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AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Keywords

  • GOMOS
  • energetic particle precipitation
  • NOx

Index Terms

  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Middle atmosphere: constituent transport and chemistry
  • Ionosphere: Particle precipitation
  • Atmospheric Processes: Remote sensing
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Middle atmosphere: composition and chemistry

Abstract

Arctic and Antarctic polar winter NOx and energetic particle precipitation in 2002–2006

Annika Seppälä

Earth Observation, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland

Pekka T. Verronen

Earth Observation, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland

Mark A. Clilverd

Physical Sciences Division, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK

Cora E. Randall

Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA

Johanna Tamminen

Earth Observation, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland

Viktoria Sofieva

Earth Observation, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland

Leif Backman

Earth Observation, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland

Erkki Kyrölä

Earth Observation, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland

We report GOMOS nighttime observations of middle atmosphere NO2 and O3 profiles during eight recent polar winters in the Arctic and Antarctic. The NO2 measurements are used to study the effects of energetic particle precipitation and further downward transport of polar NO x . During seven of the eight observed winters NO x enhancements occur in good correlation with levels of enhanced high-energy particle precipitation and/or geomagnetic activity as indicated by the A p index. We find a nearly linear relationship between the average winter time A p index and upper stratospheric polar winter NO2 column density in both hemispheres. In the Arctic winter 2005–2006 the NO x enhancement is higher than expected from the geomagnetic conditions, indicating the importance of changing meteorological conditions.

Received 19 February 2007; accepted 16 May 2007; published 26 June 2007.

Citation: Seppälä, A., P. T. Verronen, M. A. Clilverd, C. E. Randall, J. Tamminen, V. Sofieva, L. Backman, and E. Kyrölä (2007), Arctic and Antarctic polar winter NOx and energetic particle precipitation in 2002–2006, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L12810, doi:10.1029/2007GL029733.

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