Laser radar observation of the polar stratospheric aerosol layer

The polar stratosphere has been speculated to be an active sink region of various stratospheric materials; ozone, water vapor, NOX, aerosol particles and so on, but this process is not theoretically and/or observationally made clear. The observation of the polar stratospheric aerosol layer using laser radar certainly contributes to the study of the global transport of these stratospheric minor constituents. In addition to this, from the viewpoint of aerosol science, there may be many interesting phenomena which cannot be found in the stratosphere at mid and low latitudes; the effect of precipitation of high energy molecules and atoms, of very cold winter stratosphere, of very cold mesopause in summer. Laser radar observation is one of the main activities of the Antarctic Middle Atmosphere (AMA) project at Syowa Station (69.00 deg S, 39.35 deg E), Antarctica since May 1983. Laser radar measurement at Syowa Station is discussed in detail.