Polar stratospheric cloud microphysical properties measured by the microRADIBAL instrument on 25 January 2000 above Esrange and modeling interpretation

Abstract

The balloonborne microRADIBAL instrument is a radiometer that measures the radiance and polarization of the sunlight scattered by the atmosphere, gas, and aerosols in a horizontal plane in the near‐infrared range. It was launched from Esrange, Sweden, on 25 January 2000 in the framework of the Third European Stratospheric Experiment on Ozone (THESEO) 2000 campaign, and performed measurements in the vicinity of a large polar stratospheric cloud (PSC). The measurements provide diagrams of the radiance versus scattering angle at several altitudes. The aerosol signature, derived from the radiance measurements, has been modeled via Mie theory and the T‐Matrix code. Three different size distributions of aerosols have been tested: monomodal and bimodal size distributions of spherical particles, and bimodal size distributions including a mode of spherical and a mode of nonspherical particles. The best agreement between the measured and modeled signatures is obtained considering a bimodal size distribution composed by a mode of medium spherical particles (median radius about 0.15 μm) and a second mode of larger nonspherical particles (median radius about 1.1 μm, aspect ratio about 0.6). Concentrations and surface densities of the PSC particles have been estimated. The existence of such particles has been tentatively explained using the Lagrangian Microphysical and Photochemical Lagrangian Stratospheric Model of Ozone (MiPLaSMO) model. On 25 January 2000 the polar stratospheric cloud detected by microRADIBAL is associated with a lee‐wave event. Temperature perturbations due to lee‐wave events were calculated using the National Research Laboratory Mountain Wave Forecast Model (MWFM) and have been included along trajectories. They are localized in a large region between the Norwegian mountains and Esrange. Their amplitude varies from 3 to 7 K. Detailed comparisons between measured and modeled surfaces and dimensional distributions of PSCs' particles are achieved. The two modes of particles detected by microRADIBAL can be interpreted from MiPLaSMO results considering different air masses located along the lines of sight. The air masses are characterized by two different temperature perturbations due to lee‐wave events. With a small temperature perturbation (∼3 K) that occurred just before the time of the measurement, supercooled ternary solution particles are predicted, and with a strong temperature perturbation (∼6 K) that occurred four hours before the measurement, nitric acid trihydate particles are formed.