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    Analysis of number size distributions of tropical free tropospheric aerosol particles observed at Pico Espejo (4765 m a.s.l.), Venezuela
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2011) Schmeissner, T.; Krejci, R.; Ström, J.; Birmili, W.; Wiedensohler, A.; Hochschild, G.; Gross, J.; Hoffmann, P.; Calderon, S.
    The first long-term measurements of aerosol number and size distributions in South-American tropical free troposphere (FT) were performed from March 2007 until March 2009. The measurements took place at the high altitude Atmospheric Research Station Alexander von Humboldt. The station is located on top of the Sierra Nevada mountain ridge at 4765 m a.s.l. nearby the city of Mérida, Venezuela. Aerosol size distribution and number concentration data was obtained with a custom-built Differential Mobility Particle Sizer (DMPS) system and a Condensational Particle Counter (CPC). The analysis of the annual and diurnal variability of the tropical FT aerosol focused mainly on possible links to the atmospheric general circulation in the tropics. Considerable annual and diurnal cycles of the particle number concentration were observed. Highest total particle number concentrations were measured during the dry season (January–March, 519 ± 613 cm−3), lowest during the wet season (July–September, 318 ± 194 cm−3). The more humid FT (relative humidity (RH) range 50–95 %) contained generally higher aerosol particle number concentrations (573 ± 768 cm−3 during dry season, 320 ± 195 cm−3 during wet season) than the dry FT (RH < 50 %, 454 ± 332 cm−3 during dry season, 275 ± 172 cm−3 during wet season), indicating the importance of convection for aerosol distributions in the tropical FT. The diurnal cycle in the variability of the particle number concentration was mainly driven by local orography.
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    The rôle of orographically and thermally forced stationary waves in the causation of the residual circulation
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 1999) Becker, E.; Schmitz, G.
    Several experiments performed with an idealized troposphere–stratosphere GCM are comparedto estimate the impact of orography and prescribed local heat sources on the residual circulationin the northern winter stratosphere. It is found that only the combined action of orographicand thermal wave forcing in northern midlatitudes is capable of inducing a residual circulationreaching continuously from tropical to polar latitudes at stratospheric altitudes. Intensificationsof the residual circulation in response to modified forcing of stationary waves are generallyassociated with, firstly, a reduced polar night jet accompanied by enhanced easterlies inlow and summer hemispheric latitudes and, secondly, substantial warming of the polar nightstratosphere completely compensated by cooling in the tropics and subtropics.