• Atmosphere
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.91-102
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• 2020

MERRA-2 ozone and atmospheric data are utilized to test the usefulness of reanalysis-based tracer transport analysis for ozone in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). Transport and mixing processes related to the seasonal variation of TTL ozone are examined using the tracer transport equation based on the transformed Eulerian mean, and the results are compared to previously proposed values from model analyses. The analysis shows that the seasonal variability of TTL ozone is mainly determined by two processes: vertical mean transport and horizontal eddy mixing of ozone, with different contributions in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The horizontal eddy mixing process explains the major portion of the seasonal cycle in the northern TTL, while the vertical mean transport dominates in the southern TTL. The Asian summer monsoon likely contributes to this observed difference. The ozone variability and related processes in MERRA-2 reanalysis show qualitatively similar features with satellite- and model-based analyses, and it provides advantages of fine-scale analyses. However, it still shows significant quantitative biases in ozone budget analysis.