Erlangen 2026 – scientific programme
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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik
EP 4: Near-Earth Space
EP 4.3: Talk
Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 11:45–12:00, KH 01.019
EPP-NOy Upper-Boundary Condition, validation and long-term trends — •Stefan Bender1, Bernd Funke1, Manuel López Puertas1, Gabriele Stiller2, Peter Bernath3, and Christopher Boone3 — 1IAA-CSIC, Granada, Spain — 2KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany — 3University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
Polar winter descent of NOy produced by energetic particle precipitation (EPP) in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere affects polar stratospheric ozone by catalytic reactions. This, in turn, may affect regional climate via radiative and dynamical feedbacks. NOy observations by MIPAS/Envisat during 2002–2012 have provided observational constraints on the solar-activity modulated variability of stratospheric EPP-NOy. These constraints have been used to formulate a chemical upper boundary condition (UBC) for climate models in the context of solar forcing recommendations. We have updated the UBC with the recently released, reprocessed MIPAS version 8 data. We compare this updated NOy UBC model to data from the ACE-FTS solar occultation instrument which has been providing measurements since 2004 and is still actively providing data today. This 20+-year, long-term dataset will enable us to assess the validity of the assumptions underlying the UBC model, such as its climatological approach. Any deviation will enable us to assess the projected, climate-change induced changes in middle atmospheric transport, e.g. via the Brewer-Dobson circulation.
Keywords: space weather; particle precipitation; reactive nitrogen; middle atmosphere