Challenges in simulating ozone depletion events in the Arctic boundary layer: a case study using ECHAM/MESSy for spring 2019/2020

Falk, Stefanie; Reißig, Luca; Zilker, Bianca; Richter, Andreas; Sinnhuber, Björn-Martin

doi:10.5194/acp-25-15653-2025

Articles | Volume 25, issue 22

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-15653-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue:

The Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy) (ACP/GMD inter-journal...

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-15653-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 25, issue 22

Research article

|

17 Nov 2025

Research article |

| 17 Nov 2025

Challenges in simulating ozone depletion events in the Arctic boundary layer: a case study using ECHAM/MESSy for spring 2019/2020

Stefanie Falk, Luca Reißig, Bianca Zilker, Andreas Richter, and Björn-Martin Sinnhuber

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-15653-2025-supplement

Data sets

Data used in "Challenges in Simulating Ozone Depletion Events in the Arctic Boundary Layer: A Case Study Using ECHAM/MESSy for Spring 2019/20", ACP 2025, Falk et al. Stefanie Falk https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17340306

Ozone dry air mole fractions measured during MOSAiC 2019/2020 H. Angot et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.944393

Substantial contribution of iodine to Arctic ozone destruction -- data A. Mahajan https://doi.org/10.17632/BN7YTZ4MFZ.1

Lower atmospheric properties relating to temperature, wind, stability, moisture, and surface radiation budget over the central Arctic sea ice during MOSAiC G. Jozef et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.957760

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Short summary

Ozone depletion events (ODEs) and bromine explosions in the Arctic were studied for 2019/20. Our model underestimated boundary layer height and showed warm biases, affecting ODE simulation. Updates improved coastal ozone agreement but failed to capture strong ODEs. Bromine monoxide (BrO) was overestimated at the surface yet underestimated in columns. Long-term data show declining strong ODEs since 2008, suggesting additional climate-driven factors beyond sea ice age.