Polar stratospheric cloud threshold temperatures in the 1995–1996 arctic vortex

Abstract

Balloon‐borne backscattersondes have been used to study the relationship between particle scattering and ambient temperature near the vertical edge of arctic polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) as well as to delineate the cloud type occurrence probability as a function of temperature. The observed typical threshold temperatures as a function of altitude are about1°K warmer than the temperature TSTS expected for rapid growth of supercooled ternary solution aerosols. A more descriptive analysis shows that the threshold temperatures occur over a definable range of temperatures and tend to cluster near, but somewhat warmer than, TSTS. Considering the experimental and theoretical uncertainties, this difference may not be significant. The probability of type Ib PSC occurrence shows a dramatic increase at TSTS±1°K, while for type Ia PSCs the probability is roughly constant at 10% for temperatures below the formation point of nitric acid trihydrate (TNAT).