Retrieval of atmospheric static stability from MST radar return signal power

International audienceAn empirical technique for retrieving profiles of the square of the Brunt-Väisälä frequency, ?B2, from MST radar return signal power is presented. The validity of the technique, which is applied over the altitude range 1.0-15.7km, is limited to those altitudes at which the humidity contributions to the mean vertical gradient of generalised potential refractive index, M, can be ignored. Although this is commonly assumed to be the case above the first few kilometres of the atmosphere, it is shown that humidity contributions can be significant right up to the tropopause level. In specific circumstances, however, the technique is valid over large sections of the troposphere. Comparisons of radar- and (balloon-borne) radiosonde-derived ?B2 profiles are typically quantitatively and qualitatively well matched. However, the horizontal separation between the radar and the radiosondes (which were launched at the radar site) increases with increasing altitude. Under conditions of mountain wave activity, which can be highly localised, large discrepancies can occur at lower-stratospheric altitudes. This demonstrates the fact that radiosonde observations cannot necessarily be assumed to be representative of the atmosphere above the launch site

Estimation of the vertical profile of sulfur dioxide injection into the atmosphere by a volcanic eruption using satellite column measurements and inverse transport modeling

International audienceAn analytical inversion method has been developed to estimate the vertical profile of SO2 emissions from volcanic eruptions. The method uses satellite-observed total SO2 columns and an atmospheric transport model (FLEXPART) to exploit the fact that winds change with altitude ? thus, the position and shape of the volcanic plume bear information on its emission altitude. The method finds the vertical emission distribution which minimizes the total difference between simulated and observed SO2 columns while also considering a priori information. We have tested the method with the eruption of Jebel at Tair on 30 September 2007 for which a comprehensive observational data set from various satellite instruments (AIRS, OMI, SEVIRI, CALIPSO) is available. Using satellite data from the first 24 h after the eruption for the inversion, we found an emission maximum near 16 km above sea level (asl), and secondary maxima near 5, 9, 12 and 14 km a.s.l. 60% of the emission occurred above the tropopause. The emission profile obtained in the inversion was then used to simulate the transport of the plume over the following week. The modeled plume agrees very well with SO2 total columns observed by OMI, and its altitude and width agree mostly within 1?2 km with CALIPSO observations of stratospheric aerosol produced from the SO2. The inversion result is robust against various changes in both the a priori and the observations. Even when using only SEVIRI data from the first 15 h after the eruption, the emission profile was reasonably well estimated. The method is computationally very fast. It is therefore suitable for implementation within an operational environment, such as the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers, to predict the threat posed by volcanic ash for air traffic. It could also be helpful for assessing the sulfur input into the stratosphere, be it in the context of volcanic processes or also for proposed geo-engineering techniques to counteract global warming

Measurements of UV radiation on rotating vertical plane at the ALOMAR Observatory (69° N, 16° E), Norway, June 2007

International audienceErythemaly weighted UV and total UVA irradiance measured at the ALOMAR (Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmosphere Research; 69° N, 16° E) in June 2007 by two Kipp & Zonen UV broadband meters type, UV-S-AE-T, are examined. One unit is movable and mounted to rotating vertical plane, and the other is permanently fixed horizontally. The UV broadband meters measure simultaneously to allow the comparison of UV irradiances on vertical and horizontal plane. The entire range of relative exposure variations during clear-sky conditions over ALOMAR is examined using STAR and Radonic1 model (developed at the Meteorological Institute, Munich) for various action spectra (erythema, UVA, and vitamin D3). It seems that multiplication of the daily mean dose from a standard broadband meter placed horizontally by 0.5 gives reasonable estimation of the daily mean exposure on a vertical plane randomly oriented towards Sun. The extreme value and daily variability of relative exposure are the highest for UVA, next for UVB, then for vitamin D3 weighed UV irradiance. The minima of relative exposure (~0.20?0.30) are almost the same for all weighting functions. Specific cloud configuration could lead to significant enhancement of UV relative exposure of rotating plane being the most pronounced when biometer is in shadow. A statistical model is proposed, that it is able to simulate vitamin D3 weighted UV irradiances on vertical surface using explanatory variables: erythemal and total UVA irradiance from standard (horizontal) observations by Kipp & Zonen dual band biometer, the orientation of vertical plane, solar zenith angle, and column amount of total ozone. Statistical model will allow to reconstruct (or monitor) vitamin D3 weighted UV irradiances using available past (or actual) data

A case study of gravity waves in noctilucent clouds

We present a case study of a noctilucent cloud (NLC) display appearing on 10-11 August 2000 over Northern Sweden. Clear wave structures were visible in the clouds and time-lapse photography was used to derive the parameters characterising the gravity waves which could account for the observed NLC modulation. Using two nearby atmospheric radars, the Esrange MST Radar data and Andoya MF radar, we have identified gravity waves propagating upward from the upper stratosphere to NLC altitudes. The wave parameters derived from the radar measurements support the suggestion that gravity waves are responsible for the observed complex wave dynamics in the NLC

Case study of the development of polar stratospheric clouds using bistatic imaging

International audienceThe formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) is closely related to wave activity on different scales since waves propagating into the stratosphere perturb the temperature profile. We present here a case study of the development of visible PSCs (mother-of-pearl clouds), appearing at the polar vortex edge on 9 January 1997, under-taken by means of ground-based cameras. It is shown that the presence of stratospheric clouds may be detected semi-automatically and that short-term dynamics such as altitude variations can be tracked in three dimensions. The PSC field showed distinct features separated by approximately 20 km, which implies wave-induced temperature variations on that scale. The wave-induced characteristics were further emphasised by the fact that the PSCs moved within a sloping spatial surface. The appearance of visible mother-of-pearl clouds seems to be related to leewave-induced cooling of air masses, where the synoptic temperature has been close to (but not necessarily below) the threshold temperatures for PSC condensation

Polar mesosphere winter echoes during solar proton events

Thin layers of enhanced radar echoes in the winter mesosphere have been observed by the ESRAD 52 MHz MST radar (67°53 \u27 N, 21°06 \u27 E) during several recent solar proton events. These polar mesosphere winter echoes (PMWE) can occur at any time of day or night above 70 km altitude, whereas below this height they are seen only during daytime. An energy deposition / ion-chemical model is used to calculate electron and ion densities from the observed proton fluxes. It is found that PMWE occurrence correlates well with low values of λ(the ratio of negative ion density to electron density). There is a sharp cut-off in PMWE occurrence at λ～10^, which is independent of electron density. No direct dependence of PMWE occurrence on electron density can be found within the range represented by the solar proton events, with PMWE being observed at all levels of electron density corresponding to values of λ. Together with results concerning the thickness, echo aspect-sensitivity and echo spectral-width of the PMWE, this observation leads to the conclusion that the layers cannot be explained by turbulence alone. A role for charged aerosols in creating PMWE is proposed

Regional Aerosol Optical Properties and Radiative Impact of the Extreme Smoke Event in the European Arctic in Spring 2006

In spring 2006 a special meteorological situation occurred in the European Arctic region giving record high levels of air pollution. The synoptic situation resulted in extensive transport of pollution predominantly from agricultural fires in Eastern Europe into the Arctic region and record high air-pollution levels were measured at the Zeppelin observatory at Ni-Alesun(78deg 54'N, 11deg 53'E) in the period from 25 April to 12 May. In the present study we investigate the optical properties of the aerosols from this extreme event and we estimate the radiative forcing of this episode. We examine the aerosol optical properties from the source region and into the European Arctic and explore the evolution of the episode and the changes in the optical properties. A number of sites in Eastern Europe, Northern Scandinavia and Svalbard are included in the study. In addition to AOD measurements, we explored lidar measurements from Minsk, ALOMAR (Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmosphere Research at Andenes) and Ny-Alesund. For the AERONET sites included (Minsk, Toravere, Hornsund) we have further studied the evolution of the aerosol size. Importantly, at Svalbard it is consistency between the AERONET measurements and calculations of single scattering albedo based on aerosol chemical composition. We have found strong agreement between the satellite dally MODIS AOD and the ground-based AOD observations. This agreement is crucial for the radiative forcing calculations. We calculate a strong negative radiative forcing for the most polluted days employing the analysed ground based data, MODIS AOD and a multi-stream model for radiative transfer of solar radiation