Chemical Analysis of Polar Stratospheric Cloud Particles

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Schreiner, Jochen, Voigt, Christiane, Kohlmann, Andreas, Arnold, Frank, Mauersberger, Konrad, Larsen, Niels
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1999
• Subjects: Kiruna
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.283.5404.968; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.283.5404.968

A balloon-borne gondola carrying a particle analysis system, a backscatter sonde, and pressure and temperature sensors was launched from Kiruna, Sweden, on 25 January 1998. Measurements within polar stratospheric cloud layers inside the Arctic polar vortex show a close correlation between large backscatter ratios and enhanced particle-related water and nitric acid signals at low temperatures. Periodic structures in the data indicate the presence of lee waves. The H 2 O/HNO 3 molar ratios are consistently found to be above 10 at atmospheric temperatures between 189 and 192 kelvin. Such high ratios indicate ternary solution particles of H 2 O, HNO 3 , and H 2 SO 4 rather than the presence of solid hydrates.