Comparison of In situ Observation, NOAA-AIRS Satellite and MACC Model on Surface Ozone Over the Ushuaia, Southern Ocean and Antarctic Peninsula Region

This study aims to determine surface ozone (O₃) mixing ratios from in situ observations during the Malaysian Antarctic Scientific Expedition Cruise 2016 (MASEC’16), by using The Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate (MACC) global model assimilation system developed by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and satellite products from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (NOAA-AIRS) over the Antarctic Peninsula region. We also compared all three types of observation of surface O₃ during the period of MASEC’16. The results showed that surface O₃ levels from MACC reanalysis and NOAA-AIRS were twice higher than those from in situ observations over Ushuaia, the Drake Passage (Southern Ocean) and the Antarctic Peninsula respectively. Nevertheless, the surface O₃ mixing ratios pattern from MACC and NOAA-AIRS were similar to the in situ measurements where mixing ratios of the surface O₃ were in the order of Ushuaia < Southern Ocean < Antarctic Peninsula meaning that the NOAA-AIRS satellite and MACC model products are likely to be effective proxies for atmospheric composition over a given region.