Forty-eight-inch lidar aerosol measurements taken at the Langley Research Center, May 1974 to December 1987

A ground based lidar system located at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., was used to obtain high resolution vertical profiles of the stratospheric and upper tropospheric aerosol since 1974. More than 200 measurements obtained at a wavelength of 0.6943 microns during 1974 to 1987 are summarized. Plots of peak backscatter mixing ratio and integrated backscatter vs time are presented for the entire measurement sequence. The plots highlight the influence of several major volcanic eruptions on the long term stratospheric aerosol layer. In particular, the eruptions of El Chichon in late Mar. to early Apr. 1982, produced a massive aerosol layer. Aerosol enhancement from El Chichon reached Hampton, Va. by May 1982, with a scattering ratio of approx. 50 detected on Jul. 1, 1982. In addition, scattering ratio profiles for June 1982 to December 1987, along with tables containing numerical values of the backscatter ratio and backscattering function versus altitude, are included to further describe the upper tropospheric and stratospheric aerosol layer. A 14 year summary is presented, in a ready to use format, of lidar observations at a fixed midlatitude location to be used for further study.