Evidence of the role of stratospheric transport in the distribution of tropospheric ozone

This paper examines ozonesonde data for stations within the contiguous United States in the network operated by the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory. A spring secondary ozone concentration peak in the lower stratosphere is demonstrated in support of stratospheric transport theories. Grouping the ozonagrams by vertical distributions indicates that occurrences of high concentrations of ozone in the lower troposphere, in most cases, is due largely to transport from aloft. Examples of distributions that evidence substantial ozone transport from aloft and distributions that indicate relatively high contributions from low level sources are provided. The effect of temperature inversions on the vertical distribution of ozone is discussed.