Spatial Heterogeneity in Tropospheric Column Ozone over the Indian Subcontinent: Long-Term Climatology and Possible Association with Natural and Anthropogenic Activities
Monthly averaged tropospheric ozone residual (TOR) data from TOMS and OMI during the period 1979–2009 are used to study the spatial distribution of tropospheric column ozone within the landmass of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan plateau in the north and the Bay of Bengal in the south. The climatological mean shows seasonal maxima in spring and minima in winter in all the regions. The oceanic regions exhibit broad summer maximum and the maximum to minimum ratio is the lowest for these regions. The concentration of tropospheric column ozone is found to be highest in North Eastern India (NE) and the Indo Gangetic plains (IGP). NE ozone concentration exceeds that of IGP during spring whereas in post monsoon and winter reverse is the case. In the monsoon season, O3 levels in the two regions are equal. The spring time highest level of tropospheric column ozone over NE region is found to be associated with highest incidence of lightning and biomass burning activity. The Stratosphere-Troposphere exchange is also found to contribute to the enhanced level of ozone in spring in NE India. A net decrease in tropospheric ozone concentration over NE during the period 1979 to 2009 has been observed. 1. Introduction Tropospheric ozone is a secondary pollutant which is not emitted directly into the atmosphere but is formed in situ from complex mixture of precursor pollutants such as carbon monoxides, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxides (CO, VOC, and NOx). These precursors are produced both naturally and anthropogenically, where natural sources include the vegetations, forest fires, wetlands, and so forth, and anthropogenic sources are vehicle exhausts, biomass burning, industrial emissions, and so forth. Depending upon the precursor strength, the concentration of tropospheric ozone varies spatially and temporally over the globe. The nonlinear influence of NOx and VOC emissions on ozone formation and destruction, the influence of transport and dispersion processes on the atmospheric distribution of chemical compounds, and the vast differences in their chemical lifetimes induce diversity. The ground-based measurements of tropospheric ozone give limited data in time and space, whereas airborne or satellite observations of tropospheric ozone from space offer the opportunity to measure the distribution over large areas, and to study large-scale temporal and spatial behaviour [1, 2]. This is of great importance since ozone formed over source regions, where large amounts of ozone precursors are emitted, can be transported over great distances and affect areas
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