The effect of the Mt St Helens eruption on tropospheric and stratospheric ions

Balloon-borne observations of electrical conductivity in the troposphere and stratosphere were performed using conductivity sondes at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany, from June to November, 1980, after the Mt St Helens eruption. A significant decrease of atmospheric ions in the altitudes from the troposphere to lower stratosphere has been detected until several months after the eruption in comparison with the observational results obtained before the eruption. Simulteneous ruby lidar observation a month after the eruption indicates an increased amount of aerosol at nearly the same altitude as that of conductivity decrease. Several months after the eruption it appears that aerosols detected by lidar and those effective in reducing ion concentration have different profiles.     

Detection of tropospheric and stratospheric aerosol layers by optical radar (Lidar)

Summary The National Center for Atmospheric Research Lidar Sustem is briefly described. Data will be presented showing stratification and temporal variations of optical backscattering due to atmospheric aerosol up to a height of 40 kilometers. Short lived (less than 4 seconds) layers with thicknesses and spacing of 30 meters are routinely observed over the entire range of observation. A well-defined layer of temporal stability of several hours is very often found at the tropopause. The so-called 20 kilometer sulphate layer is found to be subject to variations in altitude, thickness, and assuming a non-varying size distribution and composition, in concentration. Significant and quasistable layers exist between 25 and 40 kilometers including one at the 36 kilometer leve which has been postulated by preliminary calculations of Mateer to be responsible for the blue and white bands observed and photographed by astronauts.Paper published by Journal of Geophysical Research75 (1970), 3123–3132.     

Lidar observations of the stratospheric aerosol during 1993 above McMurdo Station,Antarctica

Scattering ratios of stratospheric aerosol obtained by lidar at McMurdo Station, Antarctica (78°S, 167°E), during February–December 1993, have been analysed in relation to the stratospheric polar vortex. Seasonal changes in their properties are used to infer dynamic processes occurring in the Antarctic stratosphere during the year. Descent rates are calculated and compared to values obtained with different studies. Our analysis suggests that the apparent springtime cleansing of the Antarctic stratosphere is the result of subsidence of air masses inside the vortex and of sedimentation of larger particles. Below 20 km of height, an enhancement of the aerosol descent rates during July was associated with high occurrence of Polar Stratospheric Cloud events above McMurdo Station in that period. A synoptic approach using potential vorticity values at 425 K above the station has been employed to figure out the behaviour of the aerosol across the vortex boundary during its early formation.     

The role of the SO2 oxidation for the background stratospheric sulfate layer in the light of new reaction rate data

Presently available data on the reaction of SO₂ with OH radicals (OH + SO₂ + \(M\xrightarrow[{k_1 }]{}\) HSO₃ +M) are critically reviewed in light of recent stratospheric sulfur budget calculations. These calculations impose that the net oxidation ratek of SO₂ within the stratosphere should fall within the range 10^?7≤k≤10^?9, if the SO₂ oxidation model for the stratospheric sulfate layer is assumed to be correct. The effective reaction rate constantk ₁ ^* =k ₁[M] at the stratospheric temperature is estimated as $$k_1^* = \frac{{(8.2 \pm 2.2) \times 10^{ - 13} \times [M]}}{{(0.79 \mp 0.34) \times 10^{ - 13} + [M]}}cm^3 /molecules sec$$ where [M] refers to the total number density (molecules/cm³). Using the above limiting values ofk ₁ ^* , and the estimated OH density concentrations, the net oxidation rate is calculated as 3.6×10^?7≤k≤1.3×10^?8 at 17 km altitude. This indicates that the upper limit of thesek values exceeds the tolerable range imposed by the model by a factor of about four. Obviously the uncertainty of thek ₁ ^* values and of the OH concentrations in the stratosphere is still too large to make definite conclusions on the validity of the SO₂ model.     

Spatial Distribution of SO2, NO2, and O3 Concentrations in an Industrial City of Turkey Using a Passive Sampling Method

Ambient concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and ozone (O₃) were measured at 51 sampling points by passive sampling technique in Kocaeli, an important industrial city in Turkey. Samples were analyzed by UV‐spectrophotometry for NO₂ and O₃ and by ion chromatography for SO₂, respectively. Concentrations of SO₂, NO₂, and O₃ were determined to investigate their spatial distribution and source characterization. The sampling campaigns revealed an average concentration of 8 µg/m³ (max. 82 µg/m³) for SO₂, and 14 µg/m³ (max. 40 µg/m³) for NO₂, in summer; while average winter concentrations were 25 µg/m³ (max. 61 µg/m³) for SO₂, and 50 µg/m³ (max. 100 µg/m³) for NO₂. The maximum ozone concentrations were determined to be 86 µg/m³ in summer and 61 µg/m³ in winter downwind of the source areas of the precursor pollutant emissions. The results showed that NO₂ and SO₂ concentrations in industrial and urban areas were two to four times higher compared with rural areas in the summer and winter. In the light of the information obtained from the spatial interpolation of the pollutant concentrations, a selection of appropriate locations for continuous monitoring was suggested according to the European Community (EU) directives.     

Responses of polar mesospheric cloud brightness to stratospheric gravity waves at the South Pole and Rothera,Antarctica

We present the first observational proof that polar mesospheric cloud (PMC) brightness responds to stratospheric gravity waves (GWs) differently at different latitudes by analyzing the Fe Boltzmann lidar data collected from the South Pole and Rothera (67.5°S, 68.0°W), Antarctica. Stratospheric GW strength is characterized by the root-mean-square (RMS) relative density perturbation in the 30–45 km region and PMC brightness is represented by the total backscatter coefficient (TBC) in austral summer from November to February. The linear correlation coefficient (LCC) between GW strength and PMC brightness is found to be +0.09 with a 42% confidence level at the South Pole and ?0.49 with a 98% confidence level at Rothera. If a PMC case potentially affected by a space shuttle exhaust plume is removed from the Rothera dataset, the negative correlation coefficient and confidence level increase to ?0.61 and 99%, respectively. The Rothera negative correlation increases when shorter-period waves are included while no change is observed in the South Pole correlation. Therefore, observations show statistically that Rothera PMC brightness is negatively correlated with the stratospheric GW strength but no significant correlation exists at the South Pole. A positive correlation of +0.74 with a confidence level of 99.98% is found within a distinct subset of the South Pole data but the rest of the dataset exhibits a random distribution, possibly indicating different populations of ice particles at the South Pole. Our data show that these two locations have similar GW strength and spectrum in the 30–45 km region during summer. The different responses of PMC brightness to GW perturbations are likely caused by the latitudinal differences in background temperatures in the ice crystal growth region between the PMC altitude and the mesopause. At Rothera, where temperatures in this region are relatively warm and supersaturations are not as large, GW-induced temperature perturbations can drive subsaturation in the warm phase. Thus, GWs can destroy growing ice crystals or limit their growth, leading to negative correlation at Rothera. Because the South Pole temperatures in the mesopause region are much colder, GW-perturbed temperature may never be above the frost point and have less of an impact on crystal growth and PMC brightness. The observed phenomena and proposed mechanisms above need to be understood and verified through future modeling of GW effects on PMC microphysics and ray modeling of GW propagation over the South Pole and Rothera.     

Heterogeneous loss of OH on NaCl and NH4 NO 3 at tropospheric temperatures

The uptake coefficients () for OH radicals on some dry salts of tropospheric interest (NaCl and NH₄NO₃) have been investigated as a function of temperature using the flow tube technique combined with an EPR spectrometer as a detection method. The temperature dependence of -values measured over the temperature range 245–340 K can be expressed in Arrhenius form: ^OH_NaCl=(1.2±0.7)×10⁻⁵exp[(1750±200)/T] and ^OH_NH4NO3=(1.4±0.5)×10⁻⁴exp[(1000±100)/T]. These Arrhenius expressions lead to very similar -values (\approx4×10⁻³) for both salts studied at 300 K. It is shown that the heterogeneous OH sinks on solids aerosol play a very minor role in tropospheric chemistry in comparison with the homogeneous sinks.     

The heterogeneous oxidation of SO2 on aerosol surface

A heterogeneous chemical model is developed by coupling aerosol, gas-phase and liquid-phase chemical model. SO₂ oxidation rates on the aerosol surface are calculated and the influence of some factors is discussed. Model simulations indicate that SO₂ heterogeneous oxidation rates are sensitive to the mass concentration and chemical composition of aerosols, relative humidity, initial values of SO₂ and H₂O₂. The heterogeneous chemical model is coupled with a Eulerian deposition model. Model results show that oxidation of SO₂ on the aerosol surface is found to reduce SO₂ levels by 5%–33%, to increase SO ₄ ^2- - concentrations by 8%–50% in the surface layer. Project supported by the National “85-912” Key Science and Technology Project.     

Experimental study on supercritical phenomena of WO_3 solubility in NaCl-H_2O system

The singular behavior of supercritical fluids was found more than one hundred years ago. In 1879, English scientists Hannay and Hogarth[1] firstly studied the properties of supercritical fluids collectively and discovered that ethanol and carbon tetrachlo…     

Finding regions of influence on SO2 and SO= 4 daily concentration measurements at four sites in Spain

Contamination by the pollutants SO₂ and SO⁼₄ was analyzed for the 1989–1992 period at four regional stations in Spain under the auspices of the EMEP-BAPMON program. The evolution of the time series of the daily pollution has also been assessed, and high mean concentrations at La Cartuja and Logroño observed, with values of 3.8 and 4.5 g m⁻³ for SO₂, respectively. Maximum annual concentrations were recorded in 1989, when SO₂ reached values of 6.24, 5.39, 5.71, and 9.30 g m⁻³ for the stations of La Cartuja, San Pablo de los Montes, Roquetas, and Logroño, respectively. This work attempts to establish a relationship between the concentrations of the pollutants - both SO₂ gas and SO⁼₄ aerosol - and the zones of emission or persistence of these long-range transported pollutants. In this way, those regions showing a greater impact on the air quality in each season have been determined. To achieve this, the trajectories of the air masses carrying away the pollution to each of the receiving stations were considered and followed by a sectorial analysis. Nonparametric statistical methods were implemented to contrast the chemical homogeneity among the different sectors. The criterion that several homogeneous sectors form a chemically homogeneous region was used. To improve this sectorial analysis, we have proposed a new technique based on the Potential-Source-Contribution Function (PSCF). Starting out from a set of specified regions, considered to be chemically homogeneous domains, it is possible to determine the likelihood that an air mass with particular characteristics (e.g., that a value of the daily concentration higher than the mean recorded at the station has been obtained) will arrive at a given station after having crossed one of the previously defined regions. Using this technique, it is possible to determine the source regions through which the air masses circulate and bring high pollution concentrations to the studied stations. Thanks to the PSCF, these statistical methods offer, through a sectorial analysis, the possibility to pass from a qualitative to a more quantitative view.     

Detection of polar stratospheric clouds with ERS-2/GOME data

Based on radiative transfer calculations, it is studied whether polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) can be detected by the new Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) on board the second European Research Satellite (ERS-2) planned to be launched in 1995. It is proposed to identify PSC-covered areas by use of an indicator, the Normalized Radiance Difference (NRD), which relates the difference of two spectral radiances at 0.515 µm and 0.67 µm to one radiance measured in the centre of the oxygen A-band at 0.76 µm. Simulations are carried out for two solar zenith angles, =78.5° and =86.2°. They indicate that, in presence of PSCs and with increasing solar zenith angles above =80°, the NRD decrease to values clearly below those derived under conditions of a cloud-free stratosphere. Results for =86.2° show that the method is successful independent of existing tropospheric clouds, of different tropospheric aerosol loadings, and of surface albedos. Results for =78.5° illustrate that PSC detection under conditions of smaller solar zenith angles <80° needs additional information about tropospheric clouds.     

A modelling study of tropospheric distributions of the trace gases CFCl3 and CH3CCl3 in the 1980s

Interhemispheric transport is a key process affecting the accuracy of source quantification for species such as methane by inverse modelling, and is a source of difference among global three-dimensional chemistry transport models (CTMs). Here we use long-term observations of the atmospheric concentration of long-lived species such as CH₃CCl₃ and CFCl₃ for testing three-dimensional chemistry transport models (CTMs); notably their ability to model the interhemispheric transport, distribution, trend, and variability of trace gases in the troposphere. The very striking contrast between the inhomogeneous source distribution and the nearly homogeneous trend, observed in the global ALE/GAGE experiments for both CH₃CCl₃ and CFCl₃ illustrates an efficient interhemispheric transport of atmospherically long-lived chemical species. Analysis of the modelling data at two tropical stations, Barbados (13°N, 59°W) and Samoa (14°S, 124°W), show the close relationship between inter-hemispheric transport and cross-equator Hadley circulations. We found that cross-equator Hadley circulations play a key role in producing the globally homogeneous observed trends. Chemically, the most rapid interaction between CH₃CCl₃ and OH occurs in the northern summer troposphere; while the most rapid photolysis of CH₃CCl₃ and CFCl₃, and the chemical reactions between CFCl₃ and O(¹D), take place in the southern summer stratosphere. Therefore, the cross-equator Hadley circulation plays a key role which regulates the southward flux of chemical species. The regulation by the Hadley circulations hence determines the amount of air to be processed by OH, O(¹D), and ultraviolet photolysis, in both hemispheres. In summary, the dynamic regulation of the Hadley circulations, and the chemical processing (which crucially depends on the concentration of OH, O(¹D), and on the intensity of solar insolation) of the air contribute to the seasonal variability and homogeneous growth rate of observed CH₃CCl₃ and CFCl₃.     

Seasonal timing of stratospheric final warming associated with the intensity of stratospheric sudden warming in preceding winter

The association of seasonal timing of stratospheric final warming events(SFWs) in spring and the occurrence of major and minor stratospheric sudden warming events(SSWs) in midwinter were investigated through statistical analysis, parallel comparison, and composite analysis, based on the NCEP-NCAR reanalysis dataset covering 1958–2012. It was found that the intensity and occurrence of winter SSW events can largely affect the timing of spring SFWs. Specifically, the SFW onset dates tend to be later(earlier) after the occurrence(absence) of winter major SSWs. However, the occurrence or absence of minor SSWs does not change the frequency of early and late SFWs. A parallel comparison of the temporal evolution of the anomalous circulation and planetary-waves between major SSW and minor SSW winters indicates that the stratospheric polar vortex(polar jet) will keep being anomalously stronger 30 days after major SSW onset. And the associated significant negative Eliassen-Palm(EP) flux anomalies can persist for as long as 45 days after major SSW events. In contrast, the circulation anomalies around the occurrence of minor SSW events can last only a few days. To further verify the possible influence of the occurrence of major SSWs on the seasonal timing of SFWs, composite analysis was performed respectively for the 21 major-SSW years, 15 minor-SSW years, and the 15 non-SSW years. Generally, planetary-wave activity in the extratropical stratosphere tends to be stronger(weaker) and the westerly polar jet is anomalously weaker(stronger) in major-SSW(non-SSW) winters. But in the following spring, the planetary-wave activity is weaker(stronger) accompanied with an anomalously stronger(weaker) stratospheric polar vortex. In spring after minor-SSW years, however, the stratospheric polar vortex and the westerly polar jet exhibit a state close to climatology with relatively gentle variations.     

The role of gravity waves in tropospheric processes

Summary The nature and the role of gravity waves in the troposphere is briefly discussed and reviewed. After describing some basic properties of gravity waves and their generation mechanisms, we analyze their ability to influence phase changes, trigger and organize convective cells, to produce and interact with turbulence, and to affect diffusive processes in the atmosphere. Throughout, the emphasis is placed on the physical processes involved in the interaction of gravity waves with mesoscale and planetary boundary layer phenomena. Also discussed and reviewed are those remote sensing devices which are particularly useful in revealing and measuring such waves. Finally, an attempt is made to outline possible lines of future work for the purpose of fully understanding the role of gravity waves in mesoscale and microscale dynamics.     

Manifestation of heliophysical disturbances in the tropospheric characteristics

The response of the thermobaric characteristics of the high-latitude troposphere to short-term events attributed to solar activity (solar cosmic rays and geomagnetic storms) has been investigated. The spatial manifestation of these disturbances in the troposphere is shown to be of a “focal” character. It is found that the manifestation is most evident in the cold period and depends on the properties of the underlying surface (land, ocean). The properties of the variations of the troposphere air temperature in the manifestation “foci” on the standard isobaric surfaces, as well as the variations of the altitude profile of temperature and the long-wave radiation flux at the upper boundary of the atmosphere, have been considered. The variations of the heat content of the high-latitude troposphere after solar flares have been analyzed. The variation of the thermobaric field is shown to be accompanied by the rearrangement of circulation forms in moderate and polar latitudes. The revealed properties are completely explained within the mechanism proposed here for the solar activity effect on the climatic characteristics of the troposphere.     

Signature of atmospheric oscillations in GPS-measured tropospheric delay

Ground-based GPS finds potential applications in many atmospheric studies such as spatial distribution of columnar water vapor as well as the tidal oscillations in the atmosphere. The zenith tropospheric delay (ZTD) derived from GPS data at two Indian IGS stations are used to establish its potential for studying the atmospheric tidal, intra-seasonal and planetary oscillations. The major tidal oscillations observed in ZTD data are diurnal, semi-diurnal and their harmonics. Prominent intra-seasonal oscillations observed in ZTD are reported for the first time in this context. These intra-seasonal oscillations are Madden–Julian Oscillation (30–70 days, 60–90 days, 100–120 days) and planetary waves (like 27, 16 and 5–10 days periodicities). Quantification of these periodicities will provide a useful handle to improve the empirical models employed in the estimation of tropospheric delay.     

Estimation of heterogeneous reaction rates for stratospheric trace gases with particular reference to the diffusional uptake of HCl and ClONO2 by polar stratospheric clouds

The stratosphere holds a variety of particulates like polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) and sulphate aerosols which catalyse chemical reactions. These reactions cause changes in the composition of the stratosphere, including the redistribution of active chlorine which might lead to ozone destruction. As a result during recent years a lot of effort has been directed towards the quantification of the uptake of trace gases like ClONO₂, HCl, etc. into these particulates. However, it has been observed that many of the two and three dimensional models used in such studies are constrained by the lack of adequate rate constant data. This paper describes a theoretical approach to estimate the reaction rate constants for 23 gases on both types of polar stratospheric clouds (type I and II). It is found that for gases like N₂O₅, ClONO₂ and HCl, diffusional uptake is important and contributes significantly to the heterogeneous reaction rate. A complete Lennard-Jones calculation is used to accurately compute the trace gas diffusion coefficients.