nacreous cloud

Arctic stratospheric cloud (nacreous clouds)
Abbreviation	PSC
Altitude	15,000–25,000 m (50,000–80,000 ft)
Classification	Other
Appearance	Glowing brightly with vivid iridescent colours
Precipitation Cloud?	no

Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs), also known as nacreous clouds, are clouds in the winter polar stratosphere at altitudes of 15,000–25,000 metres (50,000–80,000 ft). They are implicated in the formation of ozone holes; ^[1] their effects on ozone depletion arise because they support chemical reactions that produce active chlorine which catalyzes ozone destruction, and also because they remove gaseous nitric acid, perturbing nitrogen and chlorine cycles in a way which increases ozone destruction. ^[2]

Formation

The stratosphere is very dry; unlike the troposphere, it rarely allows clouds to form. In the extreme cold of the polar winter, however, stratospheric clouds of different types may form, which are classified according to their physical state and chemical composition.

Due to their high altitude and the curvature of the surface of the Earth, these clouds will receive sunlight from below the horizon and reflect it to the ground, shining brightly well before dawn or after dusk.

PSCs form at very low temperatures, below −78 °C. These temperatures can occur in the lower stratosphere in polar winter. In the Antarctic, temperatures below −88 °C frequently cause type II PSCs. Such low temperatures are rarer in the Arctic. In the Northern hemisphere, the generation of waves in the lee of mountains may locally cool the lower stratosphere and lead to the formation of PSCs.

A type 2 (water) PSC

Types of PSC

PSCs are classified into three types Ia, Ib and II according to their chemical composition.

• Type I clouds contain nitric acid and water.
• Type Ia clouds consist of crystals formed from nitric acid and water.
• Type Ib cloud droplets additionally contain sulfuric acid and are present in the form of supercooled ternary solution.
• Type II clouds consist of water ice only.

See also

• Noctilucent clouds
• Ozone depletion
• Aurora (astronomy)
• Circumhorizontal arc

References

• http://www.iac.ethz.ch/research/chemistry/polar_stratospheric_clouds/
• http://www.meteoros.de/psc/psce.htm

Numbered references from above:

1. ^

   United States Environmental Protection Agency — see [1]

2. ^ World Meteorological Organization Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion (2002), particularly section 3.2.2 (pages 3.21, i.e. 195 of the PDF file, and following).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Polar stratospheric cloud

Research

• Nacreous Clouds at atoptics.co.uk
• Polar Stratospheric Clouds Above Spitsbergen at Alfred Wegener Institute

News reports

• http://www.smh.com.au/news/science/extreme-weather-makes-rare-cloud/2006/08/01/1154198117951.html
• http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060801/ap_on_sc/antarctica_clouds_4
• http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/08/01/antarctica.clouds.ap/index.html
• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=398592&in_page_id=1811

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