SGER: The Effect of Enhanced Ionization on Droplet Formation in the Cold Stratosphere

北极区和南极区在臭氧消耗和极地平流层云(PSC)形成方面存在显著差异。它们在高层大气中的高能电子沉淀方面也有显著不同。有人提出，PSC的形成是由电子参与刺激的，产生的韧致辐射X射线穿透到平流层并电离那里的大气组分，这些组分成为液滴形成的形核中心。如果这是正确的，这将在一定程度上解释为什么臭氧消耗和PSC的形成几乎只发生在南极洲：高能电子沉淀在那里是常见的现象，但很少发生在北极极冠。将进行一项实验来调查这一建议。带有强大的局域电离源的气球有效载荷将飞越寒冷的北极平流层；摄影记录将揭示电离是否导致了液滴的形成。该实验的积极结果将产生广泛的影响。这将表明，目前的平流层化学模型需要修改，需要对平流层进行更多的实验研究。

The northern and southern polar regions exhibit striking differences in ozone depletion and polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) formation. They are also significantly different in terms of energetic electron precipitation in the upper atmosphere. The suggestion has been made that PSC formation is stimulated by electron participation by creating bremsstrahlung X rays that penetrate to the stratosphere and ionize atmospheric constituents there which become nucleation centers for droplet formation. If correct, this would partially explain why ozone depletion and PSC formation occur almost exclusively in Antarctica: energetic electron precipitation is a common phenomenon there, but rarely occurs in the Arctic polar cap. An experiment to investigate this suggestion is to be conducted. A balloon payload with a strong, localized ionization source will be flown through the cold Arctic stratosphere; a photographic record would reveal whether the ionization had caused droplet formation to occur. A positive result from the experiment would have wide ranging implications. It would indicate that current models of stratospheric chemistry need to be revised and that additional experimental investigation of the stratosphere is needed.