Isentropic scaling
analysis of ozone in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere
We examine ozone concentrations recorded by 7630 commercial flights
from August 1994 to December 1997 for spatial scaling properties. The
large amount of data allows an approximately isentropic analysis of
ozone variability in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere.
Since ozone is a good passive tracer at cruise altitudes, the results
provide a strong diagnostic for scalar advection theories and models.
Calculations of structure functions and increment probability
distribution functions show that ozone variability scales anomalously
from ~2 to ~2000 km, although not continuously in this interval. We
find no evidence for the simple scaling predicted for smooth
advection/diffusion, even at the large scales. At mesoscales, the
upper tropospheric ozone field is rougher and more intermittent than
in the lower stratosphere. Within the troposphere, the equatorial
ozone field is rougher than at higher latitudes, and the intermittency
decreases with increasing latitude. In the stratosphere, the
intermittency and roughness are greater at high latitudes and over
land than at midlatitudes and over the ocean.
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