Physics – Optics
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufmsa31a..07m&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #SA31A-07
Physics
Optics
0305 Aerosols And Particles (0345, 4801, 4906), 0319 Cloud Optics, 0320 Cloud Physics And Chemistry, 0340 Middle Atmosphere: Composition And Chemistry
Scientific paper
Coordinated rocket measurements with ground based lidar have illustrated that the defining frost point temperature for Polar Mesospheric Cloud (PMC) existence is near 150K (assuming 4 ppmv of water vapor). PMC's will sublime near this temperature and therefore one would expect the altitude where this temperature occurs to determine the lower boundary of the PMC altitude. However, the seasonal variability of zonal mean PMC characteristics from satellite observations do not appear to support this assumption. Initial studies show that the mean 150K contour line occurs lower than the average PMC altitude, assuming that satellite observations detect the bottom of the cloud with the biggest particles. This would indicate that the average PMC characteristics do not necessarily follow the seasonal characteristics of the frost point temperature. Using sets of PMC and temperature observations from SNOE, SME, Falling Sphere, and SABER as well as the CARMA model we offer possible explanations to this apparent discrepancy. One possible explanation is the difference in fine scale microphysical measurements obtained from rocket and lidars and averages over a much larger scale of PMC properties from satellite observations.
Bailey Scott M.
Merkel Aimee W.
Rusch David W.
Russell James M.
Thomas Gareth E.
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