PMCs and the Water Frost Point in the Arctic Summer Mesosphere

Abstract

In August, 1997 the Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI) obtained vertical profiles of OH number density and polar mesospheric cloud (PMC) brightness by scanning the limb up to 71 deg N while the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA) obtained co-located vertical profiles of temperature. MAHRSI OH densities are converted to water vapor using a one-dimensional model that assumes photochemical equilibrium. By combining water vapor profiles with CRISTA temperatures we map the frost point both vertically and horizontally in the Arctic summer mesosphere. Our data show that supersaturation can exist between 80-87 km suggesting that growth of ice particles is limited to these altitudes. Additionally, we find that not only is supersaturation an insufficient condition for a PMC but also that PMCs can exist in apparently unsaturated air.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2001
Accession Number
ADA526399

Entities

People

  • Christoph R Englert
  • Klaus U. Grossmann
  • Michael B. Summers
  • Michael H. Stevens
  • Oleg A. Gusev
  • Robert R. Conway

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Atmospheres
  • Clouds
  • Computational Science
  • Detection
  • Geographic Regions
  • Grids
  • High Resolution
  • Infrared Spectrometers
  • Latitude
  • Line Of Sight
  • Measurement
  • Mesosphere
  • Military Research
  • Scattering
  • Space Sciences
  • Spectra
  • Water Vapor

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Oceanography.
  • Plasma Physics.
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space