Open AccessParticle production in the lowermost stratosphere by convective lifting of the tropopause
Author(s) -
Reus Marian,
Ström Johan,
Hoor Peter,
Lelieveld Jos,
Schiller Cornelius
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/1999jd900774
Subject(s) - stratosphere , troposphere , tropopause , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , convection , particle (ecology) , aerosol , particle number , meteorology , geology , physics , volume (thermodynamics) , oceanography , quantum mechanics
Aircraft measurements of aerosol particles and trace gases were performed in the upper free troposphere and lower stratosphere during the Stratosphere and Troposphere Experiment by Aircraft Measurements (STREAM‐96) campaign from Shannon airport, Ireland. During one measurement flight, ultrafine particle number densities up to 10 4 cm −3 (STP) were observed in the lowermost stratosphere. Concurrent with these very high number densities of ultrafine particles, high accumulation mode particle number densities were observed over the same geographical location in the free troposphere, which were attributed to convective transport in the troposphere. The observations suggest that adiabatic cooling of the stratospheric air, as a result of the convective transport in the troposphere that lifted the tropopause and the air in the lowermost stratosphere, was responsible for triggering the formation of new particles. However, also aircraft emissions could have contributed to the enhancement in ultrafine particles.