Modes of temperature and pressure variability in midlatitude troposphere and lower stratosphere in relation to cosmic ray variations

Abstract

The study is based on the analysis of atmospheric and space weather parameters in the midlatitude region (Iberian Peninsula) during, approximately, the epoch of the 24th solar cycle maximum. The principal component analysis was applied to sets of air temperature and geopotential height measurement at different pressure levels from a near-ground level (930 hPa) to the stratosphere (up to 10 hPa). The analysis of extracted modes shows couplings between atmospheric and medium-term variations (from weeks to months) of space weather parameters. The first mode of the atmospheric variability is related to the atmospheric dynamic processes that are common for the extratropical Northern Hemisphere. Extracted temperature and pressure variations are located in the upper troposphere-lower stratosphere region and positively correlate with ozone content variations. Among space weather parameters, this atmospheric mode shows statistically significant negative correlation with the ground-measured cosmic ray flux measured by the Castilla-La Mancha neutron monitor (Spain) and weaker or no correlation with geomagnetic parameters.