Origins and Observations of the Spring Ozone Maximum. Theory and Experiment

Measurements of ozone throughout the troposphere clearly show an annual cycle. Over the last couple of decades it has become apparent that the measured annual cycle of ozone in certain locations shows a distinct maximum during spring and that the magnitude of the maximum seems to have increased. There has been much debate as to the origins of this phenomenon. There is broad agreement that much of the ozone found in the troposphere is of photochemical origin. In contrast, there is still no over-arching consensus as to the mechanisms that lead to the formation of the spring ozone maximum. Part of the problem would seem to lie in the interpretation of measurements and the interactions of processes occurring on differing scales from the local to the global scale.