ACP Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ACP 1680-7324 Copernicus GmbH Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/acp-6-1835-2006 Large decadal scale changes of polar ozone suggest solar influence Sinnhuber B.-M. 1 von der Gathen P. 2 Sinnhuber M. 1 Rex M. 2 König-Langlo G. 3 Oltmans S. J. 4 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 29 05 2006 6 7 1835 1841 This is an open-access article ditributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. This article is available from http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/6/1835/2006/acp-6-1835-2006.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/6/1835/2006/acp-6-1835-2006.pdf

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.