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Lidar observations of a stratospheric dust cloud layer in the tropics
Author(s) -
Fegley Ronald W.,
Ellis Howard T.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl002i004p00139
Subject(s) - radiosonde , stratosphere , tropopause , lidar , volcano , atmospheric sciences , altitude (triangle) , environmental science , vulcanian eruption , climatology , cloud height , geology , meteorology , cloud cover , cloud computing , geography , remote sensing , geometry , mathematics , seismology , computer science , operating system
A transparent whitish cloud veil was observed over Hawaii from early October throughout January 2, 1975, the date of submission of this paper. Lidar measurements made from the Mauna Loa Observatory during this period established the height of the layer at about 19.5 km MSL with a typical thickness at half maximum of 800 meters. The nearest Rawinsonde data clearly indicated this height to be above the tropopause. During the month of November, a stratospheric layer was observed by several other workers in the United States which has been attributed to the eruption of Fuego volcano in Guatemala during the month of October. However, the backscatter coefficient observed in the layer over Hawaii was occasionally 20 times greater than that observed at other locations. Although our data support the volcanic hypothesis, there are still some unanswered questions. For example, we observed the layer prior to the major eruption period and the time of appearance of the layer over other observatories in the United States. Furthermore, high altitude aircraft were operating in the stratosphere over Hawaii during the first two weeks of October which may have influenced the cloud formation.