Summer time Fe depletion in the Antarctic mesopause region

Abstract

We report common volume measurements of Fe densities, temperatures and ice particle occurrence in the mesopause region at Davis Station, Antarctica (69°S) in the years 2011–2012. Our observations show a strong correlation of the Fe-layer summer time depletion with temperature, but no clear causal relation with the onset or occurrence of ice particles measured as noctilucent clouds (NLC) or polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE). The combination of these measurements indicates that the strong summer depletion can be explained by gas-phase chemistry alone and does not require heterogeneous removal of Fe and its compounds on ice particles.