Thread: Stratospheric cooling

In another thread I made the point that climate change is linked to ozone depletion in the stratosphere, then became bothered that I might not have remembered correctly. Having had a chance to research this a bit I found this that gives a short discussion of the effect: http://www.atmosphere.mpg.de/enid/20c.html

It actually seems a bit contradictory to me, in that it says both that a cold stratosphere is necessary for ozone depletion, and that stratospheric cooling is partly due to ozone depletion. Either this is a contradiction, or it implies a self-reinforcing feedback. In either case, the article does confirm that ozone and global warming are connected.

Cooling of the stratosphere isn't just the result of ozone destruction but is also caused by the release of carbon dioxide in the troposphere. Therefore, global warming in the troposphere and stratospheric cooling due to ozone loss are parallel effects. As cooling increases, development of the ozone layer can be affected because a cold stratosphere is necessary for ozone depletion.

So releasing more carbon dioxide may not only increase global warming but may also contribute to the formation of the ozone hole. The system is pretty complicated and so we try to give just an overview of it here.

Originally Posted by Bunbury

..., and that stratospheric cooling is partly due to ozone depletion.

looking at it logically, this makes sense : less ozone to absorb UV light means less energy captured in the stratosphere and slower-moving molecules (equivalent to lower temperatures)