Regensburg 2007 – scientific programme
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UP: Fachverband Umweltphysik
UP 1: Atmosphäre und Klima I
UP 1.5: Talk
Monday, March 26, 2007, 10:30–10:45, H48
Geographic distribution of polar stratospheric clouds — •Philipp Reichl, Christian von Savigny, and John Burrows — Institute of Environmental Physics (IUP), University of Bremen, Germany
In the cold polar winters at temperatures less than 195 K, stratospheric aerosols can form Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs). These clouds play a key role in the depletion of ozone in the stratosphere. They contribute to the formation of the ozone hole by facilitating the conversion of chlorine from inactive compounds to active Cl2 on the surface of the cloud particles.
It is possible to detect PSCs from limb scattering measurements using a color index approach. The SCIAMACHY instrument onboard the European Space Agency’s satellite Envisat provides limb scattering data since summer 2002, allowing the comparison of the geographic distribution of PSCs over the course of several years. The results of the PSC distributions of both hemispheres are shown in connection with ECMWF temperature data.