Temporal and spatial features of atmospheric methane and its relation to ozone variation in the stratosphere

The methane data observed by HALOE in UARS satellite from October 1991 to November 2005 are used to analyze the temporal and spatial features of stratospheric methane covering 70°S—70°N,1 80°W—180°E.The results show that:① the methane mixing ratio decreases with altitude in the stratosphere.The methane mixing ratio variation contains the annual cycle in the middle and upper stratosphere and the semiannual cycle in the lower stratosphere.And the amplitude of monthly variability in the southern hemisphere is larger than that in the northern hemisphere,especially at the middle upper stratosphere.The methane mixing ratio in low latitudes is larger than that in high latitudes,and is nearly symmetric on either side of the equator,but the distribution features are different at different heights;② The methane mixing ratio change has 3-month,10-month,quasi-25-month and quasi-45-month oscillations,while 3-month and 10-month oscillations are obvious before 1996;③ The relationship between the methane mixing ratio and the ozone mixing ratio is different at different layers.The photochemical destruction effect of the methane to the ozone dose not exist in the whole stratosphere,it seems that the correlation is obvious at some layers,but not obvious at other layers.