This paper presents an empirical model for estimating the zonal mean aerosol extinction profiles in the stratosphere over 10°-wide latitude bands between 60°S and 60°N, on the basis of Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment(SAGE) II aerosol extinction measurements at 1.02, 0.525, and 0.452 μm during the volcanically quiescent period between 1998–2004. First, an empirical model is developed for calculating the stratospheric aerosol extinction profiles at 1.02 μm. Then, starting from the 1.02 μm extinction profile and an exponential spectral dependence, an empirical algorithm is developed that allows the aerosol extinction profiles at other wavelengths to be calculated. Comparisons of the model-calculated aerosol extinction profiles at the wavelengths of 1.02, 0.525, and 0.452 μm and the SAGE II measurements show that the model-calculated aerosol extinction coefficients conform well with the SAGE II values, with the relative differences generally being within 15% from 2 km above the tropopause to 40 km. The model-calculated stratospheric aerosol optical depths at the three wavelengths are also in good agreement with the corresponding optical depths derived from the SAGE II measurements, with the relative differences being within 0.9% for all latitude bands. This paper provides a useful tool in simulating zonal mean aerosol extinction profiles, which can be used as representative background stratospheric aerosols in view of atmospheric modeling and remote sensing retrievals.
Stratospheric aerosol extinction profiles are retrieved from Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Cartography(SCIAMACHY) limb scatter measurements.In the process of retrieval,the SCIATRAN radiative transfer model is used to simulate the limb scattering radiation received by the SCIAMACHY instrument,and an optimal estimation algorithm is used to calculate the aerosol extinction profiles.Sensitivity analyses are performed to investigate the impact of the surface albedo on the accuracy of the retrieved aerosol extinction profiles in the northern midlatitudes.It is found that the errors resulting from the bias of the assumed surface albedo in the retrieval are generally below 6%.The retrieved SCIAMACHY aerosol extinction profiles are compared with corresponding Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment(SAGE) II measurements,and the results indicate that for the zonal mean profiles,the SCIAMACHY retrievals show good agreement with SAGE II measurements,with the absolute differences being less than 2.3×10-5 km-1 from 14–25 km,and less than 5.9×10-6 km-1 from 25–35 km;and the relative differences being within 20% over the latitude range of 14–35 km.
The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment(SAGE) Ⅱ aerosol extinction profiles at 1020 nm were used to study the distribution characteristics of stratospheric aerosols during the volcanically quiescent period of 1998–2004. The stratospheric aerosol distributions exhibited hemispheric asymmetry between the Northern Hemisphere(NH) and the Southern Hemisphere(SH). In the lower stratosphere below 20 km, the zonal averaged aerosol optical depths in the NH were higher than those of the corresponding SH; whereas at higher altitudes above 20 km, the optical depths in the SH— except the equatorial region—were higher than those of the NH. At 0–10°N and 10–20°N, the stratospheric aerosol optical depth(SAOD) exhibited larger values in boreal winter and lower values in the spring and summer; at 0–10°S and 10–20°S, the SAOD presented small seasonal variations. At 30–40°N, the SAOD presented larger values in the boreal fall and winter and lower values in the spring and summer; while at 30–40°S, the SAOD exhibited larger values in the austral winter and early spring and lower values in the summer and fall. These characteristics can mainly be attributed to the seasonal cycle of the dynamic transport, and the effects of the buildup and breakdown of the polar vortex. At 50–60°S, the SAOD exhibited extremely high values during austral winter associated with the Antarctic polar vortex boundary; at 50–60°N, the SAOD also exhibited larger values during the boreal winter, but it was much less obvious than that of its southern counterpart.
