Long term variability of total ozone yearly minima and maxima in the latitudinal belt from 20°N to 60°N derived from the merged satellite data in the period 1979–2008

This paper deals with the behavior of the annual cycle of total ozone (ACO3) and its amplitude (O3_AMP) in the latitudinal belt from 20°N to 60°N. The prominent feature of the O3_AMP spatial pattern is the sharp maximum over the north-east coast of Asia. The spatial correlation of O3_AMP with its highest/lowest value varies with location: in the middle latitudes it correlates predominantly with the values of annual maxima of total ozone, while in the lower latitudes, there is a strong negative correlation with the values of ACO3 minima. Regarding temporal evolution of O3_AMP we detected distinct negative trend in the period of 1979–1995 which is caused by stronger negative trend of maxima than the negative trend of minima in ACO3. In the period 1995–2008 we found the positive trend of ACO3 in most regions due to stronger positive trend of maxima than that of minima in ACO3 in the middle latitudes (especially over the central and northern Europe and the north-east Asia). In the lower latitudes a weak negative trend of O3_AMP was identified and linked to weaker positive trend of maxima than positive trend of minima in ACO3. The behavior of the temporal trends was linked to the changes in Brewer–Dobson circulation and to the trends of tropopause pressure.