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Stratospheric aerosol acidity, density, and refractive index deduced from SAGE 2 and NMC temperature dataWater vapor concentrations obtained by the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment 2 (SAGE 2) and collocated temperatures provided by the National Meteorological Center (NMC) from 1986 to 1990 are used to deduce seasonally and zonally averaged acidity, density, and refractive index of stratospheric aerosols. It is found that the weight percentage of sulfuric acid in the aerosols increases from about 60 just above the tropopause to about 86 at 35 km. The density increases from about 1.55 to 1.85 g/cu cm between the same altitude limits. Some seasonal variations of composition and density are evident at high latitudes. The refractive indices at 1.02, 0.694, and 0.532 micrometers increase, respectively, from about 1.425, 1.430, and 1.435 just above the tropopause to about 1.445, 1.455, and 1.458 at altitudes above 27 km, depending on the season and latitude. The aerosol properties presented can be used in models to study the effectiveness of heterogeneous chemistry, the mass loading of stratospheric aerosols, and the extinction and backscatter of aerosols at different wavelengths. Computed aerosol surface areas, rate coefficients for the heterogeneous reaction ClONO2 + H2O yields HOCl + HNO3 and aerosol mass concentrations before and after the Pinatubo eruption in June 1991 are shown as sample applications.
Document ID
19950051607
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Yue, G. K.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Poole, L. R.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Wang, P.-H.
(Science and Technology Corp. Hampton, VA, United States)
Chiou, E. W.
(SAIC, Hampton, VA United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
February 20, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 99
Issue: D2
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Accession Number
95A83206
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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