SAM 2 measurements of the polar stratospheric aerosol. Volume 4: April 1980 to October 1980

• Main Authors: Brandl, D., Mccormick, M. P.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1983
• Subjects: GEOPHYSICS; Arctic; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19830020525

The Stratospheric Aerosol Measurement (SAM) 2 sensor is aboard the Nimbus 7 spacecraft providing extinction measurements of the Antarctic and Arctic stratospheric aerosols with a vertical resolution of 1 km. Representative examples and weekly averages of these aerosol data and corresponding temperature profiles are presented. Contours of aerosols extinction as a function of altitude and longitude or time are plotted and weekly aerosol optical depths are calculated. Stratospheric optical depths are 0.002 to 0.003 for the Antarctic and 0.002 to 0.003 at the beginning to 0.005 to 0.006 at the end of the time period for the Arctic. Polar stratospheric clouds at altitudes between the tropopause and 20 km were observed during the Antarctic winter. A ready-to-use format containing a representative sample of the fourth 6 months of data to be used in atmospheric and climatic studies is reported.