A diagnostic stratospheric aerosol size distribution inferred from SAGE II measurements

An aerosol size distribution model for the stratosphere is inferred based on 5 years of Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) II measurements of multispectral aerosol and water vapor extinction. The SAGE II aerosol and water vapor extinction data strongly suggest that there is a critical particle radius below which there is a relatively weak dependence of particle number density with size and above which there are few, if any, particles. A segmented power law model, as a simple representation of this dependence, is used in theoretical calculations and intercomparisons with a variety of aerosol measurements including dustsondes, longwave lidar, and wire impactors and shows a consistently good agreement.