"Will Hand" wrote in message
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"Alastair McDonald" k wrote
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"Keith Dancey" wrote in message
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How might reduced stratospheric ozone reduce tropospheric temperature?

Because the ozone is not trapping the radiation in the stratosphere, the
stratosphere is cooler. The stratosphere forms an inversion layer at the
tropopause and this temperature controls the average temperature at the
surface via a standard lapse rate.

Alastair, what controls the average temperature at the surface is *not* the
tropopause temperature. It is due to a combination of radiation effects both
longwave and shortwave which in turn are non-linearly dependent on surface
characteristics (albedo etc), moisture, cloud cover and the concentration of
"greenhouse gases".

I did not mean to imply that the stratospheric temperature was the only
control
on the average surface temperature. I was attempting to answer Keith's
question. The factors you list all affect the lapse rate. If one assumes
that
the lapse rate does not change, and the height of the tropopause remains
constant, then it is easy to see how the surface temperature changes with
that of the tropopause. In other words, if the things you list remain
unchanged, then a cooling of the stratosphere will lead to a cooling at the
surface. Or are you denying that?

Cheers, Alastair.