CEDAR: Investigating Atmospheric Effects of Energetic Particle Precipitation Using Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM)

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The research project entails a modeling effort with the goal of better understanding the role of energetic particle precipitation at mesospheric altitudes on temperature and chemical composition at stratospheric altitudes. The nitric oxide produced by the precipitation of energetic electrons has a long lifetime to be transported downwards into the stratosphere where it can affect ozone chemistry. This process is especially effective during the polar winter. The different components of this stratosphere-mesosphere coupling path are not understood at present. The research work will be directed toward the evaluation and improvement of modeling of this coupling in the framework of National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM). In particular, improved gravity wave parameterizations will be developed for WACCM to more accurately describe the downward transport of nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide induced by the precipitation. Furthermore, the sensitivity of WACCM simulations to changes in gravity wave parameterization will be quantified as well as nitric oxide transport variability.