HOME / PUBLICATIONS /

Ozone destruction by solar electrons in relation to solar variability and the terrestrial latitude

Citation:

Tritakis, V.P., Korbakis, G.K., Nastos, P.T., Paliatsos, A.G. & Pisanko, Y.V. Ozone destruction by solar electrons in relation to solar variability and the terrestrial latitude. Advances in Space Research 43, 659 - 664 (2009). Copy at http://www.tinyurl.com/y246eb9r

Abstract:

Precipitating electrons from the radiation belts with energies greater than from 150 keV to 5 MeV have been correlated with ozone data of a large number of stations located within 40-70° N. Energetic electrons have been collected by the low altitude polar Russian satellite METEOR while ozone data have been compiled from almost ninety (90) stations located all over the world within the latitude zone 40-70° N. In more than 60% of the stations examined, we detect a clear decrease of the ozone variation during and after the occurrence of an electron flux excess, which recovers within 3-5 days. The more northern is a station located, the deeper is the ozone decrease. Moreover, clear evidence that the solar cycle affects ozone destruction through energetic electron events is presented. The preliminary results of the present work stimulate a future attempt for a simple ozone destruction mechanism formulation, which could describe atomic nitrogen ionization by energetic electrons, which in the following merge to atomic oxygen and produce nitrogen oxides. Finally, nitrogen oxides destruct ozone creating characteristic decreases on the normal ozone variation. © 2008 COSPAR.

Notes:

Export Date: 2 November 2015CODEN: ASRSDCorrespondence Address: Tritakis, V.P.; Research Center for Astronomy and Applied Mathematics, Academy of Athens, Soranou Efesiou 4, 11527 Athens, Greece; email: vas@academyofathens.grReferences: Callis, L.B., Baker, D.N., Blake, J.B., Lambeth, J.D., Boughner, R.E., Natarajan, M., Klebesadel, R.W., Gorney, D.J., Precipitating relativistic electrons: their long-term effects on stratospheric odd nitrogen levels (1991) J. Geophys. Res., 96 (ND2), pp. 2939-2976;Callis, L.B., Lambeth, J.D., NOy formed by precipitating electron events in 1991 and 1992. Descent into the stratosphere as observed by ISAMS (1998) Geophys. Res. Lett., 25 (11), pp. 1875-1878; Jackman, C.H. Energetic particle influences on NOy and ozone in the middle atmosphere. Geophysical Monograph 75 IUGG, 15, pp. 131-139, 1991Jackman, C.H., The effects of the October 1989 solar proton events on the stratosphere as computed using a three-dimensional model (1993) Geophys. Res. Lett., 20, pp. 459-462; Panofsky, H.A., Brier, G.W., (1968) Some Applications of Statistics to Meteorology, , University Park, Pennsylvania; Randall, C.E., Bevilacqua, R.M., Rusch, D.W., Lumpe, J.D., Polar ozone and aerosol measurement (POAM) II stratospheric NO2 (1998) J. Geophys. Res., 103, pp. 28361-28371; Solomon, S., Crutzen, P.J., Robbe, R.G., Photochemical coupling between the thermosphere and the lower atmosphere. 1. Odd nitrogen from 50 to 120 km (1982) J. Geophys. Res., 87 (C9), pp. 7206-7220; Thorne, R.M., The importance of energetic particle precipitation on the chemical composition of the middle atmosphere (1980) Pure Appl. Geophys., 118, pp. 128-151

Website