Abstract
While water and sulfuric acid droplets are the main component of stratospheric aerosols, measurements performed for about 30 years have shown that non-sulfate particles (NSPs) are also present. Such particles, released from the Earth mainly through volcanic eruptions, pollution or biomass burning, or coming from space, present a wide variety of compositions, sizes, and shapes. To better understand the origin of NSPs, we have performed measurements with the Light Optical Aerosol Counter (LOAC) during 151 flights under weather balloons in the 2013–2019 period reaching altitudes up to 35 km. Coupled with previous counting measurements conducted over the 2004–2011 period, the LOAC measurements indicate the presence of stratospheric layers of enhanced concentrations associated with NSPs, with a bimodal vertical repartition ranging between 17 and 30 km altitude. Such enhancements are not correlated with permanent meteor shower events. They may be linked to dynamical and photophoretic effects lifting and sustaining particles coming from the Earth. Besides, large particles, up to several tens of μm, were detected and present decreasing concentrations with increasing altitudes. All these particles can originate from Earth but also from meteoroid disintegrations and from the interplanetary dust cloud and comets.
Highlights
We have developed a new strategy of measurements using the Light Optical Aerosols Counter (LOAC) by performing 151 flights under weather balloons over the mid-2013–end of 2019 period
The LOAC typology measurements indicate that the enhancements are dominated by non-sulfate particles (NSPs)
Some reported detections have been related to well-identified events, with high variabilities in their temporal and spatial content in qualitative agreement with those detected by Stratospheric and Tropospheric Aerosols Counter (STAC) and LOAC
Summary
NSPs, since large acid droplets be tentatively used estimate the background content ofpure largesulfuric particles with sizes cannot exist in the stratosphere. These particles are usually expected to come from space (interplanetary ranging from several μm up to 50 μm, which are obviously NSPs, since large pure sulfuric acid dust and cannot meteoroid debris), possible growth by sulfuric condensation their droplets exist in thewith stratosphere. These particles areacid usually expectedconsequently to come fromtospace descent in the stratosphere [90].
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