Prolonged and Pervasive Perturbations in the Composition of the Southern Hemisphere Midlatitude Lower Stratosphere From the Australian New Year's Fires

The 2019/2020 Australian New Year's wildfires injected record amounts of smoke and biomass burning products into the lower stratosphere. The Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) tracked the evolution of distinct plumes of fire-influenced air as they rapidly spiraled up to the mid-stratosphere. In the months following the fires, smoke spread throughout the Southern Hemisphere (SH) stratosphere. We contrast the evolution of the SH midlatitude lower stratosphere in 2020 with the 17-year MLS record. Long after the coherent plumes dispersed, data from MLS and other satellite instruments show unprecedented persistent and pervasive depletion in HCl (50%-60% below climatology) and enhancements in ClO and ClONO2 that were not transport related; peak anomalies occurred in mid-2020. We conclude that the observed perturbations likely arose from heterogeneous chlorine activation on widespread smoke particles. The sustained chlorine activation was far weaker than in typical winter polar vortices, inducing at most minor changes in ozone.

Automated summary

The 2019/2020 Australian New Year's wildfires released smoke and burning products into the stratosphere, causing significant changes in the stratosphere of the Southern Hemisphere. This study compares the evolution of the lower stratosphere in 2020 with historical data and finds that the smoke particles led to a decrease in HCl and an increase in ClO and ClONO2. The observed perturbations are likely due to heterogeneous chlorine activation on widespread smoke particles, but the impact on ozone is minor.