Observation of an unusual mid-stratospheric aerosol layer in the Arctic: Possible sources and implications for polar vortex dynamics

By the beginning of winter 2000/2001, a mysterious stratospheric aerosol layer had been detected by four different Arctic lidar stations. The aerosol layer was observed first on 16 November 2000, at an altitude of about 38 km near Søndre Strømfjord, Greenland (67° N, 51° W) and on 19 November 2000,...

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Main Authors: Gerding, M., Baumgarten, G., Blum, U., Thayer, J.P., Fricke, K.-H., Neuber, R., Fiedler, J.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: München : European Geopyhsical Union 2003
Subjects:
530
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.34657/1618
https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/4072
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spelling ftleibnizopen:oai:oai.leibnizopen.de:d-QqsIYBdbrxVwz6Pmy8 2023-05-15T13:25:27+02:00 Observation of an unusual mid-stratospheric aerosol layer in the Arctic: Possible sources and implications for polar vortex dynamics Gerding, M. Baumgarten, G. Blum, U. Thayer, J.P. Fricke, K.-H. Neuber, R. Fiedler, J. 2003 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.34657/1618 https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/4072 eng eng München : European Geopyhsical Union CC BY 3.0 Unported https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ CC-BY Annales Geophysicae, Volume 21, Issue 4, Page 1057-1069 Atmospheric composition and structure (aerosols and particles middle atmosphere composition and chemistry) – meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics) 530 article Text 2003 ftleibnizopen https://doi.org/10.34657/1618 2023-03-06T00:20:52Z By the beginning of winter 2000/2001, a mysterious stratospheric aerosol layer had been detected by four different Arctic lidar stations. The aerosol layer was observed first on 16 November 2000, at an altitude of about 38 km near Søndre Strømfjord, Greenland (67° N, 51° W) and on 19 November 2000, near Andenes, Norway (69° N, 16° E). Subsequently, in early December 2000, the aerosol layer was observed near Kiruna, Sweden (68° N, 21° E) and Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen (79° N, 12° E). No mid-latitude lidar station observed the presence of aerosols in this altitude region. The layer persisted throughout the winter 2000/2001, at least up to 12 February 2001. In November 2000, the backscatter ratio at a wavelength of 532 nm was up to 1.1, with a FWHM of about 2.5 km. By early February 2001, the layer had sedimented from an altitude of 38 km to about 26 km. Measurements at several wavelengths by the ALOMAR and Koldewey lidars indicate the particle size was between 30 and 50 nm. Depolarisation measurements reveal that the particles in the layer are aspherical, hence solid. In the mid-stratosphere, the ambient atmospheric temperature was too high to support in situ formation or existence of cloud particles consisting of ice or an acid-water solution. Furthermore, in the year 2000 there was no volcanic eruption, which could have injected aerosols into the upper stratosphere. Therefore, other origins of the aerosol, such as meteoroid debris, condensed rocket fuel, or aerosols produced under the influence of charged solar particles, will be discussed in the paper. Trajectory calculations illustrate the path of the aerosol cloud within the polar vortex and are used to link the observations at the different lidar sites. From the descent rate of the layer and particle sedimentation rates, the mean down-ward motion of air within the polar vortex was estimated to be about 124 m/d between 35 and 30 km, with higher values at the edge of the vortex. publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Andenes Arctic Greenland Kiruna Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Søndre strømfjord Spitsbergen LeibnizOpen (The Leibniz Association) Arctic Ny-Ålesund Kiruna Greenland Norway Alomar ENVELOPE(-67.083,-67.083,-68.133,-68.133)
institution Open Polar
collection LeibnizOpen (The Leibniz Association)
op_collection_id ftleibnizopen
language English
topic Atmospheric composition and structure (aerosols and particles
middle atmosphere composition and chemistry) – meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics)
530
spellingShingle Atmospheric composition and structure (aerosols and particles
middle atmosphere composition and chemistry) – meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics)
530
Gerding, M.
Baumgarten, G.
Blum, U.
Thayer, J.P.
Fricke, K.-H.
Neuber, R.
Fiedler, J.
Observation of an unusual mid-stratospheric aerosol layer in the Arctic: Possible sources and implications for polar vortex dynamics
topic_facet Atmospheric composition and structure (aerosols and particles
middle atmosphere composition and chemistry) – meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics)
530
description By the beginning of winter 2000/2001, a mysterious stratospheric aerosol layer had been detected by four different Arctic lidar stations. The aerosol layer was observed first on 16 November 2000, at an altitude of about 38 km near Søndre Strømfjord, Greenland (67° N, 51° W) and on 19 November 2000, near Andenes, Norway (69° N, 16° E). Subsequently, in early December 2000, the aerosol layer was observed near Kiruna, Sweden (68° N, 21° E) and Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen (79° N, 12° E). No mid-latitude lidar station observed the presence of aerosols in this altitude region. The layer persisted throughout the winter 2000/2001, at least up to 12 February 2001. In November 2000, the backscatter ratio at a wavelength of 532 nm was up to 1.1, with a FWHM of about 2.5 km. By early February 2001, the layer had sedimented from an altitude of 38 km to about 26 km. Measurements at several wavelengths by the ALOMAR and Koldewey lidars indicate the particle size was between 30 and 50 nm. Depolarisation measurements reveal that the particles in the layer are aspherical, hence solid. In the mid-stratosphere, the ambient atmospheric temperature was too high to support in situ formation or existence of cloud particles consisting of ice or an acid-water solution. Furthermore, in the year 2000 there was no volcanic eruption, which could have injected aerosols into the upper stratosphere. Therefore, other origins of the aerosol, such as meteoroid debris, condensed rocket fuel, or aerosols produced under the influence of charged solar particles, will be discussed in the paper. Trajectory calculations illustrate the path of the aerosol cloud within the polar vortex and are used to link the observations at the different lidar sites. From the descent rate of the layer and particle sedimentation rates, the mean down-ward motion of air within the polar vortex was estimated to be about 124 m/d between 35 and 30 km, with higher values at the edge of the vortex. publishedVersion
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Gerding, M.
Baumgarten, G.
Blum, U.
Thayer, J.P.
Fricke, K.-H.
Neuber, R.
Fiedler, J.
author_facet Gerding, M.
Baumgarten, G.
Blum, U.
Thayer, J.P.
Fricke, K.-H.
Neuber, R.
Fiedler, J.
author_sort Gerding, M.
title Observation of an unusual mid-stratospheric aerosol layer in the Arctic: Possible sources and implications for polar vortex dynamics
title_short Observation of an unusual mid-stratospheric aerosol layer in the Arctic: Possible sources and implications for polar vortex dynamics
title_full Observation of an unusual mid-stratospheric aerosol layer in the Arctic: Possible sources and implications for polar vortex dynamics
title_fullStr Observation of an unusual mid-stratospheric aerosol layer in the Arctic: Possible sources and implications for polar vortex dynamics
title_full_unstemmed Observation of an unusual mid-stratospheric aerosol layer in the Arctic: Possible sources and implications for polar vortex dynamics
title_sort observation of an unusual mid-stratospheric aerosol layer in the arctic: possible sources and implications for polar vortex dynamics
publisher München : European Geopyhsical Union
publishDate 2003
url https://doi.org/10.34657/1618
https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/4072
long_lat ENVELOPE(-67.083,-67.083,-68.133,-68.133)
geographic Arctic
Ny-Ålesund
Kiruna
Greenland
Norway
Alomar
geographic_facet Arctic
Ny-Ålesund
Kiruna
Greenland
Norway
Alomar
genre Andenes
Arctic
Greenland
Kiruna
Ny Ålesund
Ny-Ålesund
Søndre strømfjord
Spitsbergen
genre_facet Andenes
Arctic
Greenland
Kiruna
Ny Ålesund
Ny-Ålesund
Søndre strømfjord
Spitsbergen
op_source Annales Geophysicae, Volume 21, Issue 4, Page 1057-1069
op_rights CC BY 3.0 Unported
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
op_rightsnorm CC-BY
op_doi https://doi.org/10.34657/1618
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