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The appearance of carbon aerosol oarticles in the lower stratosphere
Author(s) -
Chuan R. L.,
Woods D. C.
Publication year - 1984
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/gl011i005p00553
Subject(s) - stratosphere , aerosol , atmospheric sciences , carbon fibers , environmental science , spectroscopy , sampling (signal processing) , particle (ecology) , materials science , astrobiology , meteorology , physics , geology , optics , detector , astronomy , composite number , composite material , oceanography
Very small carbonaceous particles, thought to be meteoritic, have been found in small quantities in the lower stratosphere during aircraft sampling flights. The sampling was accomplished using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) cascade impactor operating on a U‐2 aircraft as it flew stratospheric sampling missions. Post flight analyses of the samples using scanning electron microscopy, x‐ray energy spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy have identified carbon particles 0.1 µ m aerodynamic diameter and smaller in 16 of 28 sets of samples obtained between 1979 and 1983. The presence of such carbon particles in the stratosphere has implications relating to global climate, to the conversion of SO 2 to sulfuric acid, and to the phenomenon of the Arctic haze.