BATAL: Balloon measurement campaigns of the Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer
Abstract
The Summer Asian Monsoon (SAM) provides a transport pathway for boundary layer air to reach the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere (UTLS). Trace gases observations in the UTLS from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) revealed that pollutants such as CO and HCN are enhanced every summer during the SAM. The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) as well as the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiments (SAGE) showed corresponding enhancements of aerosol backscatter and extinction in the same region as known as the Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL).
Since 2014, a series of Balloon measurement campaign of the ATAL (BATAL) has been conducted in several locations in India and one location in Saudi Arabia. With payloads measuring aerosol optical, physical and chemical properties, trace gases (H2O,O3) as well as the size distribution and images of ice crystals, the BATAL project is one of the most extensive effort to study the ATAL and its relationship with water vapor, ozone and ice in the UTLS. This presentation will briefly describe the measurements conducted during the BATAL campaigns and discuss the major scientific findings. The data collected have been used to validate satellite observations and provide unique set of measurements to study the properties of the ATAL. Chemical composition derived from collected aerosols during medium-duration balloon flights revealed the presence of nitrate and optical particle counter measurements suggest that NAT particles could coexist with aerosols in the UTLS during the Monsoon. Images of ice crystals in the UTLS revealed the presence of quasi-spheroid particles that may be formed through homogeneous freezing. Finally, the preparation of potential combined aircraft-balloon campaigns in 2021 and onward will be discussed.- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFM.A53C..03V
- Keywords:
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- 0305 Aerosols and particles;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE;
- 0322 Constituent sources and sinks;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE;
- 0340 Middle atmosphere: composition and chemistry;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE;
- 0368 Troposphere: constituent transport and chemistry;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE