Articles | Volume 25, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-10603-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-10603-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
16 Sep 2025
Research article |
| 16 Sep 2025
| 16 Sep 2025
Influence of atmospheric waves and deep convection on water vapour in the equatorial lower stratosphere seen from long-duration balloon measurements
Sullivan Carbone
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Groupe de Spectrométrie Moléculaire et Atmosphérique (GSMA, CNRS UMR 7331), Université de Reims, UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Moulin de la Housse B.P. 1039, 51687 Reims CEDEX 2, France
Emmanuel D. Riviere
Groupe de Spectrométrie Moléculaire et Atmosphérique (GSMA, CNRS UMR 7331), Université de Reims, UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Moulin de la Housse B.P. 1039, 51687 Reims CEDEX 2, France
Mélanie Ghysels
Groupe de Spectrométrie Moléculaire et Atmosphérique (GSMA, CNRS UMR 7331), Université de Reims, UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Moulin de la Housse B.P. 1039, 51687 Reims CEDEX 2, France
Jérémie Burgalat
Groupe de Spectrométrie Moléculaire et Atmosphérique (GSMA, CNRS UMR 7331), Université de Reims, UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Moulin de la Housse B.P. 1039, 51687 Reims CEDEX 2, France
Georges Durry
Groupe de Spectrométrie Moléculaire et Atmosphérique (GSMA, CNRS UMR 7331), Université de Reims, UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Moulin de la Housse B.P. 1039, 51687 Reims CEDEX 2, France
Nadir Amarouche
INSU Division Technique, 1 place Aristide Briand, 92195 Meudon CEDEX, France
Aurélien Podglajen
Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD/IPSL), Sorbonne Université, École polytechnique, Institut polytechnique de Paris, École normale supérieure, PSL Research University, CNRS, Paris, France
Albert Hertzog
Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD/IPSL), Sorbonne Université, École polytechnique, Institut polytechnique de Paris, École normale supérieure, PSL Research University, CNRS, Paris, France
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Simone Brunamonti, Harald Saathoff, Albert Hertzog, Glenn Diskin, Masatomo Fujiwara, Karen Rosenlof, Ottmar Möhler, Béla Tuzson, Lukas Emmenegger, Nadir Amarouche, Georges Durry, Fabien Frérot, Jean-Christophe Samake, Claire Cenac, Julio Lopez, Paul Monnier, and Mélanie Ghysels
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 5321–5348, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-5321-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-5321-2025, 2025
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Pierre Cadiou, Riwal Plougonven, Aurélien Podglajen, Albert Hertzog, and Alexandra Mac Farlane
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Winds in the Equatorial region remain difficult to model. We take advantage of long-duration balloon campaigns from 2019 and 2021 to assess errors in winds between 18 and 20 km in a weather forecast model. Large errors persist: one third of the time, the error is larger than 3.5 meters per second. This has implications for research studies that calculate air mass trajectories in this transition region between the troposphere and the stratosphere.
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We analyzed the stratospheric aerosol plume from the 2022 Hunga eruption using satellite lidar data. We implemented a method to retrieve some aerosol properties, as standard products failed in this case. We found very high optical depth values in the days following the eruption, which decreased rapidly but remained elevated for months. Our results are broadly validated, though some satellite products underestimate the values due, in part, to the unusual aerosol size distribution in the plume.
Pasquale Sellitto, Redha Belhadji, Bernard Legras, Aurélien Podglajen, and Clair Duchamp
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6353–6364, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6353-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6353-2025, 2025
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Tanja J. Schuck, Johannes Degen, Timo Keber, Katharina Meixner, Thomas Wagenhäuser, Mélanie Ghysels, Georges Durry, Nadir Amarouche, Alessandro Zanchetta, Steven van Heuven, Huilin Chen, Johannes C. Laube, Sophie L. Baartman, Carina van der Veen, Maria Elena Popa, and Andreas Engel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4333–4348, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4333-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4333-2025, 2025
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A balloon was launched in 2021 in the Arctic to carry instruments for trace gas measurements up to 32 km. One purpose was to compare measurement techniques. We focus on the major greenhouse gases. To measure these, air was sampled with the AirCore technique and with flask sampling, and samples were analysed after the flight. In flight, observations were done with an optical method. In a companion paper, we report on observations of chlorine and bromine containing trace gases.
Xiaolu Yan, Paul Konopka, Felix Ploeger, and Aurélien Podglajen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1289–1305, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1289-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1289-2025, 2025
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Our study finds that the air mass fractions (AMFs) from the Asian boundary layer (ABL) to the polar regions are about 1.5 times larger than those from the same latitude band in the Southern Hemisphere. The transport of AMFs from the ABL to the polar vortex primarily occurs above 20 km and over timescales exceeding 2 years. Our analysis reveals a strong correlation between the polar pollutants and the AMFs from the ABL. About 20 % of SF6 in the polar stratosphere originates from the ABL.
Jean-Louis Bonne, Ludovic Donnat, Grégory Albora, Jérémie Burgalat, Nicolas Chauvin, Delphine Combaz, Julien Cousin, Thomas Decarpenterie, Olivier Duclaux, Nicolas Dumelié, Nicolas Galas, Catherine Juery, Florian Parent, Florent Pineau, Abel Maunoury, Olivier Ventre, Marie-France Bénassy, and Lilian Joly
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4471–4491, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4471-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4471-2024, 2024
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Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3495–3513, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3495-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3495-2024, 2024
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A tunable diode laser hygrometer, “Pico-Light H2O”, is presented and its performances are evaluated during the AsA 2022 balloon-borne intercomparison campaign from Aire-sur-l'Adour (France) in September 2022. A total of 15 balloons were launched within the framework of the EU-funded HEMERA project. Pico-Light H2O has been compared in situ with the NOAA Frost Point Hygrometer in the upper troposphere and stratosphere, as well as with meteorological sondes (iMet-4 and M20) in the troposphere.
Thomas Lesigne, François Ravetta, Aurélien Podglajen, Vincent Mariage, and Jacques Pelon
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5935–5952, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5935-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5935-2024, 2024
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Upper tropical clouds have a strong impact on Earth's climate but are challenging to observe. We report the first long-duration observations of tropical clouds from lidars flying on board stratospheric balloons. Comparisons with spaceborne observations reveal the enhanced sensitivity of balloon-borne lidar to optically thin cirrus. These clouds, which have a significant coverage and lie in the uppermost troposphere, are linked with the dehydration of air masses on their way to the stratosphere.
Pasquale Sellitto, Redha Belhadji, Juan Cuesta, Aurélien Podglajen, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15523–15535, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15523-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15523-2023, 2023
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Record-breaking wildfires ravaged south-eastern Australia during the fire season 2019–2020. These fires injected a smoke plume in the stratosphere, which dispersed over the whole Southern Hemisphere and interacted with solar and terrestrial radiation. A number of detached smoke bubbles were also observed emanating from this plume and ascending quickly to over 35 km altitude. Here we study how absorption of radiation generated ascending motion of both the the hemispheric plume and the vortices.
Milena Corcos, Albert Hertzog, Riwal Plougonven, and Aurélien Podglajen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6923–6939, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6923-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6923-2023, 2023
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Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 311–330, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-311-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-311-2023, 2023
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Bing Cao, Jennifer S. Haase, Michael J. Murphy, M. Joan Alexander, Martina Bramberger, and Albert Hertzog
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15379–15402, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15379-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15379-2022, 2022
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Atmospheric waves that carry momentum from tropospheric weather systems into the equatorial stratosphere modify the winds there. The Strateole-2 2019 campaign launched long-duration stratospheric superpressure balloons to measure these equatorial waves. We deployed a GPS receiver on one of the balloons to measure atmospheric temperature profiles beneath the balloon. Temperature variations in the retrieved profiles show planetary-scale waves with a 20 d period and 3–4 d period waves.
Bernard Legras, Clair Duchamp, Pasquale Sellitto, Aurélien Podglajen, Elisa Carboni, Richard Siddans, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Sergey Khaykin, and Felix Ploeger
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The long-duration atmospheric impact of the Tonga eruption in January 2022 is a plume of water and sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere that persisted for more than 6 months. We study this evolution using several satellite instruments and analyse the unusual behaviour of this plume as sulfates and water first moved down rapidly and then separated into two layers. We also report the self-organization in compact and long-lived patches.
Abhinna K. Behera, Emmanuel D. Rivière, Sergey M. Khaykin, Virginie Marécal, Mélanie Ghysels, Jérémie Burgalat, and Gerhard Held
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 881–901, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-881-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-881-2022, 2022
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Nuria Pilar Plaza, Aurélien Podglajen, Cristina Peña-Ortiz, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9585–9607, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9585-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9585-2021, 2021
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We study the role of different processes in setting the lower stratospheric water vapour. We find that mechanisms involving ice microphysics and small-scale mixing produce the strongest increase in water vapour, in particular over the Asian Monsoon. Small-scale mixing has a special relevance as it improves the agreement with observations at seasonal and intra-seasonal timescales, contrary to the North American Monsoon case, in which large-scale temperatures still dominate its variability.
Hugo Lestrelin, Bernard Legras, Aurélien Podglajen, and Mikail Salihoglu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7113–7134, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7113-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7113-2021, 2021
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Following the 2020 Australian fires, it was recently discovered that stratospheric wildfire smoke plumes self-organize as anticyclonic vortices that persist for months and rise by 10 km due to the radiative heating from the absorbing smoke. In this study, we show that smoke-charged vortices previously occurred in the aftermath of the 2017 Canadian fires. We use meteorological analysis to characterize this new object in geophysical fluid dynamics, which likely impacts radiation and climate.
Xiaolu Yan, Paul Konopka, Marius Hauck, Aurélien Podglajen, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6627–6645, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6627-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6627-2021, 2021
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Inter-hemispheric transport is important for understanding atmospheric tracers because of the asymmetry in emissions between the Southern Hemisphere (SH) and Northern Hemisphere (NH). This study finds that the air masses from the NH extratropics to the atmosphere are about 5 times larger than those from the SH extratropics. The interplay between the Asian summer monsoon and westerly ducts triggers the cross-Equator transport from the NH to the SH in boreal summer and fall.
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Short summary
During the first two Strateole 2 campaigns, instruments were flown under super-pressure balloons at between 18 and 20 km altitude for several weeks at the Equator and performed in situ measurements of water vapour. This article describes the methodology used to quantify the modulation of water vapour by atmospheric waves and deep convective cases. This methodology allows us to bring to light the influence of atmospheric waves and extreme deep convection on the observed water vapour anomalies.
During the first two Strateole 2 campaigns, instruments were flown under super-pressure balloons...
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