Lidar observations of polar mesospheric clouds at South Pole: Seasonal variations
Polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs) were observed above the geographic South Pole by an Fe Boltzmann temperature lidar from 11 Dec 99 to 24 Feb 00. During this 76-day period 297 h of observations were made on 33 different days and PMCs were detected 66.5% of the time. The mean PMC peak backscatter ratio...
| Published in: | Geophysical Research Letters |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | unknown |
| Published: |
American Geophysical Union
2001
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2142/73142 https://doi.org/10.1029/2000GL012524 |
| Summary: | Polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs) were observed above the geographic South Pole by an Fe Boltzmann temperature lidar from 11 Dec 99 to 24 Feb 00. During this 76-day period 297 h of observations were made on 33 different days and PMCs were detected 66.5% of the time. The mean PMC peak backscatter ratio, peak volume backscatter coefficient, total backscatter coefficient, layer centroid altitude, and layer rms width are 50.59 q- 2.33, 2.70 q- 0.12x10 -9 m-•sr -•, 3.61 q- 0.22x10 -6 sr -•, 85.49 q- 0.09 km, and 0.71 q- 0.03 km, respectively. The PMCs are highest near summer solstice when upwelling over the pole is strongest. The altitudes are 2-4 km higher than that typically observed elsewhere, including the North Pole. After solstice the mean altitudes decreases by about 64 m/day as the upwelling weakens. |
|---|