Differences in Arctic and Antarctic PSC occurrenceas observed by lidar in Ny-Ålesund (79° N, 12° E) and McMurdo(78° S, 167° E)

The relationship between temperature, PSC formation, and denitrification is nonlinear and the McMurdo and Ny-Ålesund PSC observations imply that for predicted stratospheric cooling it is not possible to directly apply current Antarctic PSC occurrence directly to the Arctic stratosphere. Future Arctic PSC occurrence, and thus ozone loss, will depend on the shape and barotropy of the vortex rather than on the minimum temperatures