Energetic particle induced inter-annual variability of ozone inside the Antarctic polar vortex observed in satellite data

Measurements from 2002-2011 by three independent satellite instruments, namely MIPAS, SABER, and SMR on board the ENVISAT, TIMED, and Odin satellites are used to investigate the inter-annual variability of stratospheric and mesospheric O3 volume mixing ratio (vmr) inside the Antarctic polar vortex due to solar and geomagnetic activity. In this study, we individually analysed the relative O3 vmr variations between maximum and minimum conditions of a number of solar and geomagnetic indices (F10.7 cm solar radio flux, Ap index, >= 2 MeV electron flux). The indices are 26 day averages centred at 1 April, 1 May, and 1 June while O3 is based on 26 day running means from 1 April-1 November at altitudes from 20-70 km. During solar quiet time from 2005-2010, the composite of all three instruments reveals an apparent negative O3 feedback associated to the geomagnetic activity (Ap index) around 1 April, on average reaching amplitudes between -5 and -10% of the respective O3 background. The O3 response exceeds the significance level of 95% and propagates downwards throughout the polar winter from the stratopause down to ~ 25 km. These observed results are in good qualitative agreement with the O3 vmr pattern simulated with a three-dimensional chemistry-transport model, which includes particle impact ionisation.