Seasonality of tropospheric ozone and water vapor over Delhi, India: a study based on MOZAIC measurement data

Abstract

Tropospheric distributions of ozone (O₃) and water vapor (H₂O) have been presented based on the Measurements of OZone and water vapor by Airbus In-Service AirCraft (MOZAIC) data over the metro and capital city of Delhi, India during 1996-2001. The vertical mixing ratios of both O₃ and H₂O show strong seasonal variations. The mixing ratios of O₃ were often below 40 ppbv near the surface and higher values were observed in the free troposphere during the seasons of winter and spring. In the free troposphere, the high mixing ratio of O₃ during the seasons of winter and spring are mainly due to the long-range transport of O₃and its precursors associated with the westerly-northwesterly circulation. In the lower and middle troposphere, the low mixing ratios of ~20-30 ppbv observed during the months of July-September are mainly due to prevailing summer monsoon circulation over Indian subcontinent. The summer monsoon circulation, southwest (SW) wind flow, transports the O₃-poor marine air from the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. The monthly averages of rainfall and mixing ratio of H₂O show opposite seasonal cycles to that of O₃ mixing ratio in the lower and middle troposphere. The change in the transport pattern also causes substantial seasonal variation in the mixing ratio of H₂O of 3-27 g/kg in the lower troposphere over Delhi. Except for some small-scale anomalies, the similar annual patterns in the mixing ratios of O₃ and H₂O are repeated during the different years of 1996-2001. The case studies based on the profiles of O₃, relative humidity (RH) and temperature show distinct features of vertical distribution over Delhi. The impacts of long range transport of air mass from Africa, the Middle East, Indian Ocean and intrusions of stratospheric O₃ have also been demonstrated using the back trajectory model and remote sensing data for biomass burning and forest fire activities.