TITLE:
Preliminary Investigation of Total Ozone Column and Its Relationship with Atmospheric Variables
AUTHORS:
Moses Owoicho Audu, Ejembi Emmanuel, Otor Daniel Abi, Daniel Audu Ogbe, Chibuoke Kingsley Arinze
KEYWORDS:
Total Ozone Column, Cloud Cover, Ozone Depletion, Atmospheric Variables, EPTOMS, Nigeria
JOURNAL NAME:
Atmospheric and Climate Sciences,
Vol.13 No.2,
April
24,
2023
ABSTRACT: This study attempts to investigate the interaction between lower and upper atmosphere,
employing daily data of Total Ozone Column (TOC) and atmospheric parameter
(cloud cover) over Nigeria from 1998-2012; in
order to study the dynamic effect of ozone on climate and vice versa. This is
due to the fact that ozone and climate influence each other and the
understanding of the dynamic effect of the interconnectivity is still an open
research area. Monthly mean daily TOC and cloud cover data were obtained from
the Earth Probe Total Ozone Mass Spectroscopy (EPTOMS) and the International
Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP)-D2 datasets respectively. Bivariate
analysis and Mann Kendall trend tests were used in data analysis. MATLAB and
ArcGIS software were employed in analyzing the data. Results reveal that TOC
increased spatially from the coastal region to the north eastern region of the
country. Seasonally, the highest value of TOC was observed at the peak of rainy
season when cloud activity is very high, while the lowest value was recorded in
dry season. These variations were attributed to rain producing mechanisms and
atmospheric phenomena which influence the transport and distribution of ozone.
Furthermore, the statistical analysis reveals significant relationship between TOC and low and middle cloud covers in
contrast to high cloud cover. This relationship is consistent with
previous studies using other atmospheric variables. This study has given
scientific insight which is useful in understanding the coupling of the lower
and upper atmosphere.