A. Rotundi

CIUCCI, ALESSANDRA

DE ANGELIS, SIMONE

F. J. M. Rietmeijer

P. Palumbo

R. Brunetto

V. Della Corte

Archivio della ricerca - Università degli studi di Napoli Federico II

Collecting  Dust  in  the  Upper  Stratosphere  at  high  latitudes:  Constraints  on  the  Compositions  of  Cosmic  Dust  Particles    A.Ciucci(1),  F.J.M.Rietmeijer(2),  V.Della  Corte(1),  R.Brunetto.(3),  S.De  Angelis(1),  P.Palumbo(1),  A.Rotundi(1)  (1)  Dipartimento  Scienze  Applicate,  Università  Parthenope,  Centro  Direzionale  Isola  C4,  80143  Napoli  ITALY.                           (2)  Department  of  Geology,  University  of  New  Mexico,  Albuquerque,  NM  87131  USA.                               ,QVWLWXWG¶$VWURSK\Vique  Spatiale,  CNRS,  UMR-­8617,  Université  Paris-­Sud,  bâtiment  121,  F-­91405  Orsay  Cedex,  France.    Abstract  A   newly   developed   collector,   DUSTER   [1],   was  launched  from  Longyearbyen  (Svalbard,  Norway)  on  June   2008.   This   balloon-­borne,   autonomous  instrument  was  in  the  stratosphere  for  3.5  days  at  37  r   1   km   altitude   where   it   continuously   sampled   the  ambient  stratosphere  during  a  55-­hour  period.  At  any  given   time   the   upper   stratosphere   may   contain,   in  continually  variable  amounts,  solid  dust  particles  of  a  natural   terrestrial   origin   (i.e.   mostly   volcanic   dust),  anthropogenic   origins   (i.e.   coal-­   and   oil-­burning  power   plants,   airplane   exhaust,   reentering   space  debris)   and   natural   extraterrestrial   debris  (interplanetary  dust  particles  (IDPs),  micrometeorites,  meteoric   dust).   In   addition   to   these   solid   dust  particles,   the   upper   stratosphere   may   contain  condensed  aerosols  (e.g.  sulfuric  acid).    Each   collected   solid   dust   particle   is   fully  characterized,   viz.   size,   shape   (irregular,   sphere),  morphology   (aggregate,   massive),   and   chemical  composition   (i.e.   silicates,   carbonates,   oxides)   and  organic   materials   using   a   combination   of   field-­emission   scanning   electron   microscopy   (FESEM)  and   energy   dispersive   X-­Ray   analyses   (EDX),   and  micro-­infrared   and   micro-­Raman   spectroscopy.   This  database   will   provide   a   well-­documented   inventory  of   the   solid   dust   in   the   upper   stratosphere   as   a  function  of  time,  altitude  and  longitude.  Very  few  of  such   comprehensive   records   exist,   yet   knowing   the  chemical  and  physical  properties  of  this  stratospheric  dust   will   be   useful   to   assess   global   climate   change  and   upper-­troposphere/lower   stratosphere   exchange  models   [2].   This   inventory   will   also   benefit   the  laboratory   studies   of   aggregate   IDPs   that   are   dust  from  active  comets  and  primitive  asteroids.  Since  the  ¶V WKH VWXG\ RI ,'3V FROOHFWHG LQ WKH ORZHUstratosphere   struggled   to   assess   contamination   by  submicron  stratospheric  dust  and  condensed  aerosols.    Here  we  report  our  continuing  characterization  of  the  dust  from  this  DUSTER  flight.  More  than  half  of  the  grains  are  between  0.5  µm  and  10  µm;;  there  are  two,  low-­Ca,Na   silicate   spheres   >100   µm   [2].   The   10   -­  100   µm   gap   is   filled   by   only   a   single   ~20-­µm  aggregate   particle.   Many   grains   <10   µm   have  carbonate   compositions   (EDX,   µ-­IR).   They   also  include   three,   ~2-­µm,   compact   aggregates   of  nanometer-­scale   Sn-­oxide,   probably   SnO2,   grains  [Fig.  1].    Tin-­oxide   grains,   identified   (electron   diffraction)   as  Sn2O3   and   Sn3O4,   arranged   in   a   compact,   ~400   x  ~200  nm  cluster  [Fig.  2]  were  present  in  a  chondritic  aggregate   IDP   [3].   Their   appearance   was   consistent  with  the  aggregate  nature  of  the  IDP  but  which  is  not  unambiguous  proof  of  an  indigenous  origin.  Still,  the  tin-­oxide   grains   fit   the   volatile   element   distribution  pattern  of   IDPs  [3].  Absent  data  for  nanometer-­scale  tin-­oxides  present   in   the  stratosphere,   the  possibility  of   contamination   by   particle-­particle   collision   was  not  explored.  This  probably  first  report  by  DUSTER  of   small   Sn-­oxide   grain   clusters   in   the   upper  stratosphere   shows   that   knowledge   of   the   chemical  and   physical   properties   of   the   upper   stratospheric  dust   population   will   indeed   have   the   potential   to  impact  on  other  research  than  atmospheric  science.  EPSC AbstractsVol. 5, EPSC2010-175, 2010European Planetary Science Congress 2010c￿ Author(s) 2010Figures      Figure   1:   Scanning   electron   microscope   image   of   a  Sn-­rich  grain  D08C_013  collected  by  DUSTER2008  flight.   Below   the  Energy   dispersive  X-­ray   spectrum  of   this   grain.   Cr,   Fe,   Ni   and   Au   are   chemical  contaminants  [2].        Figure  2:  Scanning  electron  microscope  image  of  tin  oxide  grains  in  chondritic  IDP  W7029*A24.  Below  the  background  subtracted  Window-­less  energy  dispersive  spectrum  (range  5  keV)  to  eliminate  carbon  X-­rays  generated  from  the  holey  carbon  support  film  (reproduced  from  Ref  1;;  courtesy  The  Meteoritical  Society).    Acknowledgements  The   Italian   Space   Agency,   Regione   Campania   and  0,85 0LQLVWHUR GHOO¶,VWUX]LRQH GHOO¶8QLYHUVLWj Hdella   Ricerca).   We   thank   ASI   and   International  Science   Technology   and   Research   for   the   support  during   the   operational   flight   performed   within  launching  site  verification  activities.  We  thank  Inarta  Sergio   and   Zona   Ernesto   for   technical   laboratory  support.  References  [1]  Della  Corte  et  al.  (2010)  Mem.  S.A.It.  [J.  Italian  Astron.  Soc.],  in  press  [2]   Ciucci   et   al.   (2010)   Mem.   S.A.It.   [J.   Italian   Astron.  Soc.],  in  press  [3]  Rietmeijer  F.J.M.  (1989)  Meteoritics,  24,  43-­47    

Collecting Dust in the Upper Stratosphere at high latitudes: Constraints on the Compositions of Cosmic Dust Particles

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