Concerning the system earth during geomagnetic polarity transitions: Impact on the neutral atmosphere
Abstract
During a geomagnetic polarity transition, the strength and structure of the earth geomagnetic field can vary very much from the current state. This means that regions which are at the moment shielded from extraterrestrical energetic particles can become subject to particle precipition. We use a 2 dimensional chemistry, photolysis and transport model of the atmosphere to investigate how different configurations of the magnetic field effect the composition of the neutral middle atmosphere, especially during large energetic particle events. We find that the structure of the magnetic field can have a large impact on the amounts and distribution of NOx (NO, NO2) and ozone after large energetic particle events. However, the largest impacts of particle events on total ozone occur in polar regions for any configuration of the magnetic field due to the large-scale circulation of the middle atmosphere.
- Publication:
-
EGS - AGU - EUG Joint Assembly
- Pub Date:
- April 2003
- Bibcode:
- 2003EAEJA.....9988V