HR: 11:25h
AN: SH22A-05    [Abstracts]
TI: Observations of Mesospheric OH and Ozone During the Intense Solar Energetic Particle Events of January 2005
AU: * Jackman, C H
EM: Charles.H.Jackman@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 613.3, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Pickett, H M
EM: Herbert.M.Pickett-101562@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mail Stop 183-701 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099 United States
AU: Roble, R G
EM: roble@ucar.edu
AF: High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000 United States
AB: The intense solar eruptive events in January 2005 caused atmospheric changes in the polar regions due to solar energetic particles associated with these events. Solar particles (primarily protons) produced ionizations, excitations, dissociations, and dissociative ionizations of the mesospheric background constituents, which led to the production of HOx (H, OH, and HO2) through a series of ion-molecule reactions. These odd hydrogen constituents led to depletions of ozone through catalytic reactions. The Aura MLS instrument observed substantial mesospheric increases in OH from January 17-22, 2005, along with associated decreases ozone (up to 50% between 65 and 75 km). Larger changes were observed in the north compared with the south polar regions. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first observations of OH production as a result of solar particle events and offer a chance to test our chemical understanding of the mesosphere.
DE: 0335 Ion chemistry of the atmosphere (2419, 2427)
DE: 0340 Middle atmosphere: composition and chemistry
DE: 0341 Middle atmosphere: constituent transport and chemistry (3334)
DE: 0342 Middle atmosphere: energy deposition (3334)
DE: 3334 Middle atmosphere dynamics (0341, 0342)
SC: SPA-Solar and Heliospheric Physics [SH]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005