Freie Universität Berlin researchers are investigating fluctuations in the stratosphere. Their effect on the climate system will further be supported with funds from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) for three subsequent years.
The project titled "Stratospheric Change and Its Role for Climate Prediction" (SHARP) will be awarded with € 2.27 M worth grants during the second funding phase extending till 2015, as stated by the DFG. The research team comprises researchers from varied universities. Professor Ulrike Langematz, from Freie Universität Berlin serves as the project coordinator.
The stratosphere that exists above the troposphere is being focused upon by the researchers. Analysis of this ozone includes changes in stratospheric circulation, water vapor as a climate-relevant trace gas, and coupling processes between the troposphere and stratosphere.
The scientists will utilize the new funding period to study the extended effects of climate change on the stratosphere and its impact on the weather, climate, and air quality proximal to the Earth's surface. New observation data sets will be observed, with more focus on exploring the interactions with the oceans.
In 2011, the research team discovered that chlorofluorocarbon substances have an enduring impact on the ozone layer. As per the analyses, massive ozone losses will remain for sometime in the future, in spite of the recovery of the ozone layer in future. During cold polar winters, the ozone layer will show significant degradation in the next spring, and this was noted in the Antarctic as well as over the northern hemisphere.
Source: http://www.fu-berlin.de/
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