Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufmsa41a1600m&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #SA41A-1600
Physics
[0305] Atmospheric Composition And Structure / Aerosols And Particles, [0340] Atmospheric Composition And Structure / Middle Atmosphere: Composition And Chemistry, [0370] Atmospheric Composition And Structure / Volcanic Effects, [3332] Atmospheric Processes / Mesospheric Dynamics
Scientific paper
We present new three-dimensional calculations of the mesospheric sulfate layer, a class of particles that has been suggested as a source of nuclei for polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs). Our calculations show that throughout the polar mesospheric spring and summer, sulfates form and grow via both heterogeneous nucleation on meteoritic dust and binary homogeneous nucleation of H2SO4 and H2O where dust is depleted. During the same season, the general circulation advects meteoritic dust away from the summer pole, leaving the population of dust particles relatively depleted, particularly at the larger end of the size distribution. Previous studies have therefore concluded that extremely cold temperatures, such as occur during wave activity, would be required to nucleate ice on the smaller dust nuclei that remain in sufficient concentrations to account for observed PMCs. The number densities of sulfates with and without dust cores greatly exceed those of dust particles in this critical season for PMC formation, and may therefore allow PMC formation at average temperatures in the polar summer mesopause region. We have incorporated sulfur chemistry and aerosol microphysics into the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model 3 (WACCM3), a comprehensive model that spans the range of altitude from the Earth’s surface to the thermosphere. We have tuned the gravity wave parameterization in WACCM3 to reproduce the observed temperatures in the polar summer mesopause region that are critical to PMC and sulfate formation. We discuss the feasibility of observing mesospheric sulfates containing dust cores with the Solar Occultation For Ice Experiment (SOFIE) on board NASA’s current Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere satellite mission. SOFIE observes at wavelengths in the infrared, where sulfates absorb sunlight, as well as in the visible, where sulfates both scatter sunlight and focus it on absorbing dust cores.
Bardeen Charles
Hervig Mark E.
Karlsson Bodil
Marsh Daniel R.
Mills Michael J.
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