Simulation of the 21 August 2017 solar eclipse using the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model-eXtended

Eclipse simulations show temperature changes in the path of totality up to -3 K near the surface, -1 K at the stratopause, 4 K in the mesosphere, and -40 K in the thermosphere. In the F region ionosphere, electron density is depleted by about 55%.

Both the temperature and electron density exhibit global effects in the hours following the eclipse. There are also significant effects on stratosphere-mesosphere chemistry, including an increase in ozone by nearly a factor of 2 at 65 km. Dynamical impacts of the eclipse in the lower atmosphere appear to propagate to the upper atmosphere.