Stratospheric effects of 27-day solar ultraviolet variations: An analysis of UARS MLS ozone and temperature data

Abstract

The characteristics of upper stratospheric ozone and temperature responses at low latitudes to short-term solar ultraviolet variations are studied by using 1000 days of UARS microwave limb sounder (MLS) and solar stellar irradiance comparison experiment data. Consistent with previous analyses of Nimbus 7 solar backscattered ultraviolet (SBUV) data, the high-pass-filtered solar flux in the 200-to 205-nm interval is most strongly correlated with MLS ozone measurements at tropical latitudes near 4 hPa with a sensitivity of about 0.4% for each 1% change in the solar flux. Reproducibility tests, power spectral, and coherency estimates support the reality of the observed ozone response at this level. The MLS solar UV/ozone response is significantly reduced at levels above ∼2 hPa as compared to earlier results based on SBUV data. This reduction appears to be a consequence of the ozone diurnal cycle at high altitudes combined with the necessary inclusion of nighttime records in calculating the MLS ozone zonal averages. Some evidence is obtained for an MLS solar UV/temperature response near the stratopause, but coherency tests are negative. Future analyses of independent data records having similar local time coverage as that of Nimbus 7 SBUV are needed to establish more definitively whether any significant change in the upper stratospheric UV response has occurred.