scholarly journals Polar Stratospheric Clouds Satellite Observations, Processes, and Role in Ozone Depletion

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Tritscher ◽  
M. C. Pitts ◽  
L. R. Poole ◽  
S. P. Alexander ◽  
F. Cairo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Polar Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Stratospheric Clouds

scholarly journals New Insights into Polar Stratospheric Clouds

Eos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lamont R.
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Polar Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Stratospheric Clouds

New satellite observations of polar stratospheric clouds have advanced our understanding of how, when, and where they form, their composition, and their role in ozone depletion.

Record springtime stratospheric ozone depletion at 80°N in 2020

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramina Alwarda ◽  
Kristof Bognar ◽  
Kimberly Strong ◽  
Martyn Chipperfield ◽  
Sandip Dhomse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Optical Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Polar Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Ozone Loss ◽  
Stratospheric Clouds

<p>The Arctic winter of 2019-2020 was characterized by an unusually persistent polar vortex and temperatures in the lower stratosphere that were consistently below the threshold for the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). These conditions led to ozone loss that is comparable to the Antarctic ozone hole. Ground-based measurements from a suite of instruments at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) in Eureka, Canada (80.05°N, 86.42°W) were used to investigate chemical ozone depletion. The vortex was located above Eureka longer than in any previous year in the 20-year dataset and lidar measurements provided evidence of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) above Eureka. Additionally, UV-visible zenith-sky Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) measurements showed record ozone loss in the 20-year dataset, evidence of denitrification along with the slowest increase of NO<sub>2</sub> during spring, as well as enhanced reactive halogen species (OClO and BrO). Complementary measurements of HCl and ClONO<sub>2</sub> (chlorine reservoir species) from a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer showed unusually low columns that were comparable to 2011, the previous year with significant chemical ozone depletion. Record low values of HNO<sub>3</sub> in the FTIR dataset are in accordance with the evidence of PSCs and a denitrified atmosphere. Estimates of chemical ozone loss were derived using passive ozone from the SLIMCAT offline chemical transport model to account for dynamical contributions to the stratospheric ozone budget.</p>

scholarly journals Denitrification, dehydration and ozone loss during the Arctic winter 2015/2016

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farahnaz Khosrawi ◽  
Oliver Kirner ◽  
Björn-Martin Sinnhuber ◽  
Sören Johansson ◽  
Michael Höpfner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Chemistry ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Cold Pool ◽  
Polar Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Airborne Measurements ◽  
Ozone Loss ◽  
Polar Stratosphere ◽  
Stratospheric Clouds

Abstract. The Arctic winter 2015/2016 was one of the coldest stratospheric winters in recent years. A stable vortex formed by early December and the early winter was exceptionally cold. Cold pool temperatures dropped below the Nitric Acid Trihydrate (NAT) existence temperature of about 195 K, thus allowing Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs) to form. The low temperatures in the polar stratosphere persisted until early March allowing chlorine activation and catalytic ozone destruction. Satellite observations indicate that sedimentation of PSC particles led to denitrification as well as dehydration of stratospheric layers. Model simulations of the Arctic winter 2015/2016 nudged toward European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) analyses data were performed with the atmospheric chemistry–climate model ECHAM5/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) for the Polar Stratosphere in a Changing Climate (POLSTRACC) campaign. POLSTRACC is a High Altitude and LOng Range Research Aircraft (HALO) mission aimed at the investigation of the structure, composition and evolution of the Arctic Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere (UTLS). The chemical and physical processes involved in Arctic stratospheric ozone depletion, transport and mixing processes in the UTLS at high latitudes, polar stratospheric clouds as well as cirrus clouds are investigated. In this study an overview of the chemistry and dynamics of the Arctic winter 2015/2016 as simulated with EMAC is given. Further, chemical-dynamical processes such as denitrification, dehydration and ozone loss during the Arctic winter 2015/2016 are investigated. Comparisons to satellite observations by the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (Aura/MLS) as well as to airborne measurements with the Gimballed Limb Observer for Radiance Imaging of the Atmosphere (GLORIA) performed on board of HALO during the POLSTRACC campaign show that the EMAC simulations are in fairly good agreement with observations. We derive a maximum polar stratospheric O3 loss of ~ 2 ppmv or 100 DU in terms of column in mid March. The stratosphere was denitrified by about 8 ppbv HNO3 and dehydrated by about 1 ppmv H2O in mid to end of February. While ozone loss was quite strong, but not as strong as in 2010/2011, denitrification and dehydration were so far the strongest observed in the Arctic stratosphere in the at least past 10 years.

The wrong kind of snow: Polar stratospheric clouds and ozone depletion

1997 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 337
Author(s):  
A.R. MacKenzie ◽  
N. Nikiforakis ◽  
J. Sessler
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Polar Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Stratospheric Clouds

scholarly journals Nucleation of nitric acid hydrates in Polar Stratospheric Clouds by meteoric material

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander D. James ◽  
James S. A. Brooke ◽  
Thomas P. Mangan ◽  
Thomas F. Whale ◽  
John M. C. Plane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Acid ◽  
Heterogeneous Nucleation ◽  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Mode Of Action ◽  
Polar Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Water Ice ◽  
Meteoric Smoke ◽  
Polar Stratosphere ◽  
Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Meteoric Material

Abstract. Heterogeneous nucleation of crystalline nitric acid hydrates in Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs) enhances ozone depletion. However, the identity and mode of action of the particles responsible for nucleation remains unknown. It has been suggested that meteoric material may trigger nucleation of nitric acid trihydrate (NAT), but this has never been directly demonstrated in the laboratory. Meteoric material is present in two forms in the stratosphere, smoke which results from the ablation and re-condensation of vapours, and fragments which result from the disruption of meteoroids entering the atmosphere. Here we show that analogues of both materials have a capacity to nucleate nitric acid hydrates. In combination with estimates from a global model of the amount of meteoric smoke and fragments in the polar stratosphere we show that meteoric material probably accounts for NAT observations in early season polar stratospheric clouds in the absence of water ice.

scholarly journals Stratospheric Aerosols, Polar Stratospheric Clouds, and Polar Ozone Depletion After the Mount Calbuco Eruption in 2015

2018 ◽  
Vol 123 (21) ◽  
pp. 12,308-12,331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunqian Zhu ◽  
Owen Brian Toon ◽  
Douglas Kinnison ◽  
V. Lynn Harvey ◽  
Michael J. Mills ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Polar Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Polar Ozone ◽  
Stratospheric Aerosols

scholarly journals Nucleation of nitric acid hydrates in polar stratospheric clouds by meteoric material

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 4519-4531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander D. James ◽  
James S. A. Brooke ◽  
Thomas P. Mangan ◽  
Thomas F. Whale ◽  
John M. C. Plane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Acid ◽  
Heterogeneous Nucleation ◽  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Mode Of Action ◽  
Polar Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Water Ice ◽  
Meteoric Smoke ◽  
Polar Stratosphere ◽  
Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Meteoric Material

Abstract. Heterogeneous nucleation of crystalline nitric acid hydrates in polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) enhances ozone depletion. However, the identity and mode of action of the particles responsible for nucleation remains unknown. It has been suggested that meteoric material may trigger nucleation of nitric acid trihydrate (NAT, or other nitric acid phases), but this has never been quantitatively demonstrated in the laboratory. Meteoric material is present in two forms in the stratosphere: smoke that results from the ablation and re-condensation of vapours, and fragments that result from the break-up of meteoroids entering the atmosphere. Here we show that analogues of both materials have a capacity to nucleate nitric acid hydrates. In combination with estimates from a global model of the amount of meteoric smoke and fragments in the polar stratosphere we show that meteoric material probably accounts for NAT observations in early season polar stratospheric clouds in the absence of water ice.

scholarly journals Polar Stratospheric Clouds: Satellite Observations, Processes, and Role in Ozone Depletion

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Tritscher ◽  
Michael C. Pitts ◽  
Lamont R. Poole ◽  
Thomas Peter ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Michelson Interferometer ◽  
Orthogonal Polarization ◽  
Polar Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Distributions ◽  
Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Polar Ozone ◽  
Made In

<p>The important role of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) in stratospheric ozone depletion during winter and spring at high latitudes has been known since the 1980s. However, contemporary observations by the spaceborne instruments MIPAS (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding), MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder), and CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) have brought about a comprehensive and clearer understanding of PSC spatial and temporal distributions, their conditions of existence, and the processes through which they impact polar ozone. Within the SPARC (Stratosphere-troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate) PSC initiative (PSCi), those datasets have been synthesized and discussed in depth with the result of a new vortex-wide climatology of PSC occurrence and composition. We will present our results within this vPICO together with a review of the significant progress that has been made in our understanding of PSC nucleation, related dynamical processes, and heterogeneous chlorine activation. Moreover, we have compiled different techniques for parameterizing PSCs and we will show their effects in global models.</p>

Polar stratospheric clouds and ozone depletion: Relevance of extendedin situ observations

1990 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-616
Author(s):  
G. P. Gobbi ◽  
A. Adriani ◽  
M. Viterbini
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Polar Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Stratospheric Clouds
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document