Energetic particle induced intra-seasonal variability of ozone inside the Antarctic polar vortex observed in satellite data
Journal article, 2015

Measurements from 2002 to 2011 by three inde- pendent satellite instruments, namely MIPAS, SABER, and SMR on board the ENVISAT, TIMED, and Odin satellites are used to investigate the intra-seasonal variability of strato- spheric and mesospheric O3 volume mixing ratio (vmr) in- side the Antarctic polar vortex due to solar and geomagnetic activity. In this study, we individually analysed the relative O3 vmr variations between maximum and minimum condi- tions of a number of solar and geomagnetic indices (F10.7 cm solar radio flux, Ap index, ≥2 MeV electron flux). The indices are 26-day averages centred at 1 April, 1 May, and 1 June while O3 is based on 26-day running means from 1 April to 1 November at altitudes from 20 to 70 km. Dur- ing solar quiet time from 2005 to 2010, the composite of all three instruments reveals an apparent negative O3 sig- nal associated to the geomagnetic activity (Ap index) around 1 April, on average reaching amplitudes between −5 and −10 % of the respective O3 background. The O3 response exceeds the significance level of 95 % and propagates down- wards throughout the polar winter from the stratopause down to ∼ 25 km. These observed results are in good qualitative agreement with the O3 vmr pattern simulated with a three- dimensional chemistry-transport model, which includes par- ticle impact ionisation.

Middle atmosphere

Ozone

Energetic Particle Precipitation

Odin/SMR

Author

Tilo Fytterer

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

Martin G. Mlynczak

NASA Langley Research Center

H. Nieder

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

Kristell Perot

Chalmers, Earth and Space Sciences, Global Environmental Measurements and Modelling

M. Sinnhuber

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

G. Stiller

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

Joachim Urban

Chalmers, Earth and Space Sciences, Global Environmental Measurements and Modelling

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

1680-7316 (ISSN) 1680-7324 (eISSN)

Vol. 15 6 3327-3338

Subject Categories

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences

DOI

10.5194/acp-15-3327-2015

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Latest update

4/9/2018 1