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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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NASA NTRS1999

Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) Observations of Dust Opacity During Aerobraking and Science Phasing

The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) arrived at Mars in September 1997 near Mars southern spring equinox and has now provided monitoring of conditions in the Mars atmosphere for more than half a Mars year. The large majority of the spectra taken by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) are in a nadir geometry (downward looking mode) where Mars is observed through the atmosphere. Most of these contain the distinct spectral signature of atmospheric dust. For these nadir-geometry spectra we retrieve column-integrated infrared aerosol (dust) opacities. TES observations during the aerobraking and science-phasing portions of the MGS mission cover the seasonal range L(sub s)=184 deg - 28 deg. Excellent spatial coverage was obtained in the southern hemisphere. Northern hemisphere coverage is generally limited to narrow strips taken during the periapsis pass but is still very valuable. At the beginning of the mission the 9-(micron)meter dust opacity at midsouthern latitudes was low (0.15-0.25). As the season advanced through southern spring and into summer, TES observed several regional dust storms (including the Noachis dust storm of November 1997) where peak 9-(micron)meter dust opacities approached or exceeded unity, as well as numerous smaller local storms. Both large and small dust storms exhibited significant changes in both spatial coverage and intensity over a timescale of a day. Throughout southern spring and summer the region at the edge of the retreating southern seasonal polar ice cap was observed to be consistently more dusty than other latitudes.

Smith, Michael D.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Mixing processes within the polar night jet

Lagrangian material line simulations are performed using U.K. Meteorological Office simulated winds and temperatures to examine mixing processes in the middle- and lower-stratospheric polar night jet during the 1992 Southern Hemisphere spring and Northern Hemisphere winter. The Lagrangian simulations are undertaken to provide insight into the effects of mixing within the polar night jet on observations of the polar vortex made by instruments onboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) during these periods. A moderate to strong kinematic barrier to large-scale isentropic exchange, similar to the barrier identified in General Circulation Model (GCM) simulations, is identified during both of these periods. Characteristic timescales for mixing by large-scale isentropic motions within the polar night jet range from 20 days in the Southern Hemisphere lower stratosphere to years in the Northern Hemisphere middle stratosphere. The long mixing timescales found in the Northern Hemisphere polar night jet do not persist. Instead, the Northern Hemisphere kinematic barriers are broken down as part of the large-scale stratospheric response to a strong tropospheric blocking event. A series of Lagrangian experiments are conducted to investigate the sensitivity of the kinematic barrier to diabatic effects and to small-scale inertial gravity wave motions. Differential diabatic descent is found to have a significant impact on mixing processes within the Southern Hemisphere middle-stratospheric jet core. The interaction between small-scale displacements by idealized, inertial gravity waves and the large-scale flow is found to have a significant impact on mixing within the polar night jet in both hemispheres. These sensitivity experiments suggest that scales of motion that are unresolved in global assimilated datasets may contribute to mass exchange across the kinematic barrier to large-scale isentropic motion.

Pierce, R. Bradley↗
NASA NTRS1982

The formulation of Lamb's Dust Veil Index

A catalog of the major explosive volcanic eruptions since 1500 AD and formulated the Dust Veil Index (DVI) is presented. The DVI quantifies the impact on the Earth's energy balance of changes in atmospheric composition due to explosive volcanic eruptions. The DVI for a particular eruption quantifies the climatic impact of the dust and aerosol injection from the eruption integrated over the years following the event. The formulation of the DVI is described. All references are to Lamb (1970). A distinction is made between the catalog of volcanic activity, and the tabulation of the northern hemisphere DVI apportioned over the years. The DVI data are updated to 1975 for any particular eruption, the catalog gives three DVI values: global, Southern Hemisphere, and Northern Hemisphere. The global DVI given in the catalog is considered. The other two DVIs relate to the impact on the hemispheres considered separately and their estimation involves an additional factor apportioning the dust veil between the hemispheres on the basis of the latitude of injection.

Kelly, P. M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Dispersion characteristics of volcanically injected aerosol as seen by SAGE I, SAM II, and SAGE II

General features of the dispersion of aerosols injected into the atmosphere by volcanic eruptions are described on the bases of data from the SAGE I, SAGE II and SAM II satellites. All three satellites carried sensors which measured the vertical profile of aerosol extinction at 1 micron wavelength. The discussion covers the eruptions of seven volcanoes over the period 1979-82. The events occurred at low latitudes and in the Northern Hemisphere. Aerosols from Northern Hemisphere eruptions stayed in the Northern Hemisphere, while aerosols from low latitude events spread to both hemispheres. Dispersion was fastest in the winter hemisphere. Sample details are discussed from tracking the dispersion of the aerosol from the eruption of El Chichon by SAGE II sensors.

Kent, G. S.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Seasonal cycle of the residual mean meridional circulation in the stratosphere

The transformed Eurlerian-mean (TEM) residual circulation is used to study the zonally averaged transport of mass in the stratosphere. The residual circulation is estimated from heating rates computed with a radiative transfer model using data from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) as inputs. An annual cycle exists in the resulting circulation in the lower stratosphere, with a larger net upward mass flux across a pressure surface in the tropics during northern hemisphere winter than during northern hemisphere summer. The annual cycle in upward tropical mass flux follows the annual cycle in downward mass flux across a pressure surface in the northern hemisphere extratropics. It is argued that the annual cycle in zonal momentum forcing in the northern hemisphere stratosphere is controlling mass flux across a pressure surface in the lower stratosphere both in the tropics and in the northern hemisphere extratropics.

Rosenlof, Karen H.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Methane as a Diagnostic Tracer of Changes in the Brewer-Dobson Circulation of the Stratosphere

This study makes use of time series of methane (CH4/ data from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) to detect whether there were any statistically significant changes of the Brewer-Dobson circulation (BDC) within the stratosphere during 1992-2005. The HALOE CH4 profiles are in terms of mixing ratio versus pressure altitude and are binned into latitude zones within the Southern Hemisphere and the Northern Hemisphere. Their separate time series are then analyzed using multiple linear regression (MLR) techniques. The CH4 trend terms for the Northern Hemisphere are significant and positive at 10 N from 50 to 7 hPa and larger than the tropospheric CH4 trends of about 3%decade(exp -1) from 20 to 7 hPa. At 60 N the trends are clearly negative from 20 to 7 hPa. Their combined trends indicate an acceleration of the BDC in the middle stratosphere of the Northern Hemisphere during those years, most likely due to changes from the effects of wave activity. No similar significant BDC acceleration is found for the Southern Hemisphere. Trends from HALOE H2O are analyzed for consistency. Their mutual trends with CH4 are anti-correlated qualitatively in the middle and upper stratosphere, where CH4 is chemically oxidized to H2O. Conversely, their mutual trends in the lower stratosphere are dominated by their trends upon entry to the tropical stratosphere. Time series residuals for CH4 in the lower mesosphere also exhibit structures that are anti-correlated in some instances with those of the tracer-like species HCl. Their occasional aperiodic structures indicate the effects of transport following episodic, wintertime wave activity. It is concluded that observed multi-year, zonally averaged distributions of CH4 can be used to diagnose major instances of wave-induced transport in the middle atmosphere and to detect changes in the stratospheric BDC.

Remsberg, E. E.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Troposphere-stratosphere (surface-55 km) monthly general circulation statistics for the Northern Hemisphere-four year averages

This report presents four year averages of monthly mean Northern Hemisphere general circulation statistics for the period from 1 December 1978 through 30 November 1982. Computations start with daily maps of temperature for 18 pressure levels between 1000 and 0.4 mb that were supplied by NOAA/NMC. Geopotential height and geostrophic wind are constructed using the hydrostatic and geostrophic formulae. Fields presented in this report are zonally averaged temperature, mean zonal wind, and amplitude and phase of the planetary waves in geopotential height with zonal wavenumbers 1-3. The northward fluxes of heat and eastward momentum by the standing and transient eddies along with their wavenumber decomposition and Eliassen-Palm flux propagation vectors and divergences by the standing and transient eddies along with their wavenumber decomposition are also given. Large annual and interannual variations are found in each quantity especially in the stratosphere in accordance with the changes in the planetary wave activity. The results are shown both in graphic and tabular form.

Wu, M. F.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Seawifs Technical Report Series. Volume 2: Analysis of Orbit Selection for Seawifs: Ascending Versus Descending Node

Due to range safety considerations, the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) ocean color instrument may be required to be launched into a near-noon descending node, as opposed to the ascending node used by the predecessor sensor, the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS). The relative importance of ascending versus descending near-noon orbits was assessed here to determine if descending node will meet the scientific requirements of SeaWiFS. Analyses focused on ground coverage, local times of coverage, solar and viewing geometries (zenith and azimuth angles), and sun glint. Differences were found in the areas covered by individual orbits, but were not important when taken over a 16 day repeat time. Local time of coverage was also different: for ascending node orbits the Northern Hemisphere was observed in the morning and the Southern Hemisphere in the afternoon, while for descending node orbits the Northern Hemisphere was observed in the afternoon and the Southern in the morning. There were substantial differences in solar azimuth and spacecraft azimuth angles both at equinox and at the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice. Negligible differences in solar and spacecraft zenith angles, relative azimuth angles, and sun glint were obtained at the equinox. However, large differences were found in solar zenith angles, relative azimuths, and sun glint for the solstice. These differences appeared to compensate across the scan, however, an increase in sun glint in descending node over that in ascending node on the western part of the scan was compensated by a decrease on the eastern part of the scan. Thus, no advantage or disadvantage could be conferred upon either ascending node or descending node for noon orbits. Analyses were also performed for ascending and descending node orbits that deviated from a noon equator crossing time. For ascending node, afternoon orbits produced the lowest mean solar zenith angles in the Northern Hemisphere, and morning orbits produced the lowest angles for the Southern Hemisphere. For descending node, morning orbits produced the lowest mean solar zenith angles for the Northern Hemisphere; afternoon orbits produced the lowest angles for the Southern Hemisphere.

Hooker, Stanford B.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Evaluation of the Simulation of Arctic and Antarctic Sea Ice Coverages by Eleven Major Global Climate Models

Comparison of polar sea ice results from 11 major global climate models and satellite-derived observations for 1979-2004 reveals that each of the models is simulating seasonal cycles that are phased at least approximately correctly in both hemispheres. Each is also simulating various key aspects of the observed ice cover distributions, such as winter ice not only throughout the central Arctic basin but also throughout Hudson Bay, despite its relatively low latitudes. However, some of the models simulate too much ice, others too little ice (in some cases varying depending on hemisphere and/or season), and some match the observations better in one season versus another. Several models do noticeably better in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere, and one does noticeably better in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere all simulate monthly average ice extents to within +/-5.1 x 10(exp 6)sq km of the observed ice extent throughout the year; and in the Southern Hemisphere all except one simulate the monthly averages to within +/-6.3 x 10(exp 6) sq km of the observed values. All the models properly simulate a lack of winter ice to the west of Norway; however, most do not obtain as much absence of ice immediately north of Norway as the observations show, suggesting an under simulation of the North Atlantic Current. The spread in monthly averaged ice extents amongst the 11 model simulations is greater in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere and greatest in the Southern Hemisphere winter and spring.

Parksinson, Claire↗
NASA NTRS2020

Constraining Remote Oxidation Capacity with ATom Observations

The global oxidation capacity, defined as the tropospheric mean concentration of the hydroxyl radical (OH), controls the lifetime of reactive trace gases in the atmosphere such as methane and carbon monoxide (CO). Models tend to underestimate the methane lifetime and CO concentrations throughout the troposphere, which is consistent with excessive OH. Approximately half the oxidation of methane and non-methane volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is thought to occur over the oceans where oxidant chemistry has received little validation due to a lack of observational constraints. We use observations from the first two deployments of the NASA ATom aircraft campaign during July–August 2016 and January–February 2017 to evaluate the oxidation capacity over the remote oceans and its representation in the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model. The model successfully simulates the magnitude and vertical profile of remote OH within the measurement uncertainties. Comparisons against the drivers of OH production (water vapor, ozone, and NOy concentrations, ozone photolysis frequencies) also show minimal bias with the exception of wintertime NOy, for which a model overestimate may indicate insufficient wet scavenging and/or missing loss on seasalt aerosol but large uncertainties remain that require further studies of NOy partitioning and removal in the troposphere. During the ATom-1 deployment, OH reactivity (OHR) below 3 km is significantly enhanced, and this is not captured by the sum of its measured components (cOHRobs) or by the model (cOHRmod). This enhancement could suggest missing reactive VOCs but cannot be explained by new estimates of ocean VOC sources and additional modeled reactivity in this region would be difficult to reconcile with the full suite of ATom measurement constraints. The model generally reproduces the magnitude and seasonality of cOHRobs but underestimates the contribution of oxygenated VOC, mainly acetaldehyde, which is severely underestimated throughout the troposphere despite its calculated lifetime of less than a day. Missing model acetaldehyde in previous studies was attributed to measurement uncertainties that have been largely resolved. Observations of peroxyacetic acid (PAA) provide new support for remote levels of acetaldehyde. The underestimate in modeled acetaldehyde and PAA is present throughout the year in both hemispheres and peaks during Northern Hemisphere summer. The addition of ocean VOC sources in the model increases annual surface cOHRmod by 10 % and improves model-measurement agreement for acetaldehyde particularly in winter but cannot resolve the model summertime bias. Doing so would require a 100 Tg yr−1 source of a long-lived unknown precursor throughout the year with significant additional emissions in the Northern Hemisphere summer. Improving the model bias for remote acetaldehyde and PAA is unlikely to fully resolve previously reported model global biases in OH and methane lifetime, suggesting that future work should examine the sources and sinks of OH over land.

Travis, Katherine R.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Mean meridional circulation in the Southern Hemisphere stratosphere during the polar night

Atmospheric structure derived from satellite, multichannel radiance data is used to calculate zonally averaged vertical motions in the wintertime stratosphere of both hemispheres. The Northern Hemisphere calculations confirm the two celled meridional circulation calculated by previous authors. The Southern Hemisphere results show a three celled structure with descending motion over the South Pole. The variability of the mean meridional circulation in the Southern Hemisphere in relation to the presence or absence of a minor midwinter warming is also discussed.

Adler, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS1981

The nature of the data

The locations of total ozone stations and of stratospheric ozone samplings were presented. The samplings are concentrated in three areas: Japan, Europe, and India. Approximately 75% of the total ozone measurements are made with Dobson instruments which offer the best international measurements. When well calibrated their accuracy is on the order of a few percent. It is found that although the total ozone percent is similar in both hemispheres, the northern hemisphere has 3 to 10% more ozone than the southern hemisphere. The close association between total ozone distribution and pressure distribution in the atmosphere is noted.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1993

Quasi-decadal variability of the stratosphere: Influence of long-term solar ultraviolet variations

A multiple regression statistical model is applied to investigate the existence of upper-stratospheric ozone, temperature, and zonal wind responses to long-term (solar cycle) changes in solar ultraviolet radiation using 11.5 years of reprocessed Nimbus-7 Solar Backscattered Ultraviolet (SBUV) data and 12.4 years of National Meteorological Center (NMC) data. A positive solar cycle variation of independently measured ozone and temperature occurs with maximum amplitude near the low-latitude stratopause. The seasonal solar regression coefficients near 1 mb for both ozone and temperature occur at low latitudes supporting a role for photochemical and radiative forcing in their origin. Zonal wind perturbations that correlate with long-term solar ultraviolet variations are a strong function of season and pressure level. Above approximately 2 mbar, the largest solar-correlated zonal wind enhancements occur at middle winter latitudes near the time of winter solstice in both hemispheres. The Northern Hemisphere December enhancement at 1 mb was especially large, 23 +/- 9 m/s from solar minimum to maximum during the last solar cycle. The derived ozone, temperature, and zonal wind increases with increasing solar ultraviolet flux near the stratopause are larger than predicted by models that consider primarily photochemical and radiative processes. The higher ozone and temperature response amplitudes at low latitudes may be due to modified ozone transport and adiabatic temperature changes induced by the dynamical response. If the midlatitude winter solstice wind enhancements are solar induced, their high amplitudes require a positive feedback due to wave-mean flow interaction such that the planetary wave drag on the flow is reduced under solar maximum conditions.

Hood, L. L.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Use of Radon for Evaluation of Atmospheric Transport Models: Sensitivity to Emissions

This paper presents comparative analyses of atmospheric radon (Rn) distributions simulated using different emission scenarios and the observations. Results indicate that the model generally reproduces observed distributions of Rn but there are some biases in the model related to differences in large-scale and convective transport. Simulations presented here use an off-line three-dimensional chemical transport model driven by assimilated winds and two scenarios of Rn fluxes (atom/cm s) from ice-free land surfaces: (A) globally uniform flux of 1.0, and (B) uniform flux of 1.0 between 60 deg. S and 30 deg. N followed by a sharp linear decrease to 0.2 at 70 deg. N. We considered an additional scenario (C) where Rn emissions for case A were uniformly reduced by 28%. Results show that case A overpredicts observed Rn distributions in both hemispheres. Simulated northern hemispheric (NH) Rn distributions from cases B and C compare better with the observations, but are not discernible from each other. In the southern hemisphere, surface Rn distributions from case C compare better with the observations. We performed a synoptic scale source-receptor analysis for surface Rn to locate regions with ratios B/A and B/C less than 0.5. Considering an uncertainty in regional Rn emissions of a factor of two, our analysis indicates that additional measurements of surface Rn particularly during April-October and north of 50 deg. N over the Pacific as well as Atlantic regions would make it possible to determine if the proposed latitude gradient in Rn emissions is superior to a uniform flux scenario.

Gupta, Mohan L.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Large-Scale Extratropical Weather Systems in Mars' Atmosphere

During late autumn through early spring, extratropical regions on Mars exhibit profound mean zonal equator-to-pole thermal contrasts. The imposition of this strong meridional temperature variation supports intense eastward-traveling, synoptic weather systems (i.e., transient baroclinic/barotropic waves) within Mars' extratropical atmosphere. Such disturbances grow, mature and decay within the east-west varying seasonal-mean midlatitude jet stream (i.e., the polar vortex) on the planet. Near the surface, the weather disturbances indicated large-scale spiraling "comma"-shaped dust cloud structures and scimitar-shaped dust fronts, indicative of processes associated with cyclo-/fronto-genesis. The weather systems occur during specific seasons on Mars, and in both hemispheres. The northern hemisphere (NH) disturbances are significantly more intense than their counterparts in the southern hemisphere (SH). Further, the NH weather systems and accompanying frontal waves appear to have significant impacts on the transport of tracer fields (e.g., particularly dust and to some extent water species (vapor/ice) as well). And regarding dust, frontal waves appear to be key agents in the lifting, lofting, organization and transport of this particular atmospheric aerosol. In this paper, a brief background and supporting observations of Mars' extratropical weather systems is presented. This is followed by a short review of the theory and various modeling studies (i.e., ranging from highly simplified, mechanistic and full global circulation modeling investigations) which have been pursued. Finally, a discussion of outstanding issues and questions regarding the character and nature of Mars' extratropical traveling weather systems is offered.

Hollingsworth, Jeffery L.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Chlorine Deactivation in the Lower Stratospheric Polar Regions during late Winter: Results from UARS

Recovery from enhanced chlorine conditions in the lower stratospheric polar regions of both hemispheres is investigated using data from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) measurements of ClO within the polar vortices are used to infer ClO(sub x) (ClO + 2Cl202) abundances that are then correlated with simultaneous Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) measurements of ClON02 and Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) measurements of HCl obtained starting within 5 days of the end of the MLS and CLAES high-latitude observing periods in each hemisphere. Time series of vortex-averaged mixing ratios are calculated on two potential temperature surfaces (585 K and 465 K) in the lower stratosphere for approximately month-long intervals during late winter: August 17 - September 17, 1992, in the southern hemisphere and February 12 - March 16, 1993, in the northern hemisphere. The observed mixing ratios are adjusted for the effects of vertical transport using diabatic vertical velocities estimated from CLAES tracer data. In the northern hemisphere, the decrease in ClO, is balanced on both surfaces by an increase in ClON02- In the southern hemisphere, continuing polar stratospheric cloud activity prevents ClO from undergoing sustained decline until about September 3. In contrast to the northern hemisphere, there is no significant chemical change in vortex-averaged ClON02 at 465 K, and there is an apparent decrease in ClON02 at 585 K, even after the enhanced ClO abundances have started to recede. Results from the SLIMCAT chemical transport model initialized with UARS data and run with OH + ClO yields HCl + 02 as an 8% channel suggest that the primary recovery product in the south during this time period is not ClON02, but HCl. HALOE HCl mixing ratios are extrapolated back to the time of the MLS and CLAES data. At 585 K, the chlorine budget can be made to balance by extrapolating HCl back to a value of 0.6 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) at the beginning of the study period; at 465 K, the contribution from extrapolated HCl is not sufficient to offset the loss in ClOx, and there is a slight imbalance between the decrease in reactive chlorine and the change in chlorine reservoirs. The difficulty in closing the chlorine budget in the southern hemisphere may arise from complications caused by ongoing activation, incomplete photochemical assumptions, and/or inadequate data quality.

Santee, M. L.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Changes in atmospheric composition inferred from ionospheric production rates

Changes in the total electron content of the ionosphere near sunrise are used to determine the integrated production rate in the ionosphere (Q) from 1965 to 1971 at latitudes of 34S, 20N, and 34N. The observed regular semiannual variation in Q through a range of 1:3:1 is interpreted as an increase in the ratio O/N2 (relative densities) near the equinoxes. It follows that there is a worldwide semiannual variation in atmospheric composition, with the above ratio maximum just after the equinoxes. There is a large seasonal variation in the Northern hemisphere with a maximum in mid-summer. This effect is absent in the Southern hemisphere. At all times except solar maximum in the Northern hemisphere there is a global asymmetry. The ratio O/N2 is about three times as large in the Northern hemisphere. The overall mechanism appears to be N2 absorption.

Titheridge, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Spread of denitrification from 1987 Antarctic and 1988-1989 Arctic stratospheric vortices

Vertical profiles of N2O and NO(y) taken by the ER-2 outside the vortex are used to construct average vertical profiles of F(NO(y)) = NO(y)/(A-N2O), where A is the tropospheric content of N2O three years prior to the measurements. The southern hemisphere had less nitrous oxide in the range 400 less than Theta less than 470 K, by up to 25% relative to the northern hemisphere. F(NO(y)) is the ratio of NOy produced to N2O lost in a stratospheric air mass since entry from the troposphere. The profiles of F(NO(y)) have the following characteristics: (1) Relative to 1991-1992, a year without denitrification inside or outside the vortex, the northern hemisphere in 1988-1989 showed denitrification outside the vortex ranging up to 25% and averaging 17% above Theta = 425 K. (2) Relative to the northern hemisphere in 1991-1992, the southern hemisphere in 1987 showed denitrification outside the vortex ranging up to 32% and averaging 20% above Theta = 400 K. (3) Below Theta = 400 K the southern hemisphere showed enhancements of F(NO(y)) relative to the northern hemisphere in 1991-1992 ranging up to 200% at Theta = 375 K, outside the vortex. Corresponding profiles of residual water, R(H2O) = H2O - 2(1.6 - CH4), are considered and shown to be consistent with those of F(NO(y)) in the sense that they show deficits outside the Antarctic vortex, which was both dehydrated and denitrified, but not outside the 1988-1989 Arctic vortex, which was denitrified but not dehydrated. R(H2O) is the water content of stratospheric air with the contribution from methane oxidation subtracted. Comparison of F(NO(y)) and R(H2O) below 400 K outside the Antarctic vortex leads to the suggetion that dehydration in the Antarctic vortex occurs by the sedimentation of ice crystals large enough to fall out of the stratosphere, whereas denitrification occurs mainly on mixed nitric acid-water crystals which evaporate below the base of the vortex at Theta = 400 K but above the tropopause.

Tuck, A. F.↗