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Solar activity impacts polar ozone

Date:
October 14, 2014
Source:
Finnish Meteorological Institute
Summary:
The increase in greenhouse gases explains, to a large extent, the rise in the average temperature of the Earth. According to a new research study, the Sun affects middle atmosphere ozone with potential implications on smaller scale to regional, but not global, climate.
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The increase in greenhouse gases explains, to a large extent, the rise in the average temperature of Earth. According to the research study published in Nature Communications today, the Sun affects middle atmosphere ozone with potential implications on smaller scale to regional, but not global, climate.

Humankind is responsible for the global warming of our climate by increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, according results published today, fluctuations in the activity of the Sun impact middle atmosphere ozone, providing a potential link to regional scale climate variability. This climate variability is not a trend, like climate change, but rather year-to-year fluctuations following solar activity. "The detected ozone variation may in part help understand the alternation of local mild and cold winter seasons, as hints have been obtained in previous research that the ozone changes in the middle atmosphere may link as far as the surface of Earth and affect, among other things, polar wind streams," Finnish Meteorological Institute researcher Dr Pekka Verronen reflects.

The research team was able to confirm, for the first time, the long-term implications of solar-driven electron impact on the upper middle atmosphere ozone. The results showed strong effects in the polar latitudes. The amount of ozone at 70-80 km altitude was found to vary more than 30 percent during a solar cycle, a period of approximately 11 years. The ozone variation between the extremes of the Sun's activity is so great that it is likely to impact the temperature balance of the atmosphere. These temperature changes can in turn have an effect on atmospheric winds.

Electrons from space: Auroras and ozone loss

According to the research study conducted by the Finnish Meteorological Institute, University of Otago and the British Antarctic Survey, the electrons, similar to those behind the aurora, cause significant solar cycle variation in the polar mesosphere ozone. The amount of ozone is smaller when more electrons enter the atmosphere. "These results are only the first step but an important one, allowing us to better understand the long-term impacts of this type of solar activity, and its role in regional climate variability," says Dr Monika Andersson who lead the study at Finnish Meteorological Institute.

Earth's radiation belts are regions in near-Earth space that contain vast quantities of solar energetic electrons, trapped there by Earth's magnetic field. During magnetic storms, which are solar wind-driven, the electrons accelerate to high speeds and enter the atmosphere in the polar regions. In the atmosphere, the electrons ionize gas molecules, leading to the production of ozone-depleting catalyst gases. Based on currently available satellite observations, electron precipitation may, during solar storms lasting a few days, reduce ozone in the upper atmosphere (60-80 km) as much as 90 per cent on a momentary basis.


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Materials provided by Finnish Meteorological Institute. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

Finnish Meteorological Institute. "Solar activity impacts polar ozone." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 October 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141014083846.htm>.
Finnish Meteorological Institute. (2014, October 14). Solar activity impacts polar ozone. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141014083846.htm
Finnish Meteorological Institute. "Solar activity impacts polar ozone." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141014083846.htm (accessed March 18, 2024).

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