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CLAES observations of CLONO 2 and HNO 3 in the Antarctic stratosphere, between June 15 and September 17, 1992
Author(s) -
Roche A. E.,
Kumer J. B.,
Mergenthaler J. L.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/93gl01448
Subject(s) - stratosphere , polar vortex , atmospheric sciences , northern hemisphere , southern hemisphere , environmental science , polar , vortex , atmosphere (unit) , climatology , meteorology , geology , physics , astronomy
The Cryogenic Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) on the NASA Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) began viewing the stratosphere in October 1991. This paper presents preliminary retrievals of ClONO 2 and HNO 3 from the CLAES measurements for selected days in June, July, August, and September of 1992 for the southern hemisphere. The data shows that by July 10, lower stratospheric ClONO 2 and HNO 3 have developed high “collar” regions surrounding the polar vortex, and low values inside the vortex. This general structure is sustained through September 17, although the ClONO 2 values inside the vortex increase significantly by this date. The data suggests that substantial sequestration of gaseous HNO 3 in polar stratospheric clouds occurs in the early winter Antarctic stratosphere, accompanied by the conversion of ClONO 2 to reactive chlorine through heterogeneous processes on the PSCs.