CHEMICAL DEPLETION OF OZONE IN THE ARCTIC - LOWER STRATOSPHERE DURINGWINTER 1992-93

Satellite observations of ozone and chlorine monoxide concentrations d uring winter 1992-1993 show that in February 1993 chlorine in the lowe r stratosphere was mostly in chemically reactive forms. Decreases in s tratospheric ozone concentration during February and early March 1993 are consistent with chemical destruction by this reactive chlorine. Co mparison with changes in the distribution of long-lived chemical and d ynamical tracers shows that the observed decrease cannot have been cau sed solely by dynamical processes.