Occurrence of polar stratospheric clouds at Kiruna

• Published in: Annales Geophysicae
• Main Authors: C.-F. Enell, Å. Steen, T. Wagner, U. Frieß, K. Pfeilsticker, U. Platt, K.-H. Fricke
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 1999
• Subjects: Science; Q; Physics; QC1-999; Geophysics. Cosmic physics; QC801-809; Kiruna; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00585-999-1457-7; https://doaj.org/article/79ccd9d468a5476084c3ad30aad5d5d7

Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are often observed in the Kiruna region in northern Sweden, east of the Scandinavian mountain range, during wintertime. PSC occurrence can be detected by ground-based optical instruments. Most of these require clear tropospheric weather. By applying the zenith-sky colour index technique, which works under most weather conditions, the data availability can be extended. The observations suggest that PSC events, especially of type II (water PSCs) may indeed more common than predicted by synoptic models, which is expected because of the frequent presence of mountain-induced leewaves. However, it will be of importance to increase the density of independent observations. Key words. Atmospheric composition and structure (aerosols and particles · cloud physics and chemistry) · Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (mesoscale meteorology)