MIPAS/ENVISAT Observations of PSCs in the Arctic Winter 2010/11 in comparison to the Winters 2002/3 and 2009/10

The Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) is successfully operating since July 2002 on the ESA Envisat satellite. The spectrally highly resolved infra-red limb emission spectra give the great opportunity for the detection and differentiation of polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) types. Monitoring of PSC cloud coverage and type differentiation by remote sensors on a vortex-wide basis are essential for a better understanding and quantification of the denitrification in both polar vortices and its implication for ozone recovery. MIPAS is delivering global observations (-90 to +90 deg latitude) of PSC distributions over complete winters for day and night time conditions. The cloud detection sensitivity is excellent, comparable to space borne lidars, potentially even better under certain conditions. Here we present cloud parameter retrieval results of the MIPclouds processor originally developed in an ESA study for the high resolution mode measurement period 07/2002 to 3/2003 and just recently adopted for near-real-time applications and the reprocessing of the optimised resolution mode data (ongoing from 2004 to now). Cloud top heights, PSC occurrence frequencies and the temporal evolution of PSC types will be presented in comparison with meteorological analyses for various northern hemispheric winters with special emphasis on the unusual Arctic winter 2010/11. The results for this winter, with high ozone loss rates and long lasting PSC occurrence, resulting in a record high in Arctic ozone destruction throughout the vortex, is compared to the winters 2002/3 and 2009/10. During these two winters extensive ground based, balloon, and air-borne measurements of the Vintersol/SOLVE II and RECONCILE campaigns will support the analyses. Finally, it is intended to present first results of an inter-comparison with the PSC distribution modelled by the Chemical Lagrange Model for the Stratosphere (CLaMS).