Balloon borne observations of backscatter, frost point and ozone in polar stratospheric clouds at the South Pole

Journal Article · Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1991 · Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/90GL02678· OSTI ID:5458515

Rosen, J M; Kjome, N T ^[1]; Oltmans, S J ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie (USA)
2. NOAA CMDL, Boulder, CO (USA)

Concurrent backscatter and ozone measurements were made with near-simultaneous frost point soundings over the South Pole when the center of the 1990 winter vortex was at or very near that location. The initial water vapor concentration in the stratosphere was {approximately}5ppmv and decreased to {approximately}1.5-2.0 ppmv as cooling took place. By mid-July the stratospheric temperature had decreased to the frost point and heavy polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) activity was observed presumably due to the condensation of water vapor. The lowest water vapor concentrations observed correspond to saturated air at the lowest temperatures encountered. The slow recovery of the water vapor concentration during spring warming indicates that the 12 to 22 km altitude region in the vortex is not readily penetrated by outside air. The observed large decrease in PSC backscatter above {approximately}14 km before the stratosphere began to warm is consistent with loss of particles by sedimentation leading to significant dehydration and denitrification. The region of PSC activity in July is noted to be in the same region in which ozone depletion and the persistent dehydration is observed later in the year. At the end of August heavy PSC activity was observed in the lower stratosphere and upper troposphere, consistent with earlier observations from NASA aircraft. These lower clouds were in a region that apparently was still experiencing cooling. No compelling evidence was found surrounding earlier claims that PSC layers are anti-correlated with ozone inside the vortex.

• OSTI ID: 5458515
• Journal Information: Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States), Vol. 18:2; ISSN 0094-8276
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
OZONE LAYER
DECOMPOSITION
POLAR REGIONS
STRATOSPHERE
CLOUDS
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
BACKSCATTERING
BALLOONS
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
COOLING
DEHYDRATION
DENITRIFICATION
DEW POINT
NITRIC ACID
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
WATER VAPOR
AIRSHIPS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH PLANET
FLUIDS
GASES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
LAYERS
PLANETS
SCATTERING
VAPORS
540120* - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)