ACPD Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ACPD 1680-7375 Copernicus GmbH Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/acpd-4-2513-2004 Composition analysis of liquid particles in the Arctic stratosphere Weisser C. 1 Mauersberger K. 1 Schreiner J. 1 Larsen N. 2 Cairo F. 3 Adriani A. 4 Ovarlez J. 5 Deshler T. 6 Max-Planck-Institute for Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg, Germany Danish Meteorological Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark Institute for Atmospheric Science and Climate, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy Institute for Interplanetary Space Physics, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA 12 05 2004 4 3 2513 2531 This is an open-access article ditributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. This article is available from http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/4/2513/2004/acpd-4-2513-2004.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/4/2513/2004/acpd-4-2513-2004.pdf

Synoptic scale polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) that formed without the presence of mountain leewaves were observed in early December 2002 from Kiruna/Sweden using balloon-borne instruments. The physical, chemical, and optical properties of the particles were measured. Within the PSC solid particles existed whenever the temperature was below the equilibrium temperature for nitric acid trihydrate and liquid particles appeared when the temperature fell below an even lower threshold about 3 K above the frost point. The correlation of liquid supercooled ternary solution aerosols with local temperatures is a pronounced feature observed during this flight although the molar ratios H<sub>2</sub>O/HNO<sub>3</sub> were about a factor of 2 higher than model predictions. In addition HCl has been measured for the first time in liquid aerosols. The chlorine isotope signature served as a unique tool to identify unambiguously HCl dissolved in STS particles. Within a narrow temperature range of about three degrees above the frost point, measured HCl molar ratios are below 1 weight%. There is only fair agreement with model predictions.