HR: 16:00h
AN: A54A-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Long-term Measurements of Solar Proton Fluxes (1963-Present) and the Subsequent Impact on Stratospheric Constituents
AU: * Jackman, C H
EM: Charles.H.Jackman@nasa.gov
AF: Code 613.3, Laboratory for Atmospheres, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771
AU: Fleming, E L
EM: fleming@kahuna.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: Code 613.3, Laboratory for Atmospheres, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771
AB: The fluxes of solar protons have been measured by satellites for over forty years (1963-present). Eight Interplanetary Monitoring Platform (IMP) satellites measured solar proton fluxes from 1963-1993 and five NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) were used for the period 1994-present. These high energy solar protons precipitate on the Earth's polar atmosphere sporadically, especially during solar proton events (SPEs), which typically last a few days. Solar protons with energies greater than 30 MeV are capable of reaching the stratosphere and causing increases in odd hydrogen (HOx) and odd nitrogen (NOy) constituents at polar latitudes (>60 degrees geomagnetic). The enhanced HOx leads to short-lived ozone depletion (~days) due to the short lifetime of HOx constituents. The enhanced NOy leads to long-lived ozone changes because of the long lifetime of the NOy family in the stratosphere. Several very large SPEs (August 1972, August and October 1989, July and November 2000, September and November 2001, and October 2003) over the 1963-2004 time period were simulated in the GSFC two-dimensional chemistry and transport model and were predicted to cause significant polar upper stratospheric ozone depletion >10%, which lasted for several weeks past the events. Several satellite instruments (BUV, SBUV, SBUV/2, SAGE II, HALOE, etc.) have shown constituent changes as a result of SPEs. Long-term (>40 years) model simulations of the influence of the solar protons and satellite measurements during and after some of the very large SPEs will be shown.
DE: 0340 Middle atmosphere--composition and chemistry
DE: 0341 Middle atmosphere--constituent transport and chemistry (3334)
DE: 0342 Middle atmosphere--energy deposition
DE: 1650 Solar variability
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly