Sunspot numbers, cosmic rays, and ozone variability: Correlation and wavelet analysis for mid-latitudes

IF 1.8 4区地球科学 Q3 GEOCHEMISTRY & GEOPHYSICS

Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics Pub Date : 2025-01-25 DOI:10.1016/j.jastp.2025.106445

A. Maghrabi

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study investigates the intricate relationships between Total Ozone Content (TOC) and solar activity indicators, including Sunspot Number (SSN) and Cosmic Ray (CR) flux, across 11 Middle Eastern stations (18.22°N–39.94°N) over the period 1979–2022. Employing correlation and wavelet analyses, the research provides robust evidence of significant associations between TOC and solar phenomena, with positive correlations observed for TOC-SSN (R = 0.37to R = 0.50) and negative correlations for TOC-CR (R = −0.37 to R = −0.44). Seasonal variations were pronounced, with the strongest correlations during summer.

Wavelet analysis identified dominant periodicities, including an annual cycle (1-year) reflecting seasonal ozone variations, sub-annual periodicities (3–6 months) with geographic dependence, and inter-annual periodicities (2–4 years) linked to the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Coherence wavelet spectra demonstrated robust annual coherence across all stations, solar cycle coherence (4–8 years) in northern and central stations, and intermittent short-term periodicities (0.25–0.5 years). Coherence patterns exhibited latitudinal dependence, with stronger solar cycle coherence in northern stations and more variable patterns in southern stations, and were temporally modulated by solar activity phases, being stronger during solar maxima.

These findings underscore the critical influence of solar phenomena on ozone variability, advancing our understanding of atmospheric dynamics and their implications for climate and environmental systems.

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来源期刊

Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics 地学-地球化学与地球物理

CiteScore

4.10

自引率

5.30%

发文量

审稿时长

6 months

期刊介绍： The Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics (JASTP) is an international journal concerned with the inter-disciplinary science of the Earth''s atmospheric and space environment, especially the highly varied and highly variable physical phenomena that occur in this natural laboratory and the processes that couple them. The journal covers the physical processes operating in the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, ionosphere, magnetosphere, the Sun, interplanetary medium, and heliosphere. Phenomena occurring in other "spheres", solar influences on climate, and supporting laboratory measurements are also considered. The journal deals especially with the coupling between the different regions. Solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and other energetic events on the Sun create interesting and important perturbations in the near-Earth space environment. The physics of such "space weather" is central to the Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics and the journal welcomes papers that lead in the direction of a predictive understanding of the coupled system. Regarding the upper atmosphere, the subjects of aeronomy, geomagnetism and geoelectricity, auroral phenomena, radio wave propagation, and plasma instabilities, are examples within the broad field of solar-terrestrial physics which emphasise the energy exchange between the solar wind, the magnetospheric and ionospheric plasmas, and the neutral gas. In the lower atmosphere, topics covered range from mesoscale to global scale dynamics, to atmospheric electricity, lightning and its effects, and to anthropogenic changes.