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Latitudinal and altitudinal variation of size distribution of stratospheric aerosols inferred from Sage aerosol extinction coefficient measurements at two wavelengths
Author(s) -
Yue Glenn K.,
Deepak Adarsh
Publication year - 1984
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/gl011i010p00999
Subject(s) - stratosphere , atmospheric sciences , troposphere , aerosol , environmental science , latitude , altitude (triangle) , extinction (optical mineralogy) , wavelength , climatology , meteorology , physics , geology , astronomy , mineralogy , geometry , mathematics , optoelectronics
A method of retrieving aerosol size distribution from the measured extinction of solar radiation at wavelengths 0.45 µm and 1.0 µm has recently been proposed. This method is utilized to obtain latitudinal and altitudinal variations of size distributions of stratospheric aerosols from the SAGE data for March 1979. Small particles are found in the lower stratosphere of the tropical region, and large particles are found at higher altitudes and latitudes in both hemispheres. Results of this study are consistent with the suggestion that the upper troposphere in tropical regions is a source of condensation nuclei in the stratosphere, and they become mature as they move to higher altitudes and latitudes.