The Earth Summit Mission-2022: Successful ozone soundings contribute to source identification in the north Mt. Qomolangma region

Jinqiang Zhang; Chunxiang Ye; Yuejian Xuan; Zhixuan Bai; Weili Lin; Dan Li; Lingkun Ran; Baofeng Jiao; Yaoming Ma; Weiqiang Ma; Nan Yao; Yunshu Zeng; Daren Lv; Tong Zhu

doi:10.1016/j.jes.2022.11.022

The Earth Summit Mission-2022: Successful ozone soundings contribute to source identification in the north Mt. Qomolangma region

J Environ Sci (China). 2024 Feb:136:412-421. doi: 10.1016/j.jes.2022.11.022. Epub 2022 Dec 12.

Authors

Jinqiang Zhang¹, Chunxiang Ye², Yuejian Xuan¹, Zhixuan Bai¹, Weili Lin³, Dan Li¹, Lingkun Ran⁴, Baofeng Jiao⁴, Yaoming Ma⁵, Weiqiang Ma⁶, Nan Yao⁷, Yunshu Zeng⁸, Daren Lv¹, Tong Zhu⁹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Middle Atmosphere and Global Environment Observation, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.
² College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Center for Environment and Health, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Ecology and Environment in Minority Areas (Minzu University of China), National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Beijing 100081, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Cloud-Precipitation Physics and Severe Storms, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.
⁵ Land-Atmosphere Interaction and Its Climatic Effects Group, State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; College of Atmospheric Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; National Observation and Research Station for Qomolongma Special Atmospheric Processes and Environmental Changes, Dingri 858200, China; Kathmandu Center of Research and Education, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; China-Pakistan Joint Research Center on Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
⁶ Land-Atmosphere Interaction and Its Climatic Effects Group, State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Atmospheric Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; National Observation and Research Station for Qomolongma Special Atmospheric Processes and Environmental Changes, Dingri 858200, China; China-Pakistan Joint Research Center on Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
⁷ Land-Atmosphere Interaction and Its Climatic Effects Group, State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁸ Key Laboratory of Middle Atmosphere and Global Environment Observation, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; Electronic Engineering College, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu 610225, China.
⁹ College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Center for Environment and Health, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. Electronic address: tzhu@pku.edu.cn.

PMID: 37923451
DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2022.11.022

Abstract

As part of "The Earth Summit Mission-2022" during the second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research (STEP) in April and May 2022, we conducted the ozone sounding experiment (an ozonesonde mated to a radiosonde) at Mt. Qomolangma Base Camp (MQBC; 86.85°E, 28.14°N; 5200 m), a location at an extremely high altitude. A total of ten sounding profiles were obtained between April 30 and May 06, 2022, of which seven profiles were above 35 km in altitude, with a maximum detection altitude up to 39.0 km. This study presents the temporal variation and vertical distributions of atmospheric temperature, humidity, and ozone during the MQBC campaign. The averaged ozone concentration was high (68.3 ppbv) at the surface and then increased smoothly until peaking (∼110 ppbv) in the middle troposphere (approximately 10 km), and afterward, the ozone concentration increased rapidly from the upper troposphere to a maximum of ∼10 ppmv at ∼30 km. The enhanced ozone concentration in the middle troposphere was associated with the blocking high pressure, and transport from the southern flank of the Himalayas occurred during the campaign period. The average total ozone column was 291.9±21.4 DU for the seven profiles exceeding 35 km in altitude. The ozonesonde measurements were also compared with the vertical ozone profiles retrieved from the space-borne ozone products from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) onboard the Aura satellite and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) onboard the Aqua satellite.

Keywords: Mt. Qomolangma; Ozone soundings; Ozone source; Satellite data; Vertical ozone structure.

MeSH terms

Altitude
Ozone*
Seasons
Temperature

Substances

Ozone