loading page

Aircraft-based observation of meteoric material in lower stratospheric aerosol particles between 15 and 68°N
  • +24
  • Johannes Schneider,
  • Ralf Weigel,
  • Thomas Klimach,
  • Antonis Dragoneas,
  • Oliver Appel,
  • Andreas Hünig,
  • Sergej Molleker,
  • Franziska Köllner,
  • Hans-Christian Clemen,
  • Oliver Eppers,
  • Peter Hoppe,
  • Peter Michael Hoor,
  • Christoph Mahnke,
  • Martina Krämer,
  • Christian Rolf,
  • Jens-Uwe Grooß,
  • Andreas Zahn,
  • Florian Obersteiner,
  • Fabrizio Ravegnani,
  • Alexei Oulanovsky,
  • Hans Schlager,
  • Monika Scheibe,
  • Glenn S. Diskin,
  • Joshua Paul DiGangi,
  • John B. Nowak,
  • Martin Zöger,
  • Stephan Borrmann
Johannes Schneider
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Ralf Weigel
Institute for Physics of the Atmosphere
Author Profile
Thomas Klimach
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Author Profile
Antonis Dragoneas
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Author Profile
Oliver Appel
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Author Profile
Andreas Hünig
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Author Profile
Sergej Molleker
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Author Profile
Franziska Köllner
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Author Profile
Hans-Christian Clemen
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Author Profile
Oliver Eppers
Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
Author Profile
Peter Hoppe
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Author Profile
Peter Michael Hoor
University Mainz
Author Profile
Christoph Mahnke
Johannes Gutenberg-Universität
Author Profile
Martina Krämer
FZ Jülich, Germany
Author Profile
Christian Rolf
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Author Profile
Jens-Uwe Grooß
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Author Profile
Andreas Zahn
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Author Profile
Florian Obersteiner
Karlsruhe Institute for Technology
Author Profile
Fabrizio Ravegnani
CNR
Author Profile
Alexei Oulanovsky
CAO
Author Profile
Hans Schlager
DLR
Author Profile
Monika Scheibe
Unknown
Author Profile
Glenn S. Diskin
NASA Langley Research Center
Author Profile
Joshua Paul DiGangi
NASA Langley Research Center
Author Profile
John B. Nowak
NASA Langley Research Center
Author Profile
Martin Zöger
DLR Oberpfaffenhofen
Author Profile
Stephan Borrmann
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz , Germany
Author Profile

Abstract

Particles containing meteoric material were observed in the lower stratosphere during five aircraft research missions in recent years. Single particle laser ablation technique in a bipolar configuration was used to measure the chemical composition of particles in a size range of approximately 150 nm to 3 µm. The five aircraft missions, conducted between 2014 and 2018, cover a latitude range from 15 to 68°N. In total, more than 330 000 single particles were analyzed. A prominent fraction (more than 50 000) of the analyzed particles was characterized by strong abundances of magnesium, iron, and rare iron oxide compounds, together with sulfuric acid. This particle type was found almost exclusively in the stratosphere and is interpreted as meteoric material immersed or dissolved in stratospheric sulfuric acid particles. Below the tropopause the fraction of this particle type decreases sharply. However, small abundances were observed below 3000 m a.s.l. in the Canadian Arctic and also at the Jungfraujoch high altitude station (3600 m a.s.l.). Thus, the removal pathway by sedimentation and/or mixing into the troposphere is confirmed. Our data show that particles containing meteoric material are present in the lower stratosphere in very similar relative abundances, regardless of latitude or season. This finding suggests that the meteoric material is transported from the mesosphere into the stratosphere in the downward branch of the Brewer-Dobson-Circulation and efficiently distributed towards low latitudes by isentropic mixing. As a result, meteoric material is found in particles of the stratospheric Junge layer at all latitudes.