Abundant Nitrate and Nitric Acid Aerosol in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere

Abstract The tropospheric and stratospheric nitrate aerosol is simulated by a sectional aerosol model coupled to the Community Earth System Model. The simulated nitrate mass fractional contribution to aerosols is significantly higher in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) than that a...

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Main Authors: Pengfei Yu, Siying Lian, Yunqian Zhu, Owen B. Toon, Michael Höpfner, Stephan Borrmann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-09-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL100258
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author Pengfei Yu
Siying Lian
Yunqian Zhu
Owen B. Toon
Michael Höpfner
Stephan Borrmann
author_facet Pengfei Yu
Siying Lian
Yunqian Zhu
Owen B. Toon
Michael Höpfner
Stephan Borrmann
author_sort Pengfei Yu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The tropospheric and stratospheric nitrate aerosol is simulated by a sectional aerosol model coupled to the Community Earth System Model. The simulated nitrate mass fractional contribution to aerosols is significantly higher in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) than that at the surface. Both in situ measurements and simulations show that nitrate aerosol accounts for about 30%–40% of the aerosol mass at the tropopause of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) region. Furthermore, simulated condensed nitric acid particles account for ∼20% of the annual mean aerosol mass at the tropical tropopause, and over 95% in the UTLS at the South Pole in June‐July‐August. Our study suggests that the extremely cold ambient conditions in the UTLS of the tropics, ASM and polar regions thermodynamically favor the condensation of ammonia and nitric acid. The widely distributed nitrate aerosol in the global UTLS may be overlooked by climate models.
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publishDate 2022-09-01
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-cb2e883b34974489a1d70f72dcaeea342025-08-20T02:10:39ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072022-09-014918n/an/a10.1029/2022GL100258Abundant Nitrate and Nitric Acid Aerosol in the Upper Troposphere and Lower StratospherePengfei Yu0Siying Lian1Yunqian Zhu2Owen B. Toon3Michael Höpfner4Stephan Borrmann5Institute for Environmental and Climate Research Jinan University Guangzhou ChinaInstitute for Environmental and Climate Research Jinan University Guangzhou ChinaLaboratory of Atmospheric and Space Sciences University of Colorado, Boulder Boulder CO USALaboratory of Atmospheric and Space Sciences University of Colorado, Boulder Boulder CO USAInstitute of Meteorology and Climate Research Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe GermanyJohannes Gutenberg University Mainz GermanyAbstract The tropospheric and stratospheric nitrate aerosol is simulated by a sectional aerosol model coupled to the Community Earth System Model. The simulated nitrate mass fractional contribution to aerosols is significantly higher in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) than that at the surface. Both in situ measurements and simulations show that nitrate aerosol accounts for about 30%–40% of the aerosol mass at the tropopause of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) region. Furthermore, simulated condensed nitric acid particles account for ∼20% of the annual mean aerosol mass at the tropical tropopause, and over 95% in the UTLS at the South Pole in June‐July‐August. Our study suggests that the extremely cold ambient conditions in the UTLS of the tropics, ASM and polar regions thermodynamically favor the condensation of ammonia and nitric acid. The widely distributed nitrate aerosol in the global UTLS may be overlooked by climate models.https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL100258nitrateNATUTLSaerosolstratosphere
spellingShingle Pengfei Yu
Siying Lian
Yunqian Zhu
Owen B. Toon
Michael Höpfner
Stephan Borrmann
Abundant Nitrate and Nitric Acid Aerosol in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere
Geophysical Research Letters
nitrate
NAT
UTLS
aerosol
stratosphere
title Abundant Nitrate and Nitric Acid Aerosol in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere
title_full Abundant Nitrate and Nitric Acid Aerosol in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere
title_fullStr Abundant Nitrate and Nitric Acid Aerosol in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere
title_full_unstemmed Abundant Nitrate and Nitric Acid Aerosol in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere
title_short Abundant Nitrate and Nitric Acid Aerosol in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere
title_sort abundant nitrate and nitric acid aerosol in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere
topic nitrate
NAT
UTLS
aerosol
stratosphere
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL100258
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AT owenbtoon abundantnitrateandnitricacidaerosolintheuppertroposphereandlowerstratosphere
AT michaelhopfner abundantnitrateandnitricacidaerosolintheuppertroposphereandlowerstratosphere
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