Observation of surface ozone in the marine boundary layer along a cruise through the Arctic Ocean: From offshore to remote

•Surface ozone over the central Arctic Ocean was investigated.•A slight increasing trend of ozone in 69–87°N was observed.•Change in surface ozone may be ascribed to transport and/or chemical processes.•There was not statistically different between the ship-based observation and data from Barrow observatory.

Ozone is an important reactive gas in the troposphere; it has been frequently used to estimate atmospheric oxidation capacity. However, there are few data of surface ozone over the Arctic Ocean, especially the central Arctic Ocean. Here, surface ozone in the marine boundary layer along the cruise path during the 5th Chinese Arctic Research Expedition (June to September, 2012) was investigated. The latitudes and longitudes covered in the cruise were 31.1°N–87.7°N and 9.3°E–90°E–168.4°W. The 1-h-averaged ozone varied from 9.4 ppbv to 124.5 ppbv along the cruise. The highest mixing ratios appeared in the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan while the lowest in the Chukchi Sea. The relatively high ozone levels over the East China Sea, the Sea of Japan, and offshore Iceland were caused by transport of precursors and/or ozone from the nearby continent. Ozone mixing ratio decreasing by ~ 2 ppbv/° with increasing latitude was observed during 31–45°N covering the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan, and during 62–69°N covering offshore Iceland. Over the entire Arctic Ocean, ozone levels were relatively low, varying from 9.4 ppbv to 36.1 ppbv with an average of 23.8 ± 4.6 (mean ± standard deviation) ppbv, which was not statistically different with data observed at Barrow observatory during the same period. Unlike ozone over contaminated areas, a slight increasing trend of ozone in 69–87°N was observed. This phenomenon may be ascribed to the role of both vertical transport and chemical processes due to solar radiation.