Stratospheric Water Vapor Soundings at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica: December 1960-February 1961

Abstract

Data from eight water vapor soundings made with the dew-point hygrometer instrument at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, are presented. These data are compared with various north temperate latitude data. The soundings are too sparse to present a valid time cross section, but structure (layering) is evident on individual soundings. The mean Antarctic summer mixing ratio profile shows decreasing moisture to 4?10?6 gm/gm at the tropopause, then increasing to 1?10?4 gm/gm at 30 km. The Antarctic stratosphere appears to be as moist as the mid-latitude stratosphere, but both sets of data are influenced by an unknown amount of sample contamination.