Professor Roy Grainger

Abstract:

Observations of Mount Pinatubo aerosol as measured by the ISAMS instrument on UARS are presented for December 1991. These observations show a tropical reservoir of high aerosol with steep gradients across the subtropics. On the 450 K isentrope there is a ring of high aerosol in midlatitudes which is separated from the tropical reservoir by an approximately zonal band of lower aerosol values. The ISAMS aerosol data are compared with output from the off-line three-dimensional transport model SLIMCAT. Integrations are performed with isentropic transport only, diabatic transport only, isentropic and diabatic transport, and isentropic, diabatic and sedimentary transport of aerosol. Integrations using winds and temperatures from UKMO and ECMWF are compared. It is shown that even in the lower stratosphere, cross-isentropic transport over the timescale of a month can have a significant effect on the distribution of aerosol. The SLIMCAT integrations with isentropic transport only do not form a ring of high aerosol in midlatitudes on the 450 K isentrope. Inclusion of diabatic transport in the SLIMCAT integration shows that this ring forms from diabatic descent of air containing higher aerosol concentrations from aloft. Isentropic transport of high-aerosol air from the tropics into midlatitudes on the 500 K isentrope, followed by diabatic descent, further increases the values in the midlatitude ring on the 450 K isentrope. Inclusion of the sedimentation of aerosol in SLIMCAT integrations significantly offsets the diabatic ascent in the tropics. The SLIMCAT integrations, particularly those run using UKMO analyses, produce too much transport of midlatitude air into the tropics. The implications for accurate modeling of the tropical reservoir are discussed.

Abstract:

Volcanic sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere produce significant long-term solar and infrared radiative perturbations in the Earth’s atmosphere and at the surface, which cause a response of the climate system. Here we study the fundamental process of the development of this volcanic radiative forcing, focusing on the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines on June 15, 1991. We develop a spectral-, space-, and time-dependent set of aerosol parameters for 2 years after the Pinatubo eruption using a combination of SAGE II aerosol extinctions and UARS-retrieved effective radii, supported by SAM II, AVHRR, lidar and balloon observations. Using these data, we calculate the aerosol radiative forcing with the ECHAM4 general circulation model (GCM) for cases with climatological and observed sea surface temperature (SST), as well as with and without climate response. We find that the aerosol radiative forcing is not sensitive to the climate variations caused by SST or the atmospheric response to the aerosols, except in regions with varying dense cloudiness. The solar forcing in the near infrared contributes substantially to the total stratospheric heating. A complete formulation of radiative forcing should include not only changes of net fluxes at the tropopause but also the vertical distribution of atmospheric heating rates and the change of downward thermal and net solar radiative fluxes at the surface. These forcing and aerosol data are available for GCM experiments with any spatial and spectral resolution.

Abstract:

Seasonal integrations of a three-dimensional fully coupled model of the radiation, dynamics and chemistry of the stratosphere and mesosphere are presented for the southern hemisphere spring. Included in the model are heterogeneous reactions which take place in sulphuric acid aerosol droplets as well as on the surface of Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs). Calculations are performed for background levels of stratospheric aerosol and for conditions following the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. For the volcanic case, surface area densities are derived from Improved Stratospheric and Mesospheric Sounder data. For background aerosol loadings there are significant increases in HOx and ClOx, as well as reductions in NOx. These effects are enhanced following the Pinatubo eruption but saturate at relatively low aerosol levels and hence can persist in the stratosphere for several years. Where pSCs are predicted to form, the sulphate aerosol chemistry does not operate in the model since the aerosols are incorporated as nuclei within the PSCs. In contrast, on the edge of the ozone hole, where temperatures are only just too high for the formation of PSCs, destruction by aerosol can result in further total ozone depletion of order 20 Dobson Units. In addition, the size and duration of the ozone hole are both increased by the presence of volcanic aerosols. The results support previous suggestions that the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo resulted in a temporary increase in ozone depletion over Antarctica and elsewhere.