title: Impact of cosmic rays on stratospheric chlorine chemistry and ozone depletion.
abstract: Dissociation induced by cosmic rays of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) and HCl on the surfaces of polar stratospheric clouds (PSC) has been suggested as playing a significant role in causing the ozone hole. However, observed stratospheric CFC distributions are inconsistent with a destruction of CFC on PSC surfaces and no significant correlation exists between ozone levels and cosmic-ray activity inside the polar regions. Model simulations indicate that this mechanism can have only a limited impact on chemical ozone loss and thus on the recovery of stratospheric ozone.
authors.affiliation: ICG-I, Research Centre Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Müller