Anomalies of the ozone and nitrogen dioxide contents in the stratosphere over Moscow region as a manifestation of the dynamics of the stratospheric polar vortex

Abstract

Measurements of the stratospheric contents of O₃ and NO₂ in the Moscow region were used to analyze the anomalies of these species related to the sudden stratospheric warming in the winter and the following deformation of the stratospheric circumpolar vortex in early February 2010 and the latitudinal displacement of the vortex towards the European sector in late March 2011 before the final warming in the spring. In the first case, an increase in the O₃ and NO₂ contents up to 85% and by two times, respectively, was recorded. In the second case, the O₃ content decreased by one-fourth and the NO₂ content dropped by two times as compared to the average values for the periods that preceded the beginning of the anomalies.