A climatological study of polar stratospheric clouds (1989–1997) from LIDAR measurements over Dumont d’Urville (Antarctica)

Backscatter lidar data from the French Antarctic base in Dumont d’Urville (66.40°S, 140.01°E), including aerosol background and observations of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs), have been collected since 1989. In the present work we present a climatological study of PSCs, using a data base consisting of almost 90 observations. The seasonal evolution of PSCs, their optical classification, and their relationship with the observation temperature were studied. The first PSC was observed on day number 175 (15 June) and the last on day number 260 (7 September). The characteristic mid-cloud altitude decreases through the season at a rate of 2.5 km/month. Type Ia, Ib, and II PSCs — identified by their optical properties — have been observed. External mixtures of these types have also been observed. These observations have been related to the local temperature measured by radiosondes. The relationship between PSC type and the period of the winter season was also investigated. Mixed (solid and liquid) type I clouds are mostly observed at the beginning of the winter. Type II clouds are observed only during the coldest period around midwinter, although temperatures below the frost point begin earlier and persist longer than this. Type Ia, solid-particle, clouds are observed mostly at the end of the winter.

[1]  David R. Hanson,et al.  Laboratory studies of the nitric acid trihydrate: Implications for the south polar stratosphere , 1988 .

[2]  Martin Wirth,et al.  Aircraft lidar observations of an enhanced type Ia polar stratospheric clouds during APE‐POLECAT , 1999 .

[3]  K. Mauersberger,et al.  Laboratory simulations of PSC particle formation , 1993 .

[4]  Timo Vesala,et al.  On the theories of type 1 polar stratospheric cloud formation , 1995 .

[5]  E. Browell,et al.  An analysis of lidar observations of polar stratospheric clouds , 1990 .

[6]  J. Bacmeister,et al.  Observational constraints on the formation of type ia polar stratospheric clouds , 1996 .

[7]  D. Hofmann,et al.  Stratospheric cloud observations during formation of the Antarctic ozone hole in 1989 , 1991 .

[8]  K. Snetsinger,et al.  Antarctic stratospheric ice crystals , 1989 .

[9]  J. Deluisi,et al.  Stratospheric clouds at south pole during 1988 1. Results of lidar observations and their relationship to temperature , 1992 .

[10]  S. Solomon,et al.  On the depletion of Antarctic ozone , 1986, Nature.

[11]  S. Balestri,et al.  APE-POLECAT - rationale, road map and summary of measurements , 1999 .

[12]  G. Gobbi,et al.  Mechanisms of formation of stratospheric clouds observed during the Antarctic late winter of 1992 , 1993 .

[13]  G. Fiocco,et al.  Stratospheric clouds at South Pole during 1988 2. Their evolution in relation to atmospheric structure and composition , 1992 .

[14]  M. P. McCormick,et al.  Polar Stratospheric Cloud Sightings by SAM II , 1982 .

[15]  R. Turco,et al.  Heterogeneous physicochemistry of the polar ozone hole , 1989 .

[16]  B. Johnson,et al.  Polar stratospheric clouds over McMurdo, Antarctica, during the 1991 spring: Lidar and particle counter measurements , 1992 .

[17]  Paul J. Crutzen,et al.  Stratospheric aerosol growth and HNO3 gas phase depletion from coupled HNO3 and water uptake by liquid particles , 1994 .

[18]  P. Newman,et al.  Computations of diabatic descent in the stratospheric polar vortex , 1994 .

[19]  P. Crutzen,et al.  The lifetime of leewave-induced ice particles in the Arctic stratosphere: II. Stabilization due to NAT-coating , 1994 .

[20]  A. Tuck,et al.  The Brewer‐Dobson Circulation In the Light of High Altitude In Situ Aircraft Observations , 1997 .

[21]  T. Peter,et al.  Thermodynamic stability and phase transitions of PSC particles , 1997 .

[22]  J. Wolf,et al.  Stratospheric aerosol size distributions from multispectral lidar measurements at Sodankylä during EASOE , 1994 .

[23]  E. Underhill.  Nitric acid. , 2019, The Homoeopathic recorder.

[24]  John C. Gille,et al.  The Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere: Experiment Description, Performance, and Results , 1984 .

[25]  Gérard Mégie,et al.  Polar stratospheric cloud observations over the Antarctic continent at Dumont d'Urville , 1991 .

[26]  J. Klett.  Stable analytical inversion solution for processing lidar returns. , 1981, Applied optics.

[27]  E. Kyrö,et al.  Balloonborne backscatter observations of type 1 PSC formation : Inference about physical state from trajectory analysis , 1996 .

[28]  Bill Walker Production.  Clouds and precipitation , 1984 .

[29]  S. Wofsy,et al.  Condensation of HNO3 on falling ice particles: Mechanism for denitrification of the polar stratosphere , 1990 .

[30]  P. Crutzen,et al.  Size-dependent stratospheric droplet composition in Lee wave temperature fluctuations and their potential role in PSC freezing , 1995 .

[31]  S. Massie,et al.  Observations of Antarctic polar stratospheric clouds by POAM II: 1994–1996 , 1997 .

[32]  S. Oltmans,et al.  Simultaneous ozone and polar stratospheric cloud observations at South Pole station during winter and spring 1991 , 1993 .

[33]  M. Zahniser,et al.  Vapor Pressures of Solid Hydrates of Nitric Acid: Implications for Polar Stratospheric Clouds , 1993, Science.

[34]  S. Oltmans,et al.  Balloon borne observations of PSCs, Frost Point, ozone and nitric acid in the north polar vortex , 1989 .

[35]  F. G. Fernald.  Analysis of atmospheric lidar observations: some comments. , 1984, Applied optics.

[36]  D. Guzzi,et al.  Two‐year (1996/1997) ozone DIAL measurement over Dumont d'Urville (Antarctica) , 1999 .

[37]  M. Kulmala,et al.  The Turnbull correlation and the freezing of stratospheric aerosol droplets , 1998 .

[38]  G. S. Kent,et al.  Dual‐polarization airborne lidar observations of polar stratospheric cloud evolution , 1990 .

[39]  G. Gobbi,et al.  Polar stratospheric clouds and volcanic aerosol during spring 1992 over McMurdo Station, Antarctica: Lidar and particle counter comparisons , 1995 .

[40]  P. Hamill.  Polar Stratospheric Clouds , 1999, Science.

[41]  S. Pullen,et al.  Accuracy of temperatures from UKMO analyses of 1994/95 in the Arctic winter stratosphere , 1997 .

[42]  M. Chipperfield,et al.  Polar stratospheric clouds climatology over Dumont d'Urville between 1989 and 1993 and the influence of volcanic aerosols on their formation , 1998 .

[43]  Jacques Porteneuve,et al.  The antarctic ozone LIDAR system , 1992 .

[44]  J. Sartor.  Clouds and precipitation , 1972 .

[45]  J. Pelon,et al.  Comparative lidar study of the optical, geometrical, and dynamical properties of stratospheric post‐volcanic aerosols, following the eruptions of El Chichon and Mount Pinatubo , 1995 .

[46]  L. Stefanutti,et al.  Unusual PSCs observed by LIDAR in Antarctica , 1995 .

[47]  D. Hartmann,et al.  The dynamics of the stratospheric polar vortex and its relation to springtime ozone depletions. , 1991, Science.

[48]  Gian Paolo Gobbi,et al.  Physical properties of stratospheric clouds during the Antarctic winter of 1995 , 1998 .

[49]  A. Adriani,et al.  Comparison of various linear depolarization parameters measured by lidar. , 1999, Applied optics.

[50]  M. Pitts,et al.  Polar stratospheric cloud climatology based on Stratospheric Aerosol Measurement II observations from 1978 to 1989 , 1994 .

[51]  R. Turco,et al.  A study of type I polar stratospheric cloud formation , 1994 .

[52]  G. S. Kent,et al.  Optical backscatter characteristics of Arctic polar stratospheric clouds , 1990 .

[53]  A. Middlebrook,et al.  Characterization of model polar stratospheric cloud films using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and temperature programmed desorption , 1992 .

[54]  M. McCormick,et al.  Persistence of polar stratospheric clouds in the southern polar region , 1989 .

[55]  P. Crutzen,et al.  Do stratospheric aerosol droplets freeze above the ice frost point , 1995 .

[56]  J. Farman,et al.  Large losses of total ozone in Antarctica reveal seasonal ClOx/NOx interaction , 1985, Nature.

[57]  M. A. Shirazi,et al.  Particle‐Size Distributions , 2001 .

[58]  A. Middlebrook,et al.  Growth of nitric acid hydrates on thin sulfuric acid films , 1994 .

[59]  J. Klett.  Lidar inversion with variable backscatter/extinction ratios. , 1985, Applied optics.

[60]  K. Kelly,et al.  Particle size distributions in Arctic polar stratospheric clouds, growth and freezing of sulfuric acid droplets, and implications for cloud formation , 1992 .