Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics www.atmos-chem-phys.net 1680-7316 1680-7324 6 7 2006 10.5194/acp-6-1835-2006 http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/6/1835/2006/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/6/1835/2006/acp-6-1835-2006.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/6/1835/2006/acp-6-1835-2006.pdf 1835 1841 2006-05-29 Large decadal scale changes of polar ozone suggest solar influence B.-M. Sinnhuber P. von der Gathen M. Sinnhuber M. Rex G. König-Langlo S. J. Oltmans Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Research Unit Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany NOAA Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, USA Long-term measurements of polar ozone show an unexpectedly large decadal scale variability in the mid-stratosphere during winter. Negative ozone anomalies are strongly correlated with the flux of energetic electrons in the radiation belt, which is modulated by the 11-year solar cycle. The magnitude of the observed decadal ozone changes (≈20%) is much larger than any previously reported solar cycle effect in the atmosphere up to this altitude. The early-winter ozone anomalies subsequently propagate downward into the lower stratosphere and may even influence total ozone and meteorological conditions during spring. These findings suggest a previously unrecognized mechanism by which solar variability impacts on climate through changes in polar ozone.