Open AccessSize‐resolved particle emission indices in the stratospheric plume of an Athena II rocket
Author(s) -
Schmid O.,
Reeves J. M.,
Wilson J. C.,
Wiedinmyer C.,
Brock C. A.,
Toohey D. W.,
Avallone L. M.,
Gates A. M.,
Ross M. N.
Publication year - 2003
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 - 10.1029/2002jd002486
Subject(s) - plume , ozone , atmospheric sciences , solid fuel rocket , rocket (weapon) , stratosphere , particle size , ozone layer , environmental science , range (aeronautics) , particle size distribution , ozone depletion , particle (ecology) , mixing ratio , materials science , physics , meteorology , chemistry , propellant , geology , aerospace engineering , oceanography , organic chemistry , engineering , composite material
Simultaneous measurements of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) mixing ratio and alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) particle abundances between 0.004 and 1.2 μm were obtained in the stratospheric plume wake of an Athena II solid‐fueled rocket motor (SRM). A multimode model of the particle size distribution is used to determine the number ( N ) and surface area ( SA ) emission indices as 8.7 ± 2.0 × 10 15 per kg and 6.9 ± 2.1 × 10 14 μm 2 per kg, respectively. Integration of the size distribution shows that 37% of the total SA and 8% of the total mass ( M ) are contained in the submicron size range (diameter < 1μm) that most influences the stratospheric impact of alumina particles emitted by SRMs. These values are significantly greater than reported by most previous studies and they imply that the annual global ozone loss associated with SRM alumina emissions is about half of the ozone loss from SRM chlorine emissions alone. Comparison of our results to previous studies raises the possibility that submicron M and SA fraction, and therefore global ozone loss, are inversely related to SRM thrust.