Monitoring the Variability of the Stratospheric Aerosol Layer over Tomsk in 2016–2018 Based on Lidar Data

The results of observations of the features of intraannual variability for the vertical structure of background aerosol in the stratosphere over Western Siberia in 2016–2018 are presented and analyzed. Experimental data were obtained at the lidar complex of Zuev Institute of Atmospheric Optics (Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences) with a receiving mirror diameter of 1 m. The objective of the study is to investigate the dynamics of background stratospheric aerosol, since during this period there were no volcanic eruptions leading to the transport of eruptive aerosol into the stratosphere. The results of the study confirm a stable intraannual cycle of maximum aerosol filling of the stratosphere in winter, a decrease in spring to the minimum, practical absence in summer, and an increase in autumn. At the same time, the variability of stratification and aerosol filling is observed for different years. It was found that aerosol is concentrated in the layer up to 30 km all year round, except for the winter period. It is shown that the vertical aerosol stratification is largely determined by the thermal regime of the troposphere–stratosphere boundary layer. The absence of a pronounced temperature inversion at the tropopause contributes to an increase in the stratosphere–troposphere exchange and, as a result, to the aerosol transport to the stratosphere. This situation is typical of the cold season. For the first time, data on the quantitative content of stratospheric aerosol (its mass concentration) were obtained from single-frequency lidar data.