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AGU: Journal of Geophysical Research, Atmospheres

 

Keywords

  • New particle formation
  • tropopause
  • upper troposphere and lower stratosphere

Index Terms

  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Cloud physics and chemistry
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Constituent sources and sinks
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere: constituent transport and chemistry
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Volcanic effects
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Airglow and aurora
Abstract
Cited By (4)
 

Abstract

Enhanced new particle formation observed in the northern midlatitude tropopause region

Li-Hao Young

Department of Chemistry, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA

David R. Benson

Department of Chemistry, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA

William M. Montanaro

Department of Chemistry, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA

Shan-Hu Lee

Department of Chemistry, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA

Laura L. Pan

Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA

David C. Rogers

Research Aviation Facility, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Broomfield, Colorado, USA

Jorgen Jensen

Research Aviation Facility, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Broomfield, Colorado, USA

Jeffrey L. Stith

Research Aviation Facility, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Broomfield, Colorado, USA

Christopher A. Davis

Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA

Teresa L. Campos

Research Aviation Facility, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Broomfield, Colorado, USA

Kenneth P. Bowman

Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

William A. Cooper

Research Aviation Facility, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Broomfield, Colorado, USA

Leslie R. Lait

Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA

The free troposphere and lower stratosphere is a source region for new particle formation. In particular, nucleation can be active near the tropopause because of low temperatures. Here we show enhanced new particle formation observed during midlatitude tropopause folds. Number concentrations and size distributions of particles with diameters from 4 to 2000 nm were measured in the midlatitude tropopause region on 1 and 7 December 2005 during the NSF/NCAR GV Progressive Science Missions. High number concentrations of ultrafine particles with diameters from 4 to 9 nm, ranging from ∼700 to 3960 cm−3, were measured during tropopause folds. Our observations show that stratospheric and tropospheric air exchange during tropopause folding events, with a large gradient of temperature and relative humidity, may have enhanced new particle formation. Our results are consistent with other modeling predictions showing that nucleation rates are increased with mixing of two air masses with different temperatures and relative humidities. In addition, new particle formation events were also associated with vertical motion that may also have brought higher concentrations of water vapor and aerosol precursors (that originate at the ground level) from lower altitudes to higher altitudes where temperatures and surface areas are lower. The average ultrafine particle concentrations for the regions that were not affected by tropopause folds were also high (>100 cm−3), indicating that nucleation is active in the tropopause region, in general. Our results suggest that atmospheric dynamics, such as stratosphere and troposphere exchange and vertical motion, affect new particle formation in this region.

Received 5 October 2006; accepted 16 February 2007; published 25 May 2007.

Citation: Young, L.-H., et al. (2007), Enhanced new particle formation observed in the northern midlatitude tropopause region, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D10218, doi:10.1029/2006JD008109.

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