The Antarctic stratospheric Nitrogen Hole: Southern Hemisphere and Antarctic springtime total nitrogen dioxide and total ozone variability as observed in Sentinel-5p TROPOMI data

Denitrification of the stratospheric vortex is a crucial process for the Antarctic Ozone Hole formation resulting in an analogous stratospheric “Nitrogen Hole”. Here, 2018–2021 daily TROPOMI measurements are used for the first time for a detailed characterization of this Nitrogen Hole. Nitrogen dioxide total columns exhibit strong spatiotemporal and seasonal variations associated with both photochemistry as well as transport and mixing processes. Combined with total ozone column data two main regimes are identified: inner-vortex ozone and nitrogen dioxide depleted air and outer-vortex air enhanced in ozone and nitrogen dioxide. Within the vortex total ozone and total stratospheric nitrogen dioxide are strongly correlated which is much less evident outside of the vortex. Connecting both main regimes are what is defined here as “mixing lines”, a third regime of coherent patterns in the total nitrogen dioxide column – total ozone column phase space. These mixing lines exist because of differences in three dimensional variations of nitrogen dioxide and ozone thereby providing information about vortex dynamics and cross-vortex edge mixing. On the other hand, interannual variability of nitrogen dioxide – total ozone characteristics are rather small except in 2019 when the vortex was unusually unstable. Overall, the results show that daily stratospheric nitrogen dioxide column satellite measurements provide an innovative means for characterizing and Polar stratospheric denitrification processes and vortex dynamics and potentially long term monitoring if the total nitrogen column data record is extended with past satellite observations.