Occurrence of polar stratospheric clouds at Kiruna

C.-F. Enell (1) , Å. Steen (1) , T. Wagner (2) , U. Friess (2) , K. Pfeilsticker (2) , U. Platt (2) , K.-H. Fricke (3)

1 IRF - Swedish Institute of Space Physics [Kiruna]
2 IUP - Institute of Environmental Physics [Heidelberg]
3 Institute of Physics

Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are often observed in the Kiruna region in northern Sweden, east of the Scandinavian mountain range, during wintertime. PSC occurrence can be detected by ground-based optical instruments. Most of these require clear tropospheric weather. By applying the zenith-sky colour index technique, which works under most weather conditions, the data availability can be extended. The observations suggest that PSC events, especially of type II (water PSCs) may indeed more common than predicted by synoptic models, which is expected because of the frequent presence of mountain-induced leewaves. However, it will be of importance to increase the density of independent observations.

Domaines: Océan, Atmosphère; Sciences de la Terre

C.-F. Enell, Å. Steen, T. Wagner, U. Friess, K. Pfeilsticker, et al.. Occurrence of polar stratospheric clouds at Kiruna. Annales Geophysicae, 1999, 17 (11), pp.1457-1462. ⟨hal-00316711⟩