulated by a Two-Dimensional Model of the Atmosphere

A two-dimensional zonal-mean model with parameterized dynamics and an advanced photochemical scheme is used to simulate the stratospheric distributions of atmospheric trace gases including ozone. The model calculates the distributions of 37 species that are photochemically coupled via 140 reactions with rate data from WMO/NASA. A full diurnal treatment is used to calculate the diurnal variations of the short-lived species and the diurnal mean of the production/loss rates for the long-lived species. The calculated concentrations are compared with a wide range of observations with emphasis on the seasonal and latitudinal features. In this work, no post hoc adjustment of the dynamical parameters has been attempted to improve agreement with observations. In general, the model results are in good agreement with observations, although several discrepancies are noted. Rather than focusing on any individual species, we look for systematic agreements and discrepancies between model and observations for a ...