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Effects of Aluminum/Carbon and Morphology on Optical Characteristics and Radiative Forcing of Alumina Clusters Emitted by Solid Rockets in the Stratosphere

Authors :
Yueyuan Xu
Lu Bai
Jingyu Bai
Lixin Guo
Source :
Atmosphere, Vol 15, Iss 7, p 812 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

Alumina (Al2O3) particles, the primary combustion products of solid rockets, can accumulate in the stratosphere, changing the global radiative balance. These Al2O3 particles were usually treated as homogeneous spheres. However, they contain impurities and may form clusters during the combustion process. Models representing Al-containing and C-containing Al2O3 clusters were developed, denoted as Al2O3 shell model (ASM) and Al2O3 core model (ACM), respectively. The superposition T-matrix method (STMM) was applied to examine their optical characteristics. Subsequently, a method to obtain the top-of-atmosphere flux was proposed by integrating the models with the moderate resolution atmospheric transmission code (MODTRAN). With the addition of Al/C, the absorption cross-section enhances by several orders of magnitude at 0.55 μm and increases slightly at 10 μm. The equivalent sphere models will weaken their scattering ability. A 4Tg mass burden of Al2O3 produces radiative forcing of −0.439 Wm−2. However, the addition of Al and C reduces the forcing by up to 15% and 12%, respectively. In summary, the optical characteristics and radiative forcing of Al2O3 clusters are sensitive to Al/C and morphology models. While our findings are impacted by various uncertainties, they contribute valuable insights into the radiative forcing of Al2O3 particles, potential climatic changes by space activities.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20734433
Volume :
15
Issue :
7
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Atmosphere
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.6f00f19d54ccf8a982307cc7a685e
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15070812