Arctic stratospheric dehydration - Part 1: Unprecedented observation of vertical redistribution of water ...

• Main Authors: Khaykin, Sergey M., Engel, Ines, Vömel, Holger, Formanyuk, I.M., Kivi, Rigel, Korshunov, L.I., Krämer, Martina, Lykov, A.D., Meier, Susanne, Naebert, Tatjana, Pitts, Michael C., Santee, Michelle L., Spelten, Nicole, Wienhold, Frank G., Yushkov, Vladimir A., Peter, Thomas
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ETH Zurich 2013
• Subjects: Arctic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000079361; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/79361

We present high-resolution measurements of water vapour, aerosols and clouds in the Arctic stratosphere in January and February 2010 carried out by in situ instrumentation on balloon sondes and high-altitude aircraft combined with satellite observations. The measurements provide unparalleled evidence of dehydration and rehydration due to gravitational settling of ice particles. An extreme cooling of the Arctic stratospheric vortex during the second half of January 2010 resulted in a rare synoptic-scale outbreak of ice polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) remotely detected by the lidar aboard the CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) satellite. The widespread occurrence of ice clouds was followed by sedimentation and consequent sublimation of ice particles, leading to vertical redistribution of water inside the vortex. A sequence of balloon and aircraft soundings with chilled mirror and Lyman- α hygrometers (Cryogenic Frostpoint Hygrometer, CFH; Fast In Situ Stratospheric ... : Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 13 (22) ...