Investigation of dynamical processes in the polar stratospheric vortex during the unusually cold winter 2004/2005

The 2004/2005 Arctic winter was unusually cold with high potential for Polar Stratospheric Clouds formation. We use O3 and N2O assimilated fields from Aura/MLS in order to describe the dynamical processes inside the polar vortex during this winter. The evolution of N2O assimilated field shows that subsidence was the dominant dynamical process between early December and late January. The mixing effect between the polar vortex and midlatitudes has been diagnosed using the effective diffusivity parameter. It shows that from early February to the end of March, mixing was dominant compared to diabatic descent. The vortex‐averaged ozone loss profile from O3 assimilated field shows a maximum of ∼1.5 ppmv at 425 K, which is less pronounced compared to other winters of similar meteorological conditions (e.g., 1999/2000). This is due to the importance of the mixing processes between the polar vortex and midlatitudes which bring in ozone‐rich air to the vortex.