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Spectral extinction of direct solar radiation by the El Chichon cloud during December 1982
Author(s) -
Dutton Ellsworth,
DeLuisi John
Publication year - 1983
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/gl010i011p01013
Subject(s) - environmental science , atmospheric sciences , aerosol , stratosphere , extinction (optical mineralogy) , solar zenith angle , irradiance , wavelength , zenith , optical depth , radiation , meteorology , solar irradiance , remote sensing , physics , optics , geology
Stratospheric aerosol optical depths at five discrete solar wavelengths are calculated from solar extinction measurements made on board a NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Convair 990 aircraft between 55°N and 6°S latitude during December 1982. The latitudinal and spectral variations of the aerosol optical depths, presumed to be due to effluents from the eruptions of El Chichon, show a north to south separation into two components, each with a characteristic spectral signature. The average aerosol optical depth, both spatially and spectrally, was 0.10 ± 0.01. Calculations indicate that this enhancement is sufficient to cause an 18% decrease in direct broadband solar irradiance at a representative zenith angle of 60°.