14 years of lidar measurements of polar stratospheric clouds at the French Antarctic station Dumont d'Urville

Abstract

Abstract. Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) play a critical role in the stratospheric ozone depletion processes. The last 30 years have seen significant improvements in our understanding of the PSC processes but PSC parametrization in global models still remains a challenge due to the necessary trade-off between the complexity of PSC microphysics and model parametrization constraints. The French Antarctic station Dumont d'Urville (DDU, 66.6∘ S, 140.0∘ E) has one of the few high latitude ground-based lidars in the Southern Hemisphere that has been monitoring PSCs for decades. This study focuses on the PSC data record during the 2007–2020 period. First, the DDU lidar record is analysed through three established classification schemes that prove to be mutually consistent: the PSC population observed above DDU is estimated to be of 30 % supercooled ternary solutions, more than 60 % nitric acid trihydrate mixtures and less than 10 % of water–ice dominated PSC. The Cloud–Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization PSC detection around the station are compared to DDU PSC datasets and show a good agreement despite more water–ice PSC detection. Detailed 2015 lidar measurements are presented to highlight interesting features of PSC fields above DDU. Then, combining a temperature proxy to lidar measurements, we build a trend of PSC days per year at DDU from ERA5 (the fifth generation of European ReAnalysis) and NCEP (National Centers for Environment Protection reanalysis) reanalyses fitted on lidar measurements operated at the station. This significant 14-year trend of −4.6 PSC days per decade is consistent with recent temperature satellite measurements at high latitudes. Specific DDU lidar measurements are presented to highlight fine PSC features that are often sub-scale to global models and spaceborne measurements.

Polar Stratospheric Cloud Observations at Concordia Station by Remotely Controlled Lidar Observatory

“…To make this comparison, we had to adopt a detection and classification algorithm that follows the same approach and uses the same optical parameters as the v2 CALIOP algorithm (see Figure 7 and [7,20]). This approach seems to be successful and is now also followed by others (see [5]). However, the detection thresholds to distinguish PSCs from background aerosol had to be calculated in a different way.…”

“…Stefanutti [4] reported lidar observations at Dumont D'Urville from 1989 to 1993. Recent PSC observations at Dumon D'Urville have been reported in [5]. A polarization lidar was active at McMurdo from 1989 up to 2010 [6,7], and was transferred to Concordia Station in 2014 [8].…”

Polar Stratospheric Clouds Observations at Concordia Station by the Remotely Controlled Lidar Observatory

“…2 of 10 1993. Recent PSC observations at Dumon D'Urville have been reported in [5]. A polarization lidar has been active at McMurdo from 1989 up to 2010 [6,7], and has been transferred to Concordia Station in 2014 [8].…”

Statistical analysis of observations of polar stratospheric clouds with a lidar in Kiruna, northern Sweden

“…Several ground-based lidars have been or were operating over sufficiently long periods to allow for the statistical analysis of PSC characteristics at the respective locations. Santacesaria et al (2001) and Tencé et al (2023) compiled such data, although for different periods, for the lidar at the Dumont d'Urville research station in Antarctica. Adriani et al (2004) published a similar survey for McMurdo Station, also in Antarctica.…”