Descending motion of Antarctic stratospheric aerosol layer in winter: Possible effect on stratospheric water vapor budget

• Main Author: Yasunobu Iwasaka
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Water Research Institute, Nagoya University 1986
• Subjects: Antarctic; The Antarctic; Syowa Station; Antarc*; Memoirs of National Institute of Polar Research; Polar Research
• Online Access: https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=2071; http://id.nii.ac.jp/1291/00002071/; https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=2071&item_no=1&attribute_id=18&file_no=1

Lidar measurements at Syowa Station (69°00′S, 39°35′E) revealed that the centroid of aerosol layer descended at the rate of 0.8mm/s during winter. If this motion is a substantial movement of aerosol particles, the mass of water transported into the troposphere is about 5×(10)^7t/winter, and the Antarctic winter stratosphere is an important sink of stratospheric water vapor. If it is a downword air motion carrying small ice crystals, the value is reduced to 5×(10)^4t/winter.