Lidar observations of the Pinatubo aerosol layer at Thule, Greenland

Lidar measurements of the stratospheric aerosol content have been carried out in Thule (Greenland), in connection with the European Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Experiment (EASOE). Aerosols attributable to the Pinatubo eruption were detected in the stratosphere late in September; during autumn and ear...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: DI GIROLAMO, Paolo, M. CACCIANI, A. DI SARRA, G. FIOCCO, D. FUÀ
Other Authors: M., Cacciani, A., DI SARRA, G., Fiocco, D., Fuà
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 1994
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11563/2164
https://doi.org/10.1029/93GL02892
Description
Summary:Lidar measurements of the stratospheric aerosol content have been carried out in Thule (Greenland), in connection with the European Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Experiment (EASOE). Aerosols attributable to the Pinatubo eruption were detected in the stratosphere late in September; during autumn and early winter the stratospheric aerosol load slowly increased. In the region above approximately 18 km the aerosol load depended on the location of the station relative to the polar vortex. A temporary increase of the aerosol concentration was detected up to about 26 km at the beginning of February, when Thule was located for a few days outside the vortex. A final increase of the aerosol load was related with the final breakup of the vortex. The aerosol integrated backscatter values ranged between 0.001 and 0.005 sr−1 during most of the winter, and increased up to 0.007 sr−1 in early spring; in this period the aerosol columnar mass was estimated to be as high as 0.1 g m−2.