Steady-state aerosol distributions in the extra-tropical, lower stratosphere and the processes that maintain them
Author
Wilson, J.C.
Lee, S.-H.
Reeves, J.M.
Brock, C.A.
Jonsson, H.H.
Lafleur, B.G.
Loewenstein, M.
Podolske, J.
Atlas, E.
Boering, K.
Toon, G.
Fahey, D.
Bui, T.P.
Diskin, G.
Moore, F.
Date
2008Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Measurements of aerosol, N2O and OCS made
in the Northern Hemisphere below 21 km altitude following
the eruption of Pinatubo are presented and analyzed. After
September 1999, the oxidation of OCS and sedimentation
of particles in the extra-tropical overworld north of 45N are
found to maintain the aerosol in a steady state. This analysis
empirically links precursor gas to aerosol abundance
throughout this region. These processes are tracked with ageof-
air which offers advantages over tracking as a function of
latitude and altitude. In the extra-tropical, lowermost stratosphere,
normalized volume distributions appear constant in
time after the fall of 1999. Exchange with the troposphere is
important in understanding aerosol evolution there. Size distributions
of volcanically perturbed aerosol are included to
distinguish between volcanic and non-volcanic conditions.
This analysis suggests that model failures to correctly predict
OCS and aerosol properties below 20 km in the Northern
Hemisphere extra tropics result from inadequate descriptions
of atmospheric circulation.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Evolution of the stratospheric aerosol in the northern hemisphere following the June 1991 volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo: Role of tropospheric-stratospheric exchange and transport
Jonsson, H.H.; Wilson, James, C.; Brock, Charles A.; Dye, J.E.; Ferry, G.V.; Chan, K.R. (1996-01);Since the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991, measurements of particle size and concentration have intermittently been carried out from an ER-2 aircraft at altitudes of up to 21 km at midlatitudes and high latitudes ... -
Aerosol-Cloud drop concentration closure in warm cumulus
Rissman, T.A.; Varutbangkul, V.; Jonsson, H.H.; Nenes, A.; Jimenez, J.L.; Delia, A.E.; Bahreini, R.; Roberts, G.C.; Seinfled, J.H.; Conant, W. C.; Van Reken, T.M. (2004);Our understanding of the activation of aerosol particles into cloud drops during the formation of warm cumulus clouds presently has a limited observational foundation. Detailed observations of aerosol size and composition, ... -
Observations of the temporal variability in aerosol properties and their relationships to meteorology in the summer monsoonal South China Sea/East Sea: the scale-dependent role of monsoonal flows, the Madden-Julian Oscillation, tropical cyclones, squall lines and cold pools
Reid, J.S.; Lagrosas, N.D.; Jonsson, H.H.; Reid, E.A.; Sessions, W.R.; Simpas, J.B.; Uy, S.N.; Boyd, T.J.; Atwood, S.A.; Blake, D.R.; Campbell, J.R.; Cliff, S.S.; Holben, B.N.; Holz, R.E.; Hyer, E.J.; Lynch, P.; Meinardi, S.; Posselt, D.J.; Richardson, K.A.; Salinas, S.V.; Smirnov, A.; Wang, Q.; Yu, L.; Zhang, J. (2015);In a joint NRL/Manila Observatory mission, as part of the Seven SouthEast Asian Studies program (7- SEAS), a 2-week, late September 2011 research cruise in the northern Palawan archipelago was undertaken to observe the ...