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At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Annual cycle of aerosol properties over the central Arctic during MOSAiC 2019–2020 – light-extinction, CCN, and INP levels from the boundary layer to the tropopause

Abstract. The MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) expedition was the largest Arctic field campaign ever conducted. MOSAiC offered the unique opportunity to monitor and characterize aerosols and clouds with high vertical resolution up to 30 km height at latitudes from 80 to 90∘ N over an entire year (October 2019 to September 2020). Without a clear knowledge of the complex aerosol layering, vertical structures, and dominant aerosol types and their impact on cloud formation, a full understanding of the meteorological processes in the Arctic, and thus advanced climate change research, is impossible. Widespread ground-based in situ observations in the Arctic are insufficient to provide these required aerosol and cloud data. In this article, a summary of our MOSAiC observations of tropospheric aerosol profiles with a state-of-the-art multiwavelength polarization Raman lidar aboard the icebreaker Polarstern is presented. Particle optical properties, i.e., light-extinction profiles and aerosol optical thickness (AOT), and estimates of cloud-relevant aerosol properties such as the number concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are discussed, separately for the lowest part of the troposphere (atmospheric boundary layer, ABL), within the lower free troposphere (around 2000 m height), and at the cirrus level close to the tropopause. In situ observations of the particle number concentration and INPs aboard Polarstern are included in the study. A strong decrease in the aerosol amount with height in winter and moderate vertical variations in summer were observed in terms of the particle extinction coefficient. The 532 nm light-extinction values dropped from >50 Mm−1 close to the surface to <5 Mm−1 at 4–6 km height in the winter months. Lofted, aged wildfire smoke layers caused a re-increase in the aerosol concentration towards the tropopause. In summer (June to August 2020), much lower particle extinction coefficients, frequently as low as 1–5 Mm−1, were observed in the ABL. Aerosol removal, controlled by in-cloud and below-cloud scavenging processes (widely suppressed in winter and very efficient in summer) in the lowermost 1–2 km of the atmosphere, seems to be the main reason for the strong differences between winter and summer aerosol conditions. A complete annual cycle of the AOT in the central Arctic could be measured. This is a valuable addition to the summertime observations with the sun photometers of the Arctic Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). In line with the pronounced annual cycle in the aerosol optical properties, typical CCN number concentrations (0.2 % supersaturation level) ranged from 50–500 cm−3 in winter to 10–100 cm−3 in summer in the ABL. In the lower free troposphere (at 2000 m), however, the CCN level was roughly constant throughout the year, with values mostly from 30 to 100 cm−3. A strong contrast between winter and summer was also given in terms of ABL INPs which control ice production in low-level clouds. While soil dust (from surrounding continents) is probably the main INP type during the autumn, winter, and spring months, local sea spray aerosol (with a biogenic aerosol component) seems to dominate the ice nucleation in the ABL during the summer months (June–August). The strong winter vs. summer contrast in the INP number concentration by roughly 2–3 orders of magnitude in the lower troposphere is, however, mainly caused by the strong cloud temperature contrast. A unique event of the MOSAiC expedition was the occurrence of a long-lasting wildfire smoke layer in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Our observations suggest that the smoke particles frequently triggered cirrus formation close to the tropopause from October 2019 to May 2020.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1975

Stellar refraction - A tool to monitor the height of the tropopause from space

Calculations of stellar refraction for a setting or rising star as viewed from a spacecraft show that the tropopause is a discernible feature in a plot of refraction vs time. The height of the tropopause is easily obtained from such a plot. Since the refraction suffered by the starlight appears to be measurable with some precision from orbital altitudes, this technique is suggested as a method for remotely monitoring the height of the tropopause. Although limited to nighttime measurements, the method is independent of supporting data or model fitting and easily lends itself to on-line data reduction.

Schuerman, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Variability and transport of ozone at the tropopause from the first year of GASP data

The relationships of ozone near the tropopause with potential vorticity temperature, and distance from the tropopause are examined. Data are also used to estimate the vertical and horizontal fluxes of ozone near the tropopause. The present estimates of the total flux of ozone into the troposphere verify the model results. Although the distribution of flux between mean motions and diffusion is different and thus suggests that models with coarse horizontal resolution must continue to parameterize much vertical transport by diffusion coefficients. Monthly estimates of the horizontal transient eddy flux of ozone are generally smaller than seasonal or yearly results based on ozonesonde data. This is perhaps because the present estimates are made over monthly periods to reduce the influence of correlation between the annual variations in ozone and meridional wind. The available data support the hypothesis that transient eddy fluxes of ozone have large longitudinal variations.

Nastrom, G. D.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Atmospheric temperatures near the tropical tropopause Temporal variations, zonal asymmetry and implications for stratospheric water vapor

Analysis of temperature measurements obtained over an eight-year period in the vicinity of the low-latitude tropopause confirms the existence of longitude regions which are consistently colder by approximately 2-3 K than elsewhere in the tropics. These temperature differences, however, are confined to a layer of thickness 3-5 km centered on the tropopause. The lowest monthly mean temperatures observed at the colder stations yield saturation mixing ratios that are consistent with the range of measured stratospheric water vapor. Examination of the daily variations in temperature at a given station reveals a more complex pattern than indicated by the monthly averages. On many days temperatures at the colder longitudes correspond to water vapor abundances that are less than observed in the stratosphere despite the favorable comparison of the monthly means. The results point to the need for a series of water vapor soundings at selected longitudes and times in order to define the extent to which the tropical tropopause controls the stratospheric water vapor abundance.

Frederick, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1984

El Chichon volcanic debris in an Arctic tropopause fold

A research flight with the NOAA WP-3D aircraft revealed evidence for stratospheric-tropospheric exchange within the Arctic through tropopause folding on the flank of the polar vortex. Observations showed descent of the tropopause and of stratospheric ozone to 700 mb along the west coast of Greenland. Measurements of condensation nuclei and analysis of high volume impactor samples documented the presence of volcanic debris probably from the 1982 El Chichon eruption, including H2SO4 droplets, within the polar vortex and associated tropopause fold.

Shapiro, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Study of tropopause height estimate from TOMS total ozone data from Nimbus-7 and from the microwave regression temperature retrieval of simulated brightness temperatures

The use of TOMS total ozone data obtained by the Nimbus-7 satellite in order to improve satellite microwave retrieval in the tropopause is investigated. Attention is given to the determination of the tropopause by means of TOMS data, the character of the effect of tropopause errors on microwave MSU retrievals, and the use of air mass to stratify regression retrievals.

Munteanu, M.-J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Overshooting cloud top, variation of tropopause and severe storm formation

The development of severe multicell thunderstorms leading to the touchdown of six tornados near Pampa, TX, on May 19-20, 1982, is characterized in detail on the basis of weather maps, rawinsonde data, and radar summaries, and the results are compared with GOES rapid-scan IR images. The multicell storm cloud is shown to have formed beginning at 1945 GMT at the point of highest horizontal moisture convergence and lowest tropopause height and to have penetrated the tropopause at 2130 GMT, reaching a maximum altitude and a cloud-top black-body temperature 9 C lower than the tropopause temperature at 2245 GMT and collapsing about 20 min, when the firt tornado touched down. The value of the real-time vertical profiles provided by satellite images in predicting which severe storms will produce tornados or other violent phenomena is stressed.

Hung, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Satellite observations of ozone near tropopause folds during the 1982 Atmospheric Variability Experiment

The relationship between the total column ozone and the frontal structure associated with mid-latitude baroclinic waves and jets was investigated by comparing the midday ozone data from the Nimbus-7 TOMS instrument to the upper level analyses of baroclinic zones from the 1982 Atmospheric Variability Experiment (AVE82) rawinsonde network. It was found that, for all the three baroclinic waves captured during the AVE82 campaign, the satellite-observed ozone enhancements were associated with tropopause depressions; however, the ozone maxima occurred 300-500 km to the east of the lowered or folded tropopause, indicating that a stratospheric convergence zone exists well above and eastward of the corresponding wave in the troposphere. Therefore, tropopause folds cannot be considered as the 'cause' of the local ozone maxima above the mid-latitude baroclinic zones captured by the AVE82 network.

Chesters, Dennis↗
NASA NTRS1993

Baroclinic neutrality and the tropopause

It is noted that the atmosphere has a baroclinically neutral state that permits strong temperature gradients at the ground. In this state, the concentrated potential vorticity gradient at the ground is separated from the concentrated potential vorticity gradient at the tropopause by a region where the potential vorticity gradient is zero. The resulting basic state is analogous to the basic state in the Eady problem. A minimum meridional wavenumber is established by the width of the subtropical jet, and neutrality is established by moving the tropopause to a sufficient height so that the total wavenumber corresponds to the short-wave cutoff in the Eady problem. The resulting height is approximately the observed tropopause height.

Lindzen, Richard S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Measurements of halogenated organic compounds near the tropical tropopause

The amount of organic chlorine and bromine entering the stratosphere have a direct influence on the magnitude of chlorine and bromine catalyzed ozone losses. Twelve organic chlorine species and five organic bromine species were measured from 12 samples collected near the tropopause between 23.8 deg N and 25.3 deg N during AASE 2. The average mixing ratios of total organic chlorine and total organic bromine were 3.50 +/- 0.06 ppbv and 21.1 +/- 0.8 pptv, respectively. CH3Cl represented 15.1% of the total organic chlorine, with CFC 11 (CCl3F) and CFC 12 (CCl2F2) accounting for 22.6% and 28.2%, respectively, with the remaining 34.1% primarily from CCl4, CH3CCl3, and CFC 113 (CCl2FCClF2). CH3Br represented 54% of the total organic bromine. The 95% confidence intervals of the mixing ratios of all but four of the individual compounds were within the range observed in low and mid-latitude mid-troposphere samples. The four compounds with significantly lower mixing ratios at the tropopause were CHCl3, CH2Cl2, CH2Br2, and CH3CCl3. The lower mixing ratios may be due to entrainment of southern hemisphere air during vertical transport in the tropical region and/or to exchange of air across the tropopause between the lower stratosphere and upper troposphere.

Schauffler, S. M.↗
NASA NTRS1996

An Atmospheric Tape Recorder: The Imprint of Tropical Tropopause Temperatures on Stratospheric Water Vapor

We describe observations of tropical stratospheric water vapor q that show clear evidence of large-scale upward advection of the signal from annual fluctuations in the effective 'entry mixing ratio' q(sub E) of air entering the tropical stratosphere. In other words, air is 'marked,' on emergence above the highest cloud tops, like a signal recorded on an upward moving magnetic tape. We define q(sub E) as the mean water vapor mixing ratio, at the tropical tropopause, of air that will subsequently rise and enter the stratospheric 'overworld' at about 400 K. The observations show a systematic phase lag, increasing with altitude, between the annual cycle in q(sub E) and the annual cycle in q at higher altitudes. The observed phase lag agrees with the phase lag calculated assuming advection by the transformed Eulerian-mean vertical velocity of a q(sub E) crudely estimated from 100-hPa temperatures, which we use as a convenient proxy for tropopause temperatures. The phase agreement confirms the overall robustness of the calculation and strongly supports the tape recorder hypothesis. Establishing a quantitative link between q(sub E) and observed tropopause temperatures, however, proves difficult because the process of marking the tape depends subtly on both small- and large-scale processes. The tape speed, or large-scale upward advection speed, has a substantial annual variation and a smaller variation due to the quasi-biennial oscillation, which delays or accelerates the arrival of the signal by a month or two in the middle stratosphere. As the tape moves upward, the signal is attenuated with an e-folding time of about 7 to 9 months between 100 and 50 hPa and about 15 to 18 months between 50 and 20 hPa, constraining possible orders of magnitude both of vertical diffusion K(sub z) and of rates of mixing in from the extratropics. For instance, if there were no mixing in, then K(sub z) would be in the range 0.03-0.09 m(exp 2)/s; this is an upper bound on K(sub z).

Mote, Philip W.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Measurements of Halogenated Organic Compounds near the Tropical Tropopause

The amount of organic chlorine and bromine entering the stratosphere have a direct influence on the magnitude of chlorine and bromine catalyzed ozone losses. Twelve organic chlorine species and five organic bromine species were measured from 12 samples collected near the tropopause between 23.8 deg N and 25.3 deg N during AASE 2. The average mixing ratios of total organic chlorine and total organic bromine were 3.50 +/- 0.06 ppbv and 21.1 +/- 0.8 pptv, respectively. CH3Cl represented 15.1% of the total organic chlorine, with CFC 11 (CCl3F) and CFC 12 (CCl2F2) accounting for 22.6% and 28.2%, respectively, with the remaining 34.1% primarily from CCl4, CH3CCl3, and CFC 113 (CCl2FCClF2). CH3Br represented 54% of the total organic bromine. The 95% confidence intervals of the mixing ratios of all but four of the individual compounds were within the range observed in low and mid-latitude midtroposphere samples. The four compounds with significantly lower mixing ratios at the tropopause were CHCl3, CH2Cl2, CH2Br2, and CH3CCl3. The lower mixing ratios may be due to entrainment of southern hemisphere air during vertical transport in the tropical region and/or to exchange of air across the tropopause between the lower stratosphere and upper troposphere.

Schauffler, S. M.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Possible Importance of Convection Near the Tropical Tropopause

Most studies of convection and its interaction with the large-scale behavior of the atmosphere focus on the convective heating and drying in the troposphere up to perhaps 15 km. Above this, effects become difficult to measure and are sometimes assumed to vanish. Here I discuss the possible effects of overshooting and irreversible mixing above the level of neutral buoyancy of convective updrafts. These effects should include cooling and drying of the atmosphere near the tropopause. Observational and model support exists for each of these. An argument can be made that the relative role played by the details of convective physics and microphysics in influencing gross atmospheric behavior may be greater and more observable near the tropopause than it is at lower levels in the troposphere where most of the attention has been directed. This has implications not only for our understanding of the tropical tropopause region, but also for where we should be looking to learn more about the physics of convection itself and to obtain observations that can usefully discriminate between different schemes for representing convection in large-scale models.

Sherwood, Steven C.↗
NASA NTRS2001

The Effect of Deep, Tropical Convection on the Tropical Tropopause Layer

There is evidence that most convective detrainment occurs below 355-K potential temperature (14 km). On the other hand, it is also generally accepted that convection does occasionally reach the altitude of the tropopause, typically approx. 16 km, or higher. The question is whether the relatively infrequent penetrations above 14 km are sufficient to influence the composition of the atmosphere above 14 km. Using measurements of O3 and CO as tracers of convective activity, I quantify the height distribution of mass detraining from convection near the tropopause by means of a simple mixing model similar to those used to calculate mixing into the stratospheric "tropical pipe". I calculate that significant detrainment from convection is occurring as high as approx. 380 K (16 km), an altitude typical of the tropopause. Further, I calculate that as much as 40% of the mass crossing the 380-K surface at this time detrained above 370 K. I conclude that the "mixing barrier" at 14 km is more porous than previously thought.

Dessler, A. E.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Processes Controlling Water Vapor in the Winter Arctic Tropopause Region

This work describes transport and thermodynamic processes that control water vapor near the tropopause during the SAGE Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE), held during the Arctic 1999-2000 winter season. Aircraft based water vapor, carbon monoxide, and ozone measurements are analyzed so as to establish how deeply tropospheric air mixes into the arctic lower-most stratosphere, and what the implications are for cloud formation and water vapor removal in this region of the atmosphere. There are three major findings. First, troposphere-to- stratosphere exchange extends into the arctic stratosphere to about 13 km. Penetration is to similar levels throughout the winter, however, because ozone increases idly in the early spring, tropospheric air mixes with the highest values of ozone in that season. The effect of this upward mixing is to elevate water vapor mixing ratios significantly above their prevailing stratospheric values of about 5 ppmv. Second, the potential for cloud formation in the stratosphere is highest during early spring, with about 20\% of the parcels which have ozone values of 300-350ppbv experiencing ice saturation in a given 10 day period. Third, during early Spring temperatures at the tropopause are cold enough so that 5-10\% of parcels experience relative humidities above 100\%, even if the water content is as low as 5 ppmv. The implication is that during, this period the arctic tropopause can play an important role in maintaining a very dry upper troposphere during early Spring.

Pfister, Leonhard↗
NASA NTRS1998

Observations of Subvisible Cirrus Clouds and Gravity Waves at the Tropical Tropopause

Thin, subvisible cirrus (SVC) clouds at the tropical tropopause have been observed by a number of methods in a variety of observational programs, including in situ sampling and aircraft and space-based lidar. Modeling studies suggest that these clouds play an important role in dehydrating tropospheric air as it enters the stratosphere. This is because particles large enough to have significant fall speeds can form under the conditions of slow cooling that are implied by the large horizontal extent of the SVC sheets. The IR radiation that these clouds absorb, and the upward vertical motion this implies, also makes them candidates for a tropical troposphere-to-stratosphere mass transfer mechanism. They may also play a role in the earth's radiation budget. These sheets were observed on five flights during the Tropical Ozone Transport Experiment (TOTE) by the NASA Langley DIAL lidar aboard NASA's DC-8 research aircraft operating during December 1995 and February 1996 south of Hawaii. The relationship of the SVC's observed during TOTE to convection was not a simple one. One class of SVC's are within 1000 km of the persistent strong convection near 15S (the SPCZ). Trajectory analyses indicated that the SVC air masses have in fact passed through the SPCZ within a few days of observation. These clouds are very close to the tropopause, with maximum potential temperatures not much higher than 370K, consistent with in situ water and total water measurements near the tropopause made during the Stratosphere Troposphere Exchange Project in January 1987 at Darwin, Australia. A second class of SVC's are not immediately downstream of convection. These clouds tend to be higher, reaching potential temperatures of 390K or more. Trajectory analyses indicate that the air in these SVC's originates either in the equatorial western Pacific or along the subtropical jet. In any case, the warm temperatures the SVC air masses encounter just prior to the observation time along the back trajectory imply that the clouds cannot be residual particles from cirrus blowoff, but must form locally as the air move upward and equatorward south of Hawaii. Since all the parcels have encountered colder temperatures than those at the time of observation early in their history, subsynoptic scale temperatures colder than the analysis temperatures appear to be required to explain the formation of ice particles. In fact, the sloping shapes of the SVC's do suggest that they are gravity or inertia-gravity waves. In situ meteorological measurements made by the ER-2 within a day of the DC-8 remote lidar observations show a gravity wave structure near the equator with an estimated period of about 30 hours. This is sufficiently long to allow large particles to form and fall out (thus allowing dehydration). Other ER-2 flights south of Hawaii at other times of year show gravity and inertia-gravity waves with a poleward wavenumber component and significant (5 degrees peak to peak) temperature perturbation.

Pfister, Leonhard↗
NASA NTRS2003

A Comparison of Northern and Southern Hemisphere Cross-tropopause Ozone Flux

A novel method of calculating the downward ozone flux across the midlatitude (30 deg-60 deg) tropopause shows the Northern Hemisphere (NH) ozone flux to be significantly larger (approximately 24%) than that calculated in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) during the year 2000. This diagnostic method makes it possible to separate dynamical aspects of transport from the seasonal cycle of ozone in the lowermost stratosphere and explain the hemispheric difference in the ozone flux. The SH total horizontal area of exchange is equal to or slightly greater than the area of exchange in the NH throughout an annual cycle. The mean changes in potential vorticity of parcels near the tropopause are also similar or slightly greater in the SH, suggesting that NH and SH downward total mass transport to the troposphere are comparable. These results imply that the greater NH ozone flux is mostly due to the amount of ozone available for exchange rather than net hemispheric dynamical differences near the tropopause level.

Olsen, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Formation of a Tropopause Cirrus Layer Observed over Florida during CRYSTAL-FACE

On July 13, 2002, a widespread, thin tropopause cirrus layer occurred over the Florida region. This cloud was observed in great detail with the CRYSTAL-FACE instrumentation, including in-situ measurements with the WB-57 aircraft. We use this cloud case study to evaluate the physical processes controlling the formation and evolution of tropopause cirrus layers. Microphysics indicate ice crystal diameters in the cloud layer ranged from about 7 to 40 um, and the peak number mode was about 10-25 um. In-situ water vapor and temperature measurements in the cloud indicated supersaturation with respect to ice throughout, with ice saturation ratios as large as 1.8. TRajectory analysis shows that the air sampled near the tropopause on this day generally came from the north and cooled considerable during the previous days.Examination of visible satellite imagery indicates that the cloud layer formation was, in general, not simply left over ice from convectively generated anvil cirrus.

Jensen, Eric↗