Origin of the January–April 2004 increase in stratospheric NO2 observed in the northern polar latitudes

Large increase in stratospheric NO2 content has been observed during the 2003–2004 Arctic winter. The first one, in early November 2003 is well documented and is due to a strong solar protons event. A second event occurred on January 22, 2004, leading to a large amount of NO2 in the lower mesosphere...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 2006-06, Vol.33 (11), p.L11801-n/a
Main Authors: Renard, Jean-Baptiste, Blelly, Pierre-Louis, Bourgeois, Quentin, Chartier, Michel, Goutail, Florence, Orsolini, Y. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
Atmospheric Composition and Structure
composition and chemistry
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Evolution of the atmosphere
Exact sciences and technology
Ion chemistry of the atmosphere
Middle atmosphere
Physics
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Summary:Large increase in stratospheric NO2 content has been observed during the 2003–2004 Arctic winter. The first one, in early November 2003 is well documented and is due to a strong solar protons event. A second event occurred on January 22, 2004, leading to a large amount of NO2 in the lower mesosphere. This second event can be analyzed using data from nighttime satellite measurements performed by the GOMOS and MIPAS instruments onboard Envisat, and by ground based column measurements performed by SAOZ. It seems that in‐situ production of NO2 is located at an altitude of around 60 km associated with the precipitation of electrons with energy of a few hundred keV. These electrons originated from the high latitudes magnetosphere, and are associated with a solar coronal mass ejection. Therefore, a particular nighttime chemistry in the lower mesosphere is proposed to explain the measurements.
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1029/2005GL025450