Potential drivers of the recent large Antarctic ozone holes

The past three years (2020-2022) have witnessed the re-emergence of large, long-lived ozone holes over Antarctica. Understanding ozone variability remains of high importance due to the major role Antarctic stratospheric ozone plays in climate variability across the Southern Hemisphere. Climate change has already incited new sources of ozone depletion, and the atmospheric abundance of several chlorofluorocarbons has recently been on the rise. In this work, we take a comprehensive look at the monthly and daily ozone changes at different altitudes and latitudes within the Antarctic ozone hole. Following indications of early-spring recovery, the October middle stratosphere is dominated by continued, significant ozone reduction since 2004, amounting to 26% loss in the core of the ozone hole. We link the declines in mid-spring Antarctic ozone to dynamical changes in mesospheric descent within the polar vortex, highlighting the importance of continued monitoring of the state of the ozone layer.

Strategies to Implement Edge Computing in a P2P Pervasive Grid

The exponential dissemination of proximity computing devices (smartphones, tablets, nanocomputers, etc.) raises important questions on how to transmit, store and analyze data in networks integrating those devices. New approaches like edge computing aim at delegating part of the work to devices in the “edge” of the network. In this article, the focus is on the use of pervasive grids to implement edge computing and leverage such challenges, especially the strategies to ensure data proximity and context awareness, two factors that impact the performance of big data analyses in distributed systems. This article discusses the limitations of traditional big data computing platforms and introduces the principles and challenges to implement edge computing over pervasive grids. Finally, using CloudFIT, a distributed computing platform, the authors illustrate the deployment of a real geophysical application on a pervasive network.

Ozone depletion and climate change: impacts on UV radiation

Percentage changes in the UV Index (UVI) for 2090 relative to 2015 due to changes in ozone (left) and aerosols (right) only. Large decreases are projected over Antarctica due to stratospheric ozone recovery. Increases are projected for parts of Asia due to decreases in aerosols, partly reversing the possible large reductions in UVI after the 1950s.