We’re in hot water with ozone

STRATOSPHERIC and tropospheric – upper and lower atmosphere – ozone changes have contributed to Southern Ocean warming, Australian researchers have found.

Simulations and climate models of ozone changes between 1955 and 2000 found that they contributed to about 30 per cent of the heat increase in the Southern Ocean.

About 60 per cent of the ozone change was attributed to depletion at the tropospheric level, while 40 per cent was due to depletion at the stratospheric level.

The teams say their results highlight that tropospheric ozone is more than an air pollutant and, as a greenhouse gas, has been pivotal to the Southern Ocean warming.