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Recent studies have revealed important advances in understanding how the direct effects of energetic electron precipitation (EEP) on mesospheric ozone influence atmospheric dynamics (Zúñiga López et al., 2022). These findings show that EEP can significantly affect mesospheric temperature, wave breaking and refraction, and consequently atmospheric winds and circulation. However, the magnitude of EEP’s dynamical impact in the mesosphere remains insufficiently quantified.
To isolate the direct mesospheric effects of EEP, we employ the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) in specified-dynamics (SD) mode throughout the stratosphere, following the configuration of Zúñiga López et al. (2022). By comparing simulations using five different >30 keV EEP input datasets to a base run without EEP, we assess the robustness of EEP-induced changes. We evaluate the resulting mesospheric response in NOx, HOx, ozone, temperature, winds, wave activity, and transport, alongside its dependence and influence on the strength of the polar vortex.