Relationship between the aerosol concentration in the stratosphere and ionization according to the data on conductivity and nitrate content of Greenland ice

Abstract

This paper studies the data on the conductivity and concentration of nitrates (ions) in an ice core from central Greenland obtained with high time resolution. The performed analysis indicates that the abrupt increase in the concentration of sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere due to additional ionization resulted from precipitation of solar cosmic ray energetic particles is one of the main factors that cause simultaneous origination of powerful peaks in the nitrate conductivity and concentration. Thus, coincidences of peaks in both studied paleoseries are manifestations of the effect that has been experimentally registered with lidar and satellite equipment for the last 25 years. This demonstrates that the relationship between the aerosol concentration and the ionization rate in the stratosphere is real and makes it possible to expand the interval where this relationship exists to more than 200 years. The possible physical mechanisms of the observed phenomenon are discussed.