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Importance of energetic solar protons in ozone depletion

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Abstract

CHLORINE-catalysed depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer has commanded considerable attention since 1985, when Farman et al.1 observed a decrease of 50% in the total column ozone over Antarctica in the austral spring. Here we examine the depletion of stratospheric ozone caused by the reaction of ozone with nitric oxide generated by energetic solar protons, associated with solar flares. During large solar flares in March 1989, satellite observations indicated that total column ozone was depleted by ~9% over ~20% of the total area between the South Pole and latitude 70° S. Chlorine-catalysed ozone depletion takes place over a much larger area, but our results indicate that the influence of solar protons on atmospheric ozone concentrations should not be ignored.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Space Physics Research Institute, University of Natal, Durban, 4001, South Africa

    Judy A. E. Stephenson & Malcolm W. J. Scourfield

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  1. Judy A. E. Stephenson
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  2. Malcolm W. J. Scourfield
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Stephenson, J., Scourfield, M. Importance of energetic solar protons in ozone depletion. Nature 352, 137–139 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/352137a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/352137a0

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