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

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 O3 and 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.