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Solar 11-Year Cycle Signal in Stratospheric Nitrogen Dioxide—Similarities and Discrepancies Between Model and NDACC Observations

Solar Physics volume 295, Article number: 117 (2020) Cite this article

Abstract

NOx (NO2 and NO) plays an important role in controlling stratospheric ozone. Understanding the change in stratospheric NOx and its global pattern is important for predicting future changes in ozone and the corresponding implications on the climate. Stratospheric NOx is mainly produced by the reaction of N2O with the photochemically produced O(1D) and, therefore, it is expected to vary with changes in solar UV irradiance during the solar cycle. Previous studies on this topic, often limited by the relatively short continuous data, show puzzling results. The effect of the 1991 Pinatubo eruption might have caused interference in the data analysis. In this study, we examine the NO2 vertical column density (VCD) data from the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). Data collected at 16 stations with continuous long-term observations covering the most recent Solar Cycles 23 and 24 were analyzed. We found positive correlations between changes in NO2 VCD and solar Lyman-\(\alpha \) over nine stations (mostly in the Northern Hemisphere) and negative correlations over three stations (mostly in the Southern Hemisphere). The other four stations do not show significant NO2 solar-cycle signal. The varying NO2 responses from one location to another are likely due to different geo-locations (latitude and altitude). In particular, two high-altitude stations show the strongest positive NO2 solar-cycle signals. Our 1D chemical-transport model calculations help explain the altitude dependence of NO2 response to the solar cycle. NO2 solar-cycle variability is suggested to play an important role controlling O3 at an altitude range from \(\approx20~\mbox{km}\) to near 60 km, while OH solar-cycle variability controls O3 at 40 – 90 km. While observations show both positive and negative NO2 responses to solar forcing, the 1D model predicts negative NO2 responses to solar UV changes throughout the middle atmosphere. 3D global model results suggest complex roles of dynamics in addition to photochemistry. The energetic particle-induced NO2 variabilities could also contribute significantly to the NO2 variability during solar cycles.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the support from the NASA Living with a Star (LWS) program (“Solar Forcing Impacts on Middle Atmospheric Ozone-controlling HOx and NOx Chemistry and Climate”). The NO2 VCD data used in this publication were obtained from the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) and are publicly available (www.ndaccdemo.org/). We thank Valery P. Sinyakov at the Kyrgyz National University, Kyrgyz Republic, for sharing data over Issyk-Kul, Michel Van Roozendael and François Hendrick at the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB) for sharing data over the Jungfraujoch and Harestua, Udo Frieß at the Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Heidelberg, for sharing data over Neumayer (Frießet al., 2005), Geraint Vaughan at University of Manchester for sharing data over Aberystwyth, Paul V. Johnston (Emeritus) at the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA), New Zealand, for sharing data over Kiruna. The solar Lyman-\(\alpha\) composite used in this work includes measurements from multiple instruments and models. It was provided by Martin Snow from the LASP Interactive Solar Irradiance Datacenter (lasp.colorado.edu/lisird/).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Shuhui Wang

  2. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA

    King-Fai Li

  3. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Diana Zhu

  4. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    Stanley P. Sander

  5. Divisions of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    Yuk L. Yung

  6. LATMOS/IPSL, UVSQ, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Guyancourt, France

    Andrea Pazmino

  7. National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA), Lauder, New Zealand

    Richard Querel

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  1. Shuhui Wang
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  2. King-Fai Li
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Correspondence to Shuhui Wang.

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Irradiance Variations of the Sun and Sun-like Stars

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Wang, S., Li, KF., Zhu, D. et al. Solar 11-Year Cycle Signal in Stratospheric Nitrogen Dioxide—Similarities and Discrepancies Between Model and NDACC Observations. Sol Phys 295, 117 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-020-01685-1

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Keywords

  • Solar 11-year cycle
  • Solar irradiance
  • Atmospheric response to solar cycle
  • Nitrogen dioxide variability