The Scandinavians call them “mother of pearls” because of their spectacular iridescent colors. During the cold dark Antarctic winter, stratospheric ice clouds (PSCs, polar stratospheric clouds) form when temperatures drop below -78C. These clouds are responsible for chemical changes that promote production of chemically active chlorine and bromine. When sunlight returns to the Antarctic in the Southern Hemisphere spring,... It contains tools for weather education, including weather games, activities, experiments, photos, a glossary and educational teaching materials for the classroom. This is an extremely rare phenomenon! Precipitation cloud? Polar stratospheric clouds ( PSCs) are clouds in the winter polar stratosphere at altitudes of 15,000–25,000 m (49,000–82,000 ft). They are best observed during civil twilight, when the Sun is between 1 and 6 degrees below the horizon, as well as in winter and in more northerly latitudes. Nacreous Clouds or Polar Stratospheric Clouds. Natural Air Pollution. Thin clouds of acid droplets and ice crystals. The clouds must be composed of similar sized crystals to produce the characteristic bright iridescent colours by diffraction and interference. The bottom graph (c) shows a time series from 1985 to 2021 of percent ice coverage of the Arctic Ocean domain. Polar Stratospheric Cloud Polar stratospheric clouds are also observed during the Arctic winter, and in several years during the 1990s, clouds were abundant and persisted well into Arctic spring, leading to the observed large depletion in Arctic ozone. For the polar stratospheric clouds to form the temperature must range between negative 78 degrees Celsius or simply -108 degrees Fahrenheit. McMurdo (Antarctica) is one of the primary lidar stations Working in the Polar Regions is challenging. Depolarization ratio of Polar Stratospheric Clouds in coastal Antarctica: profiling comparison analysis between a ground-based Micro Pulse Lidar and the space-borne CALIOP C. Cordoba-Jabonero´ 1, J. L. Guerrero-Rascado2,3, D. Toledo1, M. Parrondo1, M. Yela1, M. Gil1, and H. A. Ochoa4 [3] It is well known that Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs) are frequently observed during the Austral winter over Antarctica. 2. Nacreous Clouds over the NASA Radome, McMurdo Station, Antarctica A veil of type I PSC, easily confused with cirrostratus clouds or tropospheric haze Polar stratospheric cloud over Asker, Norway This is a time lapse I made of the very beautiful Polar Stratospheric Clouds that was visible on the 12th of December 2019. Polar Stratospheric Clouds and the Ozone Hole: Physics Today: Vol 44, No 12 Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) play an important role in polar ozone depletion, since they are involved in diverse ozone destruction processes (chlorine activation, denitrification). Advances in Space Research, 36 , 868–878. Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) play an important role in polar ozone depletion, since they are involved in diverse ozone destruction processes (chlorine activation, denitrification). Polar stratospheric clouds create the conditions for drastic ozone destruction, providing a surface for chlorine to change into ozone-destroying form. Because of their different physical properties (liquid in one case, solid in the other), aerosols and polar stratospheric clouds have very different physicochemical properties. Arctic ozone decreases of as much as 40 percent have been measured. ... Antarctic Ozone Hole in 2015 - Duration: 1:20. An uncommon weather event—a sudden stratospheric warming—disrupted the circulation in the polar stratosphere in early September, just as the ozone hole was beginning to form. These are the first ground-based lidar observations of PSC at Rothera, and also the first in West Antarctica. It forms in Autumn when Arctic or Antarctic temperatures cool rapidly as the polar night begins. The Antarctic ozone hole is formed each year in the Southern Hemisphere spring (September-November) when there is a sharp decline (currently up to 60%) in the total ozone over most of Antarctica. Polar stratospheric cloud (PSCs), 3 are frequent features of the southern winter atmosphere, and may provide a site for heterogeneous reactions that lead to ozone destruction 4,5. These clouds are responsible for chemical changes that promote production of chemically active chlorine and bromine. “The extremely low air temperatures (<195 K) inside the polar vortex, lead to the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs)." The Scandinavians call them “mother of pearls” because of their spectacular iridescent colors. These Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSC's) are composed of ice crystals that provide the surface for a multitude of reactions, many of which speed the degredation of ozone molecules. These nacreous clouds are also called “polar stratospheric clouds” and get their brilliant, rainbow colors from sunlight that’s reflected from below the … Weather Wiz Kids is a fun and safe website for kids about all the weather info they need to know. This ozone loss was described in 1985 by British researcher Joe Farman and his colleagues. 3 This paper presents statistics of Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs) above Antarctica from 4 June to October 2006 using observations from the CALIOP spaceborne lidar, part of the 5 CALIPSO mission. “The extremely low air temperatures (<195 K) inside the polar vortex, lead to the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs)." The stratospheric polar vortex is an area of high-speed, cyclonically rotating winds around 15 km to 50 km high, poleward of 50°, and is strongest in winter. Polar stratospheric clouds play a crucial role in the depletion of stratospheric ozone over Antarctica in the spring months. Actual amounts released from natural sources in the world are difficult to quantify. These reactions lead to the production of free radicals of chlorine in the stratosphere which directly destroy ozone molecules. At Rothera, PSC occurrence frequency in 2004 is only half of that in 2003, which is likely due to warmer stratospheric temperatures in 2004 associated with changes of the polar vortex. The clouds can be iridescent when produced by lee waves, of which there are few at Halley. [2] Widespread formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) occurs every year during the Antarctic winter. Satellite measurements from Nimbus 7 showed that over the years the depletion from austral spring to austral spring has generally worsened. Antarctica is a continent, bigger than Europe, North America or Australia, and so doesn't just have one climate zone, but several. Extremely low stratospheric temperatures (lower than -78(C) over the Antarctic region contribute to depletion of ozone, in that low temperatures lead to the presence of polar stratospheric clouds … The dynamic heating and then solar heating (in spring time) spread with time throughout the polar stratosphere, leading to the weakening and breakup of the S.H. Then, there is the formation of Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs). Polar stratospheric cloud definition, an iridescent cloud in the winter polar stratosphere, as high as 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) above the earth: in both the Antarctic and the Arctic, these clouds contribute to ozone depletion by converting benign forms of chlorine into ozone-destroying forms and by eliminating the nitrogen compounds that curb the destructive effects of chlorine. And a powerful green laser pulsing into the dark winter night. This rare type of cloud formations are known as “polar stratospheric clouds” or “nacreous clouds”, and they can only be seen from high latitude regions such as Iceland, Alaska, Northern Canada, the Scandinavian countries and Antarctica. A loss of stratospheric ozone results in more harmful UV-B radiation reaching the Earth's surface. The formation of PSC requires very low temperatures. Polar Mesospheric Clouds Over Central Asia . The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit (1.18 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and other human activities. backscatter, color ratio, and aerosol depolarization ratio for polar stratospheric clouds and stratospheric aerosols. For the polar stratospheric clouds to form the temperature must range between negative 78 degrees Celsius or simply -108 degrees Fahrenheit. This means that there is a time when temperatures in the lower side of the stratosphere become very cold especially during winter around the South or North pole. stratospheric polar vortex. at anomalously low temperatures of -78.1 degrees Celsius. Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) and ozone. Under normal atmospheric conditions, the two chemicals that store most atmospheric chlorine (hydrochloric acid, and chlorine nitrate) are stable. But in the long months of polar darkness over Antarctica in the winter, atmospheric conditions are unusual. Presentations including new observational (ground and satellite-based) and modelling methodologies specific to polar regions are encouraged. In general there are two types of Polar 5tratospheric Clouds: These high altitude clouds form only at very low temperatures help destroy ozone in two ways. NASA and NOAA use three complementary instrumental methods to monitor … The depletion was confined to the spring months (September-November); no depletion was observed in other seasons. characterize polar stratospheric clouds and to estimate a particle index of refraction. said Dr. Luo. In de stratosfeer boven Antarctica zitten dan soms ijle wolkenlaagjes.Deze wolken worden in het Engels aangeduid als polar stratospheric clouds (afgekort tot PSC). Het bovengenoemde omzettingsproces vindt alleen plaats bij zeer lage temperaturen. Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) and ozone Under normal atmospheric conditions, the two chemicals that store most atmospheric chlorine (hydrochloric acid, and chlorine nitrate) are stable. CrossRef Google Scholar These polar stratospheric clouds provide surface on which chlorine nitrate gets hydrolysed to form hypochlorous acid. The degree of that ozone reduction is depending on the type of PSCs, and hence on their occurrence. Strong Polar Vortex. Synoptic-scale changes in their geographic and temporal distribution 6 are documented on a weekly basis and correlated with temperature fields. 2. Although polar stratospheric clouds can form in the Arctic, they rarely last long enough for extensive decreases in ozone. "The atmosphere over Antarctica is controlled by a strong polar vortex in winter, making it difficult to exchange with the mid-latitude atmosphere.” said Dr. LUO. The interannual variability of polar stratospheric clouds and related parameters in Antarctica during September and October The interannual variability of polar stratospheric clouds and related parameters in Antarctica during September and October Here we provide information on the size of the polar vortex, the size of the ozone hole, the size of the area where air is cold enough to form Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs), and which parts of this cold air are sunlit such that photo-chemical ozone depletion processes can occur. The phenomenon is observed yearly over the South Pole areas (Antarctica), whereby the amount of ozone in the atmosphere drastically decreases between September and the end of November.
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