The influence of mountain ranges on the distribution of Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs)

• Other Authors: Samuel, Ajayi (author), Massie, Steven (contributor), Emmons, Louisa (contributor), Peterson, Peter (contributor)
• Format: Manuscript
• Language: English
• Published: 1999
• Subjects: Arctic
• Online Access: http://nldr.library.ucar.edu/repository/collections/SOARS-000-000-000-398; https://doi.org/10.5065/vg8a-7q80

This study is an attempt to establish a relationship between the distribution of polar stratospheric clouds(PSCs) and mountain ranges. Developing such a relationship could offer a possible explancction for the underprediction of reactive chlorine concentrations and ozone depletion rates calculated by three dimensional models of the Arctic stratosphere. Sightings of PSCs by the Stratospheric Aerosol Measurement instrument on the Nimbus 7 satellite and Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite are used in this study. Aerosol extinction values were plotted for the polar regions and compared to maps of the standard deviation in elevation, to establish a relationship between the two data sets. Results show that, while PSCs do appear over polar mountainous regions, that their formation was predominate over the sea. It was concluded that a relationship between PSC distributions and mountain ranges can not be established using the available satellite platforms.