A Model Study of the Response of Mesospheric Ozone to Short-Term Solar Ultraviolet Flux Variations
Date
1990-12-20T00:00:00Z
Authors
Summers, Michael E.
Strobel, D. F.
Bevilacqua, R. M.
Zhu, Xun
DeLand, M. T.
Allen, M.
Keating, G. M.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Abstract
An investigation is conducted in order to determine the relative importance of several modeled processes in controlling the magnitude and phase of the mesospheric ozone response. A detailed one-dimensional modeling study of the mesospheric ozone response to solar UV flux variations is conducted to remove some of the deficiencies in previous studies. This study is also used to examine specifically the importance of solar zenith angle, self-consistent calculation of water vapor abundance, and temperature feedback with a nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium radiation model. The photochemical model is described, and the assumptions made for the purpose of comparing model results with the observed ozone response obtained from a statistical analysis of Solar Mesosphere Explorer data (Keating et al., 1987) are discussed. The numerical results for the theoretical ozone response are presented. The results of selected time-dependent calculations are considered to illustrate the degree to which a relatively simple model of the mesosphere is able to capture the major characteristics of the observed response.
Description
Keywords
Atmospheric composition, Mesosphere, Ozone, Radiative transfer
Citation
Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 95, No. D13, Pages 22,523-22,538, December 20, 1990. 10.1029/JD095iD13p22523