Articles | Volume 21, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1143-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1143-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
27 Jan 2021
Research article |
| 27 Jan 2021
| 27 Jan 2021
Evidence for the predictability of changes in the stratospheric aerosol size following volcanic eruptions of diverse magnitudes using space-based instruments
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, USA
Mahesh Kovilakam
SSAI, Hampton, Virginia, USA
Anja Schmidt
Department of Chemistry, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
Department of Geography, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
Christian von Savigny
Institute of Physics, University of Greifswald, Greifswald,
Germany
Travis Knepp
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, USA
Landon Rieger
Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Nicholas Ernest, Larry W. Thomason, and Terry Deshler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2957–2968, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2957-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2957-2025, 2025
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We use balloon-borne measurements of aerosol size distribution (ASD) made by the University of Wyoming (UW) to derive distributions which are representative of the ASDs that underlie measurements made by the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II (SAGE II). A simple single-mode log-normal distribution has in the past been used to derive ASD from SAGE II data; here we derive bimodal log-normal distributions, reproducing median aerosol properties measured by UW.
Daniel Letros, Liam Graham, Adam Bourassa, Doug Degenstein, Paul Loewen, Landon Rieger, and Nick Lloyd
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-67, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-67, 2025
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The Aerosol Limb Imager (ALI) is an optical instrument which measures stratospheric aerosols. These aerosols are of interest to atmospheric science as they have a significant impact on the Earth's climate. ALI has the ability to measure the polarization of atmospheric light over a wide spectral range, which is a novel ability for the measurement ALI uses. We demonstrate and discuss ALI capability, and how the polarized information may improve aerosol information for this type measurement.
Sandra Wallis, Matthew DeLand, and Christian von Savigny
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The 2022 Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha'apai eruption emitted about 150 Tg H2O that partly reached the upper polar Southern Hemisphere mesosphere in the beginning of 2024. Noctilucent clouds (NLCs) did not show a clear perturbation in their occurrence frequency, but the slight increase from mid-January to February could potentially have been caused by the additional H2O. It needed 2 years to reach the summer polar mesopause region, analogous to the 1883 Krakatoa eruption that is argued to have caused the first sightings of NLCs.
Felix Wrana, Terry Deshler, Christian Löns, Larry W. Thomason, and Christian von Savigny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3717–3736, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3717-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3717-2025, 2025
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Anna Lange, Ulrike Niemeier, Alexei Rozanov, and Christian von Savigny
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1005, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1005, 2025
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Our paper investigates whether it is possible to observe injections of 1 and 2 Tg S/y (sulphur per year) into the stratosphere with the currently active satellite occultation instruments. The calculations show that, considering the natural variability and the assumptions made here, the stratospheric aerosols formed from emissions of 1 and 2 Tg S/y in the quasi steady-state phase can be detected, which is not the case in the first month of the two-year initial phase.
Mahesh Kovilakam, Larry W. Thomason, Magali Verkerk, Thomas Aubry, and Travis N. Knepp
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 535–553, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-535-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-535-2025, 2025
Short summary
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The Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology (GloSSAC) is essential for understanding and modeling the climatic impacts of stratospheric aerosols, comprising data from various space-based measurements. Here, we examine the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite Limb Profiler (OMPS-LP) against other data sets, particularly the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III/ISS, to discern differences and explore the applicability of OMPS data within the GloSSAC framework.
Alexei Rozanov, Christine Pohl, Carlo Arosio, Adam Bourassa, Klaus Bramstedt, Elizaveta Malinina, Landon Rieger, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6677–6695, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6677-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6677-2024, 2024
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We developed a new algorithm to retrieve vertical distributions of aerosol extinction coefficients in the stratosphere. The algorithm is applied to measurements of scattered solar light from the spaceborne OMPS-LP (Ozone Mapper and Profiler Suite Limb Profiler) instrument. The retrieval results are compared to data from other spaceborne instruments and used to investigate the evolution of the aerosol plume following the eruption of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai volcano in January 2022.
Viktoria F. Sofieva, Alexei Rozanov, Monika Szelag, John P. Burrows, Christian Retscher, Robert Damadeo, Doug Degenstein, Landon A. Rieger, and Adam Bourassa
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 5227–5241, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5227-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5227-2024, 2024
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Climate-related studies need information about the distribution of stratospheric aerosols, which influence the energy balance of the Earth’s atmosphere. In this work, we present a merged dataset of vertically resolved stratospheric aerosol extinction coefficients, which is derived from data of six limb and occultation satellite instruments. The created aerosol climate record covers the period from October 1984 to December 2023. It can be used in various climate-related studies.
Christine Pohl, Felix Wrana, Alexei Rozanov, Terry Deshler, Elizaveta Malinina, Christian von Savigny, Landon A. Rieger, Adam E. Bourassa, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4153–4181, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4153-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4153-2024, 2024
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Knowledge of stratospheric aerosol characteristics is important for understanding chemical and climate aerosol feedbacks. Two particle size distribution parameters, the aerosol extinction coefficient and the effective radius, are obtained from SCIAMACHY limb observations. The aerosol characteristics show good agreement with independent data sets from balloon-borne and satellite observations. This data set expands the limited knowledge of stratospheric aerosol characteristics.
Robert P. Damadeo, Viktoria F. Sofieva, Alexei Rozanov, and Larry W. Thomason
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3669–3678, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3669-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3669-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Comparing different aerosol data sets for scientific studies often requires converting aerosol extinction data between different wavelengths. A common approximation for the spectral behavior of aerosol is the Ångström formula; however, this introduces biases. Using measurements across many different wavelengths from a single instrument, we derive an empirical relationship to both characterize this bias and offer a correction for other studies that may employ this analysis approach.
Travis N. Knepp, Mahesh Kovilakam, Larry Thomason, and Stephen J. Miller
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2025–2054, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2025-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2025-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
An algorithm is presented to derive a new SAGE III/ISS (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III on the International Space Station) Level-2 product: the size distribution of stratospheric particles. This is a significant improvement over previous techniques in that we now provide uncertainty estimates for all inferred parameters. We also evaluated the stability of this method in retrieving bimodal distribution parameters. We present a special application to the 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga.
Christian von Savigny, Anna Lange, Christoph G. Hoffmann, and Alexei Rozanov
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2415–2422, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2415-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2415-2024, 2024
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It is well known that volcanic eruptions strongly affect the colours of the twilight sky. Typically, volcanic eruptions lead to enhanced reddish and violet twilight colours. In rare cases, however, volcanic eruptions can also lead to green sunsets. This study provides an explanation for the occurrence of these unusual green sunsets based on simulations with a radiative transfer model. Green volcanic sunsets require a sufficient stratospheric aerosol optical depth and specific aerosol sizes.
Anna Lange, Alexei Rozanov, and Christian von Savigny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14829–14839, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14829-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14829-2023, 2023
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We were able to demonstrate quantitatively that the blue colour of the sky cannot be solely attributed to Rayleigh scattering. The influence of ozone on the blue colour of the sky is calculated for different viewing geometries, total ozone columns and an enhanced stratospheric aerosol scenario. Furthermore, the effects of polarisation, surface albedo and observer height are investigated.
Michael Sigmond, James Anstey, Vivek Arora, Ruth Digby, Nathan Gillett, Viatcheslav Kharin, William Merryfield, Catherine Reader, John Scinocca, Neil Swart, John Virgin, Carsten Abraham, Jason Cole, Nicolas Lambert, Woo-Sung Lee, Yongxiao Liang, Elizaveta Malinina, Landon Rieger, Knut von Salzen, Christian Seiler, Clint Seinen, Andrew Shao, Reinel Sospedra-Alfonso, Libo Wang, and Duo Yang
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 6553–6591, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-6553-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-6553-2023, 2023
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We present a new activity which aims to organize the analysis of biases in the Canadian Earth System model (CanESM) in a systematic manner. Results of this “Analysis for Development” (A4D) activity includes a new CanESM version, CanESM5.1, which features substantial improvements regarding the simulation of dust and stratospheric temperatures, a second CanESM5.1 variant with reduced climate sensitivity, and insights into potential avenues to reduce various other model biases.
John M. C. Plane, Jörg Gumbel, Konstantinos S. Kalogerakis, Daniel R. Marsh, and Christian von Savigny
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Christoph G. Hoffmann, Lena G. Buth, and Christian von Savigny
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The Madden–Julian oscillation is an important feature of weather in the tropics. Although it is mainly active in the troposphere, we show that it systematically influences the air temperature in the layers above, up to about 100 km altitude and from pole to pole. We have linked this to another known far-reaching process, interhemispheric coupling. This is basic research on atmospheric couplings and variability but might also be of interest for intraseasonal weather forecasting models.
Larry W. Thomason and Travis Knepp
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10361–10381, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10361-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10361-2023, 2023
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We examine space-based observations of stratospheric aerosol to infer the presence of episodic smoke perturbations. We find that smoke's optical properties often show a consistent behavior but vary somewhat from event to event. We also find that the rate of smoke events observed in the 1984–2005 period is about half the rate of similar observations in the period from 2017 to the present; however, with such low overall rates, inferring change between the periods is difficult.
Felix Wrana, Ulrike Niemeier, Larry W. Thomason, Sandra Wallis, and Christian von Savigny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9725–9743, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9725-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9725-2023, 2023
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The stratospheric aerosol layer is a naturally occurring and permanent layer of aerosol, in this case very small droplets of mostly sulfuric acid and water, that has a cooling effect on our climate. To quantify this effect and for our general understanding of stratospheric microphysical processes, knowledge of the size of those aerosol particles is needed. Using satellite measurements and atmospheric models we show that some volcanic eruptions can lead to on average smaller aerosol sizes.
Sandra Wallis, Hauke Schmidt, and Christian von Savigny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7001–7014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7001-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7001-2023, 2023
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Strong volcanic eruptions are able to alter the temperature and the circulation of the middle atmosphere. This study simulates the atmospheric response to an idealized strong tropical eruption and focuses on the impact on the mesosphere. The simulations show a warming of the polar summer mesopause in the first November after the eruption. Our study indicates that this is mainly due to dynamical coupling in the summer hemisphere with a potential contribution from interhemispheric coupling.
Mahesh Kovilakam, Larry Thomason, and Travis Knepp
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2709–2731, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2709-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2709-2023, 2023
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The paper describes SAGE III/ISS aerosol/cloud categorization and its implications on Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology (GloSSAC). The presence of data from the SAGE type of multi-wavelength measurements is important in GloSSAC. The new aerosol/cloud categorization method described in this paper will help retain more measurements, particularly in the lower stratosphere during and following a volcanic event and other processes.
Jennifer Schallock, Christoph Brühl, Christine Bingen, Michael Höpfner, Landon Rieger, and Jos Lelieveld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1169–1207, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1169-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1169-2023, 2023
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We characterized the influence of volcanic aerosols for the period 1990–2019 and established a volcanic SO2 emission inventory that includes more than 500 eruptions. From limb-based satellite observations of SO2 and extinction, we derive 3D plumes of SO2 perturbations and injected mass by a novel method. We calculate instantaneous radiative forcing with a comprehensive chemisty climate model. Our results show that smaller eruptions can also contribute to the stratospheric aerosol forcing.
Christian von Savigny, Anna Lange, Anne Hemkendreis, Christoph G. Hoffmann, and Alexei Rozanov
Clim. Past, 18, 2345–2356, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2345-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2345-2022, 2022
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This study investigates the possibility of inferring information on aerosol optical depth from photographs of historic paintings. The idea – which has been applied in previous studies – is very interesting because it would provide an archive of the atmospheric aerosol loading covering many centuries. We show that twilight colours depend not only on the aerosol optical thickness, but also on several other parameters, making a quantitative estimate of aerosol optical depth very difficult.
Travis N. Knepp, Larry Thomason, Mahesh Kovilakam, Jason Tackett, Jayanta Kar, Robert Damadeo, and David Flittner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5235–5260, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5235-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5235-2022, 2022
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We used aerosol profiles from the SAGE III/ISS instrument to develop an aerosol classification method that was tested on four case-study events (two volcanic, two fire) and supported with CALIOP aerosol products. The method worked well in identifying smoke and volcanic aerosol in the stratosphere for these events. Raikoke is presented as a demonstration of the limitations of this method.
Sandra Wallis, Christoph Gregor Hoffmann, and Christian von Savigny
Ann. Geophys., 40, 421–431, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-40-421-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-40-421-2022, 2022
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Although the 1991 eruption of Mt Pinatubo had a severe impact on Earth's climate, the effect of this event on the mesosphere is not well understood. We investigated satellite-borne temperature measurements from the HALOE instrument and found indications that a positive temperature anomaly is present in the tropical upper mesosphere at the beginning of the HALOE time series, which may be related to the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo.
Anna Lange, Gerd Baumgarten, Alexei Rozanov, and Christian von Savigny
Ann. Geophys., 40, 407–419, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-40-407-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-40-407-2022, 2022
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We investigate the influence of different parameters on the colour of noctilucent clouds (highest clouds in the atmosphere), using radiative transfer calculations. We determined the effect of the particle size, optical depth, single scattering/multiple scattering and ozone. For sufficiently large optical depth and for specific viewing geometries, ozone plays only a minor role in the blueish colour of noctilucent clouds (new result).
Mireia Papke Chica, Valerian Hahn, Tiziana Braeuer, Elena de la Torre Castro, Florian Ewald, Mathias Gergely, Simon Kirschler, Luca Bugliaro Goggia, Stefanie Knobloch, Martina Kraemer, Johannes Lucke, Johanna Mayer, Raphael Maerkl, Manuel Moser, Laura Tomsche, Tina Jurkat-Witschas, Martin Zoeger, Christian von Savigny, and Christiane Voigt
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2022-255, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2022-255, 2022
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The mixed-phase temperature regime in convective clouds challenges our understanding of microphysical and radiative cloud properties. We provide a rare and unique dataset of aircraft in situ measurements in a strong mid-latitude convective system. We find that mechanisms initiating ice nucleation and growth strongly depend on temperature, relative humidity, and vertical velocity and variate within the measured system, resulting in altitude dependent changes of the cloud liquid and ice fraction.
Davide Zanchettin, Claudia Timmreck, Myriam Khodri, Anja Schmidt, Matthew Toohey, Manabu Abe, Slimane Bekki, Jason Cole, Shih-Wei Fang, Wuhu Feng, Gabriele Hegerl, Ben Johnson, Nicolas Lebas, Allegra N. LeGrande, Graham W. Mann, Lauren Marshall, Landon Rieger, Alan Robock, Sara Rubinetti, Kostas Tsigaridis, and Helen Weierbach
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 2265–2292, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2265-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2265-2022, 2022
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This paper provides metadata and first analyses of the volc-pinatubo-full experiment of CMIP6-VolMIP. Results from six Earth system models reveal significant differences in radiative flux anomalies that trace back to different implementations of volcanic forcing. Surface responses are in contrast overall consistent across models, reflecting the large spread due to internal variability. A second phase of VolMIP shall consider both aspects toward improved protocol for volc-pinatubo-full.
Julia Koch, Adam Bourassa, Nick Lloyd, Chris Roth, and Christian von Savigny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3191–3202, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3191-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3191-2022, 2022
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The mesopause, the region of the earth's atmosphere between 85 and 100 km, is hard to access by direct measurements. Therefore we look for parameters that can be measured using satellite or ground-based measurements. In this study we researched sodium airglow, a phenomenon that occurs when sodium atoms are excited by chemical reactions. We compared satellite measurements of the airglow and resulting sodium concentration profiles to gain a better understanding of the sodium in that region.
Martin J. Osborne, Johannes de Leeuw, Claire Witham, Anja Schmidt, Frances Beckett, Nina Kristiansen, Joelle Buxmann, Cameron Saint, Ellsworth J. Welton, Javier Fochesatto, Ana R. Gomes, Ulrich Bundke, Andreas Petzold, Franco Marenco, and Jim Haywood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2975–2997, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2975-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2975-2022, 2022
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Using the Met Office NAME dispersion model, supported by satellite- and ground-based remote-sensing observations, we describe the dispersion of aerosols from the 2019 Raikoke eruption and the concurrent wildfires in Alberta Canada. We show how the synergy of dispersion modelling and multiple observation sources allowed observers in the London VAAC to arrive at a more complete picture of the aerosol loading at altitudes commonly used by aviation.
Elizaveta Malinina, Alexei Rozanov, Ulrike Niemeier, Sandra Wallis, Carlo Arosio, Felix Wrana, Claudia Timmreck, Christian von Savigny, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14871–14891, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14871-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14871-2021, 2021
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In the paper, changes in the stratospheric aerosol loading after the 2018 Ambae eruption were analyzed using OMPS-LP observations. The eruption was also simulated with the MAECHAM5-HAM global climate model. Generally, the model and observations agree very well. We attribute the good consistency of the results to a precisely determined altitude and mass of the volcanic injection, as well as nudging of the meteorological data. The radiative forcing from the eruption was estimated to be −0.13 W m−2.
Jianfeng Li, Yuhang Wang, Ruixiong Zhang, Charles Smeltzer, Andrew Weinheimer, Jay Herman, K. Folkert Boersma, Edward A. Celarier, Russell W. Long, James J. Szykman, Ruben Delgado, Anne M. Thompson, Travis N. Knepp, Lok N. Lamsal, Scott J. Janz, Matthew G. Kowalewski, Xiong Liu, and Caroline R. Nowlan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11133–11160, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11133-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11133-2021, 2021
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Comprehensive evaluations of simulated diurnal cycles of NO2 and NOy concentrations, vertical profiles, and tropospheric vertical column densities at two different resolutions with various measurements during the DISCOVER-AQ 2011 campaign show potential distribution biases of NOx emissions in the National Emissions Inventory 2011 at both 36 and 4 km resolutions, providing another possible explanation for the overestimation of model results.
Johannes de Leeuw, Anja Schmidt, Claire S. Witham, Nicolas Theys, Isabelle A. Taylor, Roy G. Grainger, Richard J. Pope, Jim Haywood, Martin Osborne, and Nina I. Kristiansen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 10851–10879, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10851-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10851-2021, 2021
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Using the NAME dispersion model in combination with high-resolution SO2 satellite data from TROPOMI, we investigate the dispersion of volcanic SO2 from the 2019 Raikoke eruption. NAME accurately simulates the dispersion of SO2 during the first 2–3 weeks after the eruption and illustrates the potential of using high-resolution satellite data to identify potential limitations in dispersion models, which will ultimately help to improve efforts to forecast the dispersion of volcanic clouds.
John Staunton-Sykes, Thomas J. Aubry, Youngsub M. Shin, James Weber, Lauren R. Marshall, Nathan Luke Abraham, Alex Archibald, and Anja Schmidt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9009–9029, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9009-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9009-2021, 2021
Nellie Wullenweber, Anna Lange, Alexei Rozanov, and Christian von Savigny
Clim. Past, 17, 969–983, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-969-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-969-2021, 2021
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This study investigates the physical processes leading to the rare phenomenon of the sun appearing blue or green. The phenomenon is caused by anomalous scattering by, e.g., volcanic or forest fire aerosols. Unlike most other studies, our study includes a full treatment of the effect of Rayleigh scattering on the colour of the sun. We investigate different factors and revisit a historic example, i.e. the Canadian forest fires in 1950, that led to blue sun events in different European countries.
Felix Wrana, Christian von Savigny, Jacob Zalach, and Larry W. Thomason
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2345–2357, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2345-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2345-2021, 2021
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In this paper, we describe a new method for calculating the size of naturally occurring droplets (aerosols) made mostly of sulfuric acid and water that can be found roughly at 20 km altitude in the atmosphere. We use data from the instrument SAGE III/ISS that is mounted on the International Space Station. We show that our method works well, and that the size parameters we calculate are reasonable and can be a valuable addition for a better understanding of aerosols and their effect on climate.
Margot Clyne, Jean-Francois Lamarque, Michael J. Mills, Myriam Khodri, William Ball, Slimane Bekki, Sandip S. Dhomse, Nicolas Lebas, Graham Mann, Lauren Marshall, Ulrike Niemeier, Virginie Poulain, Alan Robock, Eugene Rozanov, Anja Schmidt, Andrea Stenke, Timofei Sukhodolov, Claudia Timmreck, Matthew Toohey, Fiona Tummon, Davide Zanchettin, Yunqian Zhu, and Owen B. Toon
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3317–3343, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3317-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3317-2021, 2021
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This study finds how and why five state-of-the-art global climate models with interactive stratospheric aerosols differ when simulating the aftermath of large volcanic injections as part of the Model Intercomparison Project on the climatic response to Volcanic forcing (VolMIP). We identify and explain the consequences of significant disparities in the underlying physics and chemistry currently in some of the models, which are problems likely not unique to the models participating in this study.
Ghassan Taha, Robert Loughman, Tong Zhu, Larry Thomason, Jayanta Kar, Landon Rieger, and Adam Bourassa
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1015–1036, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1015-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1015-2021, 2021
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This work describes the newly released OMPS LP aerosol extinction profile multi-wavelength Version 2.0 algorithm and dataset. It is shown that the V2.0 aerosols exhibit significant improvements in OMPS LP retrieval performance in the Southern Hemisphere and at lower altitudes. The new product is compared to the SAGE III/ISS, OSIRIS and CALIPSO missions and shown to be of good quality and suitable for scientific studies.
Lukas O. Muser, Gholam Ali Hoshyaripour, Julia Bruckert, Ákos Horváth, Elizaveta Malinina, Sandra Wallis, Fred J. Prata, Alexei Rozanov, Christian von Savigny, Heike Vogel, and Bernhard Vogel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15015–15036, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15015-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15015-2020, 2020
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Volcanic aerosols endanger aircraft and thus disrupt air travel globally. For aviation safety, it is vital to know the location and lifetime of such aerosols in the atmosphere. Here we show that the interaction of volcanic particles with each other eventually reduces their atmospheric lifetime. Moreover, we demonstrate that sunlight heats these particles, which lifts them several kilometers in the atmosphere. These findings support a more reliable forecast of volcanic aerosol dispersion.
Juan-Carlos Antuña-Marrero, Graham W. Mann, Philippe Keckhut, Sergey Avdyushin, Bruno Nardi, and Larry W. Thomason
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2843–2851, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2843-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2843-2020, 2020
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We report the recovery of lidar measurements of the 1991 Pinatubo eruption. Two Soviet ships crossing the tropical Atlantic in July–September 1991 and January–February 1992 measured the vertical profile of the Pinatubo cloud at different points in its spatio-temporal evolution. The datasets provide valuable new information on the eruption's impacts on climate, with the SAGE-II satellite measurements not able to measure most of the lower half of the Pinatubo cloud in the tropics in this period.
Mahesh Kovilakam, Larry W. Thomason, Nicholas Ernest, Landon Rieger, Adam Bourassa, and Luis Millán
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2607–2634, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2607-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2607-2020, 2020
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A robust stratospheric aerosol climatology is important as many global climate models (GCMs) make use of observed aerosol properties to prescribe aerosols in the stratosphere. Here, we present version 2.0 of the GloSSAC data set in which a new methodology is used for the post-2005 data that improves the quality of data in the lower stratosphere, which includes an improved 1020 nm extinction. Additionally, size information from multiwavelength measurements of SAGE III/ISS is provided.
Landon A. Rieger, Jason N. S. Cole, John C. Fyfe, Stephen Po-Chedley, Philip J. Cameron-Smith, Paul J. Durack, Nathan P. Gillett, and Qi Tang
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 4831–4843, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4831-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4831-2020, 2020
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Recently, the stratospheric aerosol forcing dataset used as an input to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 was updated. This work explores the impact of those changes on the modelled historical climates in the CanESM5 and EAMv1 models. Temperature differences in the stratosphere shortly after the Pinatubo eruption are found to be significant, but surface temperatures and precipitation do not show a significant change.
Thomas von Clarmann, Douglas A. Degenstein, Nathaniel J. Livesey, Stefan Bender, Amy Braverman, André Butz, Steven Compernolle, Robert Damadeo, Seth Dueck, Patrick Eriksson, Bernd Funke, Margaret C. Johnson, Yasuko Kasai, Arno Keppens, Anne Kleinert, Natalya A. Kramarova, Alexandra Laeng, Bavo Langerock, Vivienne H. Payne, Alexei Rozanov, Tomohiro O. Sato, Matthias Schneider, Patrick Sheese, Viktoria Sofieva, Gabriele P. Stiller, Christian von Savigny, and Daniel Zawada
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4393–4436, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4393-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4393-2020, 2020
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Remote sensing of atmospheric state variables typically relies on the inverse solution of the radiative transfer equation. An adequately characterized retrieval provides information on the uncertainties of the estimated state variables as well as on how any constraint or a priori assumption affects the estimate. This paper summarizes related techniques and provides recommendations for unified error reporting.
Travis N. Knepp, Larry Thomason, Marilee Roell, Robert Damadeo, Kevin Leavor, Thierry Leblanc, Fernando Chouza, Sergey Khaykin, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, and David Flittner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4261–4276, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4261-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4261-2020, 2020
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Two common measurements that represent atmospheric aerosol loading are the backscatter and extinction coefficients. Measuring backscatter and extinction coefficients requires different viewing geometries and fundamentally different instrument systems. Further, these coefficients are not directly comparable. We present an algorithm to convert SAGE-observed extinction coefficients to backscatter coefficients for intercomparison with lidar backscatter products, followed by evaluation of the method.
Stefanie Kremser, Larry W. Thomason, and Leroy J. Bird
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 1419–1435, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1419-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1419-2020, 2020
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Since space-based measurements of stratospheric composition started, a plethora of
generally acceptedscreening methods have been developed and tailored to each measurement system and to each anticipated use of the data. These methods are often inconsistent, ad hoc, and untraceable and are seldom revised even after significant revisions to the data themselves. Here we developed new and simplified SAGE II ozone data usage rules that are based on how the measurements were made.
Christian von Savigny and Christoph G. Hoffmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1909–1920, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1909-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1909-2020, 2020
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Stratospheric sulfate aerosols increase the Earth's planetary albedo and can lead to significant surface cooling, for example in the aftermath of volcanic eruptions. Their particle size distribution, important for physical and chemical effects of these aerosols, is still not fully understood. The present paper proposes an explanation for systematic differences in aerosol particle size retrieved from measurements made in different measurement geometries and reported in earlier studies.
Olexandr Lednyts'kyy and Christian von Savigny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 2221–2261, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2221-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2221-2020, 2020
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Atomic oxygen is a chemically active trace gas and a critical component of the energy balance of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT). By sequentially applying continuity equations of low degree, a new model representing the airglow and photochemistry of oxygen in the MLT is implemented, enabling comparisons with airglow observations at each step. The most effective data sets required to derive the abundance of atomic oxygen are the O2 atmospheric band emission, temperature, N2 and O2.
Piao Rong, Christian von Savigny, Chunmin Zhang, Christoph G. Hoffmann, and Michael J. Schwartz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 1737–1755, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1737-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1737-2020, 2020
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We study the presence and characteristics of 27 d solar signatures in middle atmospheric temperature observed by the microwave limb sounder on NASA's Aura spacecraft. This is a highly interesting and significant subject because the physical and chemical mechanisms leading to these 27 d solar-driven signatures are, in many cases, not well understood. The analysis shows that highly significant 27 d solar signatures in middle atmospheric temperature are present at many altitudes and latitudes.
Corinna Kloss, Gwenaël Berthet, Pasquale Sellitto, Felix Ploeger, Silvia Bucci, Sergey Khaykin, Fabrice Jégou, Ghassan Taha, Larry W. Thomason, Brice Barret, Eric Le Flochmoen, Marc von Hobe, Adriana Bossolasco, Nelson Bègue, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 13547–13567, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13547-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13547-2019, 2019
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With satellite measurements and transport models, we show that a plume resulting from strong Canadian fires in July/August 2017 was not only distributed throughout the northern/higher latitudes, but also reached the faraway tropics, aided by the circulation of Asian monsoon anticyclone. The regional climate impact in the wider Asian monsoon area in September exceeds the impact of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer by a factor of ~ 3 and compares to that of an advected moderate volcanic eruption.
Jacob Zalach, Christian von Savigny, Arvid Langenbach, Gerd Baumgarten, Franz-Josef Lübken, and Adam Bourassa
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2019-267, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2019-267, 2019
Revised manuscript not accepted
Arvid Langenbach, Gerd Baumgarten, Jens Fiedler, Franz-Josef Lübken, Christian von Savigny, and Jacob Zalach
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 4065–4076, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4065-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4065-2019, 2019
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Stratospheric aerosol backscatter ratios in the Arctic using Rayleigh, Mie and Raman backscattered signals were calculated. A backscatter ratio calculation during daytime was performed for the first time. Sharp aerosol layers thinner than 1 km over several days were observed. The seasonal cycle of stratospheric background aerosol in high latitudes including the summer months was calculated for the first time. Top altitude of the aerosol layer was found to reach up to 34 km, especially in summer.
Elizaveta Malinina, Alexei Rozanov, Landon Rieger, Adam Bourassa, Heinrich Bovensmann, John P. Burrows, and Doug Degenstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 3485–3502, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3485-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3485-2019, 2019
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This paper covers the problems related to the derivation of aerosol extinction coefficients and Ångström exponents from space-borne instruments working in limb and occultation viewing geometries. Aerosol extinction coefficients and Ångström exponents were calculated from the SCIAMACHY aerosol particle size data set. The results were compared with the data from SAGE II and OSIRIS. The Ångström exponent in the tropical regions and its dependency on particle size parameters are discussed.
Lorenzo M. Polvani, Antara Banerjee, and Anja Schmidt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6351–6366, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6351-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6351-2019, 2019
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This study provides compelling new evidence that the surface winter warming observed over the Northern Hemisphere continents following the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo was, very likely, completely unrelated to the eruption. This result has implications for earlier eruptions, as the evidence presented here demonstrates that the surface signal of even the very largest known eruptions may be swamped by the internal variability at high latitudes.
John T. Sullivan, Thomas J. McGee, Ryan M. Stauffer, Anne M. Thompson, Andrew Weinheimer, Christoph Knote, Scott Janz, Armin Wisthaler, Russell Long, James Szykman, Jinsoo Park, Youngjae Lee, Saewung Kim, Daun Jeong, Dianne Sanchez, Laurence Twigg, Grant Sumnicht, Travis Knepp, and Jason R. Schroeder
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5051–5067, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5051-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5051-2019, 2019
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During the May–June 2016 International Cooperative Air Quality Field Study in Korea (KORUS-AQ), pollution reached the remote Taehwa Research Forest (TRF) site. Two case studies are examined and observations clearly identify TRF and the surrounding rural areas as long-term receptor sites for severe urban pollution events. In summary, domestic emissions may be causing more pollution than by transboundary pathways, which have been historically believed to be the major source of air pollution.
Elisa Carboni, Tamsin A. Mather, Anja Schmidt, Roy G. Grainger, Melissa A. Pfeffer, Iolanda Ialongo, and Nicolas Theys
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4851–4862, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4851-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4851-2019, 2019
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The 2014–2015 Holuhraun eruption was the largest in Iceland for 200 years, emitting huge quantities of gas into the troposphere, at times overwhelming European anthropogenic emissions. Infrared Atmospheric sounding Interferometer data are used to derive the first time series of daily sulfur dioxide mass and vertical distribution over the eruption period. A scheme is used to estimate sulfur dioxide fluxes, the total erupted mass, and how long the sulfur dioxide remains in the atmosphere.
Christoph G. Hoffmann and Christian von Savigny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4235–4256, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4235-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4235-2019, 2019
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We examine a possible statistical linkage between atmospheric variability in the tropical troposphere on the intraseasonal timescale, which is known as Madden–Julian oscillation, and known variability of the solar radiation with a period of 27 days. This helps to understand tropospheric variability in more detail, which is generally of interest, e.g., for weather forecasting. We find indications for such a linkage; however, more research has to be conducted for an unambiguous attribution.
Christian von Savigny, Dieter H. W. Peters, and Günter Entzian
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2079–2093, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2079-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2079-2019, 2019
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This study investigates solar effects in radio reflection height observations in the ionospheric D region at an altitude of about 80 km at northern midlatitudes. The analyzed time series covers almost six solar cycles. Statistically significant solar 27-day and 11-year signatures are identified. However, the driving mechanisms are not fully understood. We also provide evidence for dynamical effects on the radio reflection heights with periods close to the solar rotational cycle.
Tilo Fytterer, Christian von Savigny, Martin Mlynczak, and Miriam Sinnhuber
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 1835–1851, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1835-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1835-2019, 2019
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A model was developed to derive night-time atomic oxygen (O(3P)) and atomic hydrogen (H) from satellite observations in the altitude region between 75 km and 100 km. Comparisons between the
best-fit modeland the measurements suggest that chemical reactions involving O2 and O(3P) might occur differently than is usually assumed in literature. This considerably affects the derived abundances of O(3P) and H, which in turn might influence air temperature and winds of the whole atmosphere.
Betsy M. Farris, Guillaume P. Gronoff, William Carrion, Travis Knepp, Margaret Pippin, and Timothy A. Berkoff
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 363–370, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-363-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-363-2019, 2019
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During the 2017 Ozone Water Land Environmental Transition Study (OWLETS), the Langley mobile ozone lidar system utilized a new small diameter receiver to improve the retrieval of near-surface signals from 0.1 to 1 km in altitude. This allowed for improved near-surface ozone concentration measurements, those most important to human health, while also measuring profiles up to stratospheric altitudes. OWLETS provided multiple instrument comparisons for validation of the system improvement.
Christoph Brühl, Jennifer Schallock, Klaus Klingmüller, Charles Robert, Christine Bingen, Lieven Clarisse, Andreas Heckel, Peter North, and Landon Rieger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 12845–12857, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-12845-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-12845-2018, 2018
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Use of multi-instrument satellite data is important to get consistent simulations of aerosol radiative forcing by a complex chemistry climate model, here with a main focus on the lower stratosphere. The satellite data at different wavelengths together with the patterns in the simulated size distribution point to a significant contribution from moist mineral dust lifted to the tropopause region by the Asian summer monsoon.
Elena Spinei, Andrew Whitehill, Alan Fried, Martin Tiefengraber, Travis N. Knepp, Scott Herndon, Jay R. Herman, Moritz Müller, Nader Abuhassan, Alexander Cede, Dirk Richter, James Walega, James Crawford, James Szykman, Lukas Valin, David J. Williams, Russell Long, Robert J. Swap, Youngjae Lee, Nabil Nowak, and Brett Poche
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 4943–4961, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4943-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4943-2018, 2018
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Formaldehyde is toxic to humans and is formed in the atmosphere in the presence of air pollution, but the measurements are sparse. Pandonia Global Network instruments measure total formaldehyde column from the surface to the top of troposphere and will be widely available. This study compared formaldehyde Pandora columns with the surface and aircraft-integrated columns near Seoul, South Korea. Relatively good agreement was observed between the three datasets with some overestimation by Pandora.
Claudia Timmreck, Graham W. Mann, Valentina Aquila, Rene Hommel, Lindsay A. Lee, Anja Schmidt, Christoph Brühl, Simon Carn, Mian Chin, Sandip S. Dhomse, Thomas Diehl, Jason M. English, Michael J. Mills, Ryan Neely, Jianxiong Sheng, Matthew Toohey, and Debra Weisenstein
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 2581–2608, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-2581-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-2581-2018, 2018
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The paper describes the experimental design of the Interactive Stratospheric Aerosol Model Intercomparison Project (ISA-MIP). ISA-MIP will improve understanding of stratospheric aerosol processes, chemistry, and dynamics and constrain climate impacts of background aerosol variability and small and large volcanic eruptions. It will help to asses the stratospheric aerosol contribution to the early 21st century global warming hiatus period and the effects from hypothetical geoengineering schemes.
Landon A. Rieger, Elizaveta P. Malinina, Alexei V. Rozanov, John P. Burrows, Adam E. Bourassa, and Doug A. Degenstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3433–3445, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3433-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3433-2018, 2018
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This paper compares aerosol extinction records from two limb scattering instruments, OSIRIS and SCIAMACHY, to that from the occultation instrument SAGE II. Differences are investigated through modelling and retrieval studies and important sources of systematic errors are quantified. It is found that the largest biases come from uncertainties in the aerosol size distribution and the aerosol particle concentration at altitudes above 30 km.
Daniel T. McCoy, Paul R. Field, Anja Schmidt, Daniel P. Grosvenor, Frida A.-M. Bender, Ben J. Shipway, Adrian A. Hill, Jonathan M. Wilkinson, and Gregory S. Elsaesser
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5821–5846, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5821-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5821-2018, 2018
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Here we use a combination of global convection-permitting models, satellite observations and the Holuhraun volcanic eruption to demonstrate that aerosol enhances the cloud liquid content and brightness of midlatitude cyclones. This is important because the strength of anthropogenic radiative forcing is uncertain, leading to uncertainty in the climate sensitivity consistent with observed temperature record.
Daniel J. Zawada, Landon A. Rieger, Adam E. Bourassa, and Douglas A. Degenstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2375–2393, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2375-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2375-2018, 2018
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The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite Limb Profiler measures scattered sunlight, which is then inverted to obtain vertical profiles of ozone in the atmosphere. We have developed a new algorithm for inverting the data which is better suited for areas with large horizontal ozone gradients, such as the polar vortex. Data from the full currently 5-year mission have been processed and are publicly available.
Larry W. Thomason, Nicholas Ernest, Luis Millán, Landon Rieger, Adam Bourassa, Jean-Paul Vernier, Gloria Manney, Beiping Luo, Florian Arfeuille, and Thomas Peter
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 469–492, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-469-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-469-2018, 2018
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We describe the construction of a continuous 38-year record of stratospheric aerosol optical properties. The Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology, or GloSSAC, provided the input data to the construction of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project stratospheric aerosol forcing data set (1979 to 2014) and is now extended through 2016. GloSSAC focuses on the the SAGE series of instruments through mid-2005 and on OSIRIS and CALIPSO after that time.
Thibaut Lurton, Fabrice Jégou, Gwenaël Berthet, Jean-Baptiste Renard, Lieven Clarisse, Anja Schmidt, Colette Brogniez, and Tjarda J. Roberts
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 3223–3247, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3223-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3223-2018, 2018
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We quantify the chemical and microphysical effects of volcanic SO2 and HCl from the June 2009 Sarychev Peak eruption using a comprehensive aerosol–chemistry model combined with in situ measurements and satellite retrievals. Our results suggest that previous studies underestimated the eruption's atmospheric and climatic impact, mainly because previous model-to-satellite comparisons had to make assumptions about the aerosol size distribution and were based on biased satellite retrievals of AOD.
Lauren Marshall, Anja Schmidt, Matthew Toohey, Ken S. Carslaw, Graham W. Mann, Michael Sigl, Myriam Khodri, Claudia Timmreck, Davide Zanchettin, William T. Ball, Slimane Bekki, James S. A. Brooke, Sandip Dhomse, Colin Johnson, Jean-Francois Lamarque, Allegra N. LeGrande, Michael J. Mills, Ulrike Niemeier, James O. Pope, Virginie Poulain, Alan Robock, Eugene Rozanov, Andrea Stenke, Timofei Sukhodolov, Simone Tilmes, Kostas Tsigaridis, and Fiona Tummon
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 2307–2328, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2307-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2307-2018, 2018
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We use four global aerosol models to compare the simulated sulfate deposition from the 1815 Mt. Tambora eruption to ice core records. Inter-model volcanic sulfate deposition differs considerably. Volcanic sulfate deposited on polar ice sheets is used to estimate the atmospheric sulfate burden and subsequently radiative forcing of historic eruptions. Our results suggest that deriving such relationships from model simulations may be associated with greater uncertainties than previously thought.
Adam E. Bourassa, Chris Z. Roth, Daniel J. Zawada, Landon A. Rieger, Chris A. McLinden, and Douglas A. Degenstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 489–498, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-489-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-489-2018, 2018
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OSIRIS satellite measurements of ozone in the stratosphere are corrected for slowly varying errors. These changes make the OSIRIS data compare better with other satellite measurements over the long term and make an impact on our understanding of the recovery of the ozone layer.
Travis N. Knepp, Richard Querel, Paul Johnston, Larry Thomason, David Flittner, and Joseph M. Zawodny
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4363–4372, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4363-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4363-2017, 2017
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The SAGE-III instrument was launched in February 2017. As with any new instrument, a significant post-launch activity is planned to validate the data products. Validation of trace gases with short photolytic lifetimes is challenging, though careful use of Pandora-type instruments may prove beneficial. A careful intercomparison of Pandora and NIWA's M07 instrument was carried out. Results show Pandora to be well correlated with M07, showing its viability as a validation tool for SAGE science.
Travis N. Knepp, James J. Szykman, Russell Long, Rachelle M. Duvall, Jonathan Krug, Melinda Beaver, Kevin Cavender, Keith Kronmiller, Michael Wheeler, Ruben Delgado, Raymond Hoff, Timothy Berkoff, Erik Olson, Richard Clark, Daniel Wolfe, David Van Gilst, and Doreen Neil
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3963–3983, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3963-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3963-2017, 2017
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Herein we compare the mixed-layer data products from differing ceilometer instruments and meteorological sondes.
Martin P. Langowski, Christian von Savigny, John P. Burrows, Didier Fussen, Erin C. M. Dawkins, Wuhu Feng, John M. C. Plane, and Daniel R. Marsh
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 2989–3006, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2989-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2989-2017, 2017
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Meteoric metals form metal layers in the upper atmosphere anandplay a role in the formation of middle-atmospheric clouds and aerosols. However, the total metal influx rate is not well known. Global Na datasets from measurements and a model are available, which had not been compared yet on a global scale until this paper. Overall the agreement is good, and many differences between measurements are also found in the model simulations. However, the modeled layer altitude is too low.
Cristen Adams, Adam E. Bourassa, Chris A. McLinden, Chris E. Sioris, Thomas von Clarmann, Bernd Funke, Landon A. Rieger, and Douglas A. Degenstein
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 8063–8080, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8063-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8063-2017, 2017
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We measured the relationship between volcanic aerosol and trace gases in the stratosphere using the OSIRIS and MIPAS satellite instruments between 2002 and 2014. We found that levels of stratospheric NO2 and N2O5 both decreased significantly in the presence of volcanic aerosol. These decreases were consistent with the modeling results.
Christopher E. Sioris, Landon A. Rieger, Nicholas D. Lloyd, Adam E. Bourassa, Chris Z. Roth, Douglas A. Degenstein, Claude Camy-Peyret, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Gwenaël Berthet, Valéry Catoire, Florence Goutail, Jean-Pierre Pommereau, and Chris A. McLinden
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 1155–1168, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1155-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1155-2017, 2017
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A new OSIRIS NO2 retrieval algorithm is described and validated using > 40 balloon-based profile measurements. The validation results indicate a slight improvement relative to the existing operational algorithm in terms of the bias versus the balloon data, particularly in the lower stratosphere. The implication is that this new algorithm should replace the operational one. The motivation was to combine spectral fitting and the SaskTRAN radiative transfer model to achieve an improved product.
Sergey M. Khaykin, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Philippe Keckhut, Alain Hauchecorne, Julien Jumelet, Jean-Paul Vernier, Adam Bourassa, Doug A. Degenstein, Landon A. Rieger, Christine Bingen, Filip Vanhellemont, Charles Robert, Matthew DeLand, and Pawan K. Bhartia
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1829–1845, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1829-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1829-2017, 2017
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The article is devoted to the long-term evolution and variability of stratospheric aerosol, which plays an important role in climate change and the ozone layer. We use 22-year long continuous observations using laser radar soundings in southern France and satellite-based observations to distinguish between natural aerosol variability (caused by volcanic eruptions) and human-induced change in aerosol concentration. An influence of growing pollution above Asia on stratospheric aerosol is found.
Davide Zanchettin, Myriam Khodri, Claudia Timmreck, Matthew Toohey, Anja Schmidt, Edwin P. Gerber, Gabriele Hegerl, Alan Robock, Francesco S. R. Pausata, William T. Ball, Susanne E. Bauer, Slimane Bekki, Sandip S. Dhomse, Allegra N. LeGrande, Graham W. Mann, Lauren Marshall, Michael Mills, Marion Marchand, Ulrike Niemeier, Virginie Poulain, Eugene Rozanov, Angelo Rubino, Andrea Stenke, Kostas Tsigaridis, and Fiona Tummon
Geosci. Model Dev., 9, 2701–2719, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-2701-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-2701-2016, 2016
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Simulating volcanically-forced climate variability is a challenging task for climate models. The Model Intercomparison Project on the climatic response to volcanic forcing (VolMIP) – an endorsed contribution to CMIP6 – defines a protocol for idealized volcanic-perturbation experiments to improve comparability of results across different climate models. This paper illustrates the design of VolMIP's experiments and describes the aerosol forcing input datasets to be used.
Kai-Uwe Eichmann, Luca Lelli, Christian von Savigny, Harjinder Sembhi, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 793–815, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-793-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-793-2016, 2016
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Height-resolved limb radiance spectra of the satellite instrument SCIAMACHY are used to retrieve cloud top heights with a colour index method. Clouds are detectable from the lower to the uppermost troposphere. These cloud heights help to improve the trace gas retrieval for the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Comparisons with other data sets have shown good agreement. As clouds and aerosols are not distinguishable, lower stratospheric volcanic aerosol clouds are detected in some years.
M. P. Langowski, C. von Savigny, J. P. Burrows, V. V. Rozanov, T. Dunker, U.-P. Hoppe, M. Sinnhuber, and A. C. Aikin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 295–311, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-295-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-295-2016, 2016
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An algorithm has been developed for the retrieval of sodium atom (Na) number density on a latitude and altitude grid from SCIAMACHY limb measurements of the Na resonance fluorescence (multiannual means 2008–2012). The Na layer peaks at 90 to 93 km altitude and has a FWHM of 5 to 15 km. A summer minimum in peak density and width is observed at high latitudes. At low latitudes, a semiannual oscillation is found. The results are compared with other measurements and models and agree well with these.
E. W. Butt, A. Rap, A. Schmidt, C. E. Scott, K. J. Pringle, C. L. Reddington, N. A. D. Richards, M. T. Woodhouse, J. Ramirez-Villegas, H. Yang, V. Vakkari, E. A. Stone, M. Rupakheti, P. S. Praveen, P. G. van Zyl, J. P. Beukes, M. Josipovic, E. J. S. Mitchell, S. M. Sallu, P. M. Forster, and D. V. Spracklen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 873–905, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-873-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-873-2016, 2016
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We estimate the impact of residential emissions (cooking and heating) on atmospheric aerosol, human health, and climate. We find large contributions to annual mean ambient PM2.5 in residential sources regions resulting in significant but uncertain global premature mortality when key uncertainties in emission flux are considered. We show that residential emissions exert an uncertain global radiative effect and suggest more work is needed to characterise residential emissions climate importance.
F. Ebojie, J. P. Burrows, C. Gebhardt, A. Ladstätter-Weißenmayer, C. von Savigny, A. Rozanov, M. Weber, and H. Bovensmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 417–436, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-417-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-417-2016, 2016
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The goal of this study is to determine the global and zonal changes in the tropospheric ozone data product derived from SCIAMACHY limb-nadir-matching (LNM) observations during the period 2003–2011.
Tropospheric O3 shows statistically significant increases over some regions of South Asia, the South American continent, Alaska, around Congo in Africa and over some continental outflows. Significant decrease in TOC is observed over some continents and oceans.
C. von Savigny, F. Ernst, A. Rozanov, R. Hommel, K.-U. Eichmann, V. Rozanov, J. P. Burrows, and L. W. Thomason
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 5223–5235, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5223-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5223-2015, 2015
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This article presents validation results for stratospheric aerosol extinction profiles retrieved from limb-scatter measurements with the SCIAMACHY instrument on the Envisat satellite. The SCIAMACHY retrievals are compared to co-located measurements with the SAGE II instrument. Very good agreement to within about 15% is found in a global average sense at altitudes above 15 km. The article also presents sample results on the global morphology of the stratospheric aerosol layer from 2003 to 2011.
D. J. Zawada, S. R. Dueck, L. A. Rieger, A. E. Bourassa, N. D. Lloyd, and D. A. Degenstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2609–2623, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2609-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2609-2015, 2015
O. Lednyts'kyy, C. von Savigny, K.-U. Eichmann, and M. G. Mlynczak
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1021–1041, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1021-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1021-2015, 2015
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This paper deals with the retrieval of atomic oxygen concentration profiles in the Earth's upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere region from SCIAMACHY observations of oxygen green line airglow emissions. Atomic oxygen is one of the most important chemical constituents of this atmospheric region, and long-term satellite data sets are rare. The paper includes a detailed description of the retrieval algorithm, an error budget, validation results and some first scientific analyses.
M. P. Langowski, C. von Savigny, J. P. Burrows, W. Feng, J. M. C. Plane, D. R. Marsh, D. Janches, M. Sinnhuber, A. C. Aikin, and P. Liebing
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 273–295, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-273-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-273-2015, 2015
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Global concentration fields of Mg and Mg+ in the Earth's upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere (70-150km) are presented. These are retrieved from SCIAMACHY/Envisat satellite grating spectrometer measurements in limb viewing geometry between 2008 and 2012.
These were compared with WACCM-Mg model results and a large fraction of the available measurement results for these species, and an interpretation of the results is done. The variation of these species during NLC presence is discussed.
R. P. Damadeo, J. M. Zawodny, and L. W. Thomason
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 13455–13470, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13455-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13455-2014, 2014
L. N. Lamsal, N. A. Krotkov, E. A. Celarier, W. H. Swartz, K. E. Pickering, E. J. Bucsela, J. F. Gleason, R. V. Martin, S. Philip, H. Irie, A. Cede, J. Herman, A. Weinheimer, J. J. Szykman, and T. N. Knepp
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 11587–11609, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11587-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11587-2014, 2014
S. S. Dhomse, K. M. Emmerson, G. W. Mann, N. Bellouin, K. S. Carslaw, M. P. Chipperfield, R. Hommel, N. L. Abraham, P. Telford, P. Braesicke, M. Dalvi, C. E. Johnson, F. O'Connor, O. Morgenstern, J. A. Pyle, T. Deshler, J. M. Zawodny, and L. W. Thomason
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 11221–11246, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11221-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11221-2014, 2014
S. Kowalewski, C. von Savigny, M. Palm, I. C. McDade, and J. Notholt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 10193–10210, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10193-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10193-2014, 2014
F. Ebojie, C. von Savigny, A. Ladstätter-Weißenmayer, A. Rozanov, M. Weber, K.-U. Eichmann, S. Bötel, N. Rahpoe, H. Bovensmann, and J. P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 2073–2096, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2073-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2073-2014, 2014
B. Hassler, I. Petropavlovskikh, J. Staehelin, T. August, P. K. Bhartia, C. Clerbaux, D. Degenstein, M. De Mazière, B. M. Dinelli, A. Dudhia, G. Dufour, S. M. Frith, L. Froidevaux, S. Godin-Beekmann, J. Granville, N. R. P. Harris, K. Hoppel, D. Hubert, Y. Kasai, M. J. Kurylo, E. Kyrölä, J.-C. Lambert, P. F. Levelt, C. T. McElroy, R. D. McPeters, R. Munro, H. Nakajima, A. Parrish, P. Raspollini, E. E. Remsberg, K. H. Rosenlof, A. Rozanov, T. Sano, Y. Sasano, M. Shiotani, H. G. J. Smit, G. Stiller, J. Tamminen, D. W. Tarasick, J. Urban, R. J. van der A, J. P. Veefkind, C. Vigouroux, T. von Clarmann, C. von Savigny, K. A. Walker, M. Weber, J. Wild, and J. M. Zawodny
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1395–1427, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1395-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1395-2014, 2014
J. W. Halfacre, T. N. Knepp, P. B. Shepson, C. R. Thompson, K. A. Pratt, B. Li, P. K. Peterson, S. J. Walsh, W. R. Simpson, P. A. Matrai, J. W. Bottenheim, S. Netcheva, D. K. Perovich, and A. Richter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4875–4894, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4875-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4875-2014, 2014
R. Hommel, K.-U. Eichmann, J. Aschmann, K. Bramstedt, M. Weber, C. von Savigny, A. Richter, A. Rozanov, F. Wittrock, F. Khosrawi, R. Bauer, and J. P. Burrows
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3247–3276, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3247-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3247-2014, 2014
L. A. Rieger, A. E. Bourassa, and D. A. Degenstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 777–780, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-777-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-777-2014, 2014
L. A. Rieger, A. E. Bourassa, and D. A. Degenstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 507–522, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-507-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-507-2014, 2014
M. Langowski, M. Sinnhuber, A. C. Aikin, C. von Savigny, and J. P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 29–48, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-29-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-29-2014, 2014
R. P. Damadeo, J. M. Zawodny, L. W. Thomason, and N. Iyer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 3539–3561, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-3539-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-3539-2013, 2013
A. I. Partanen, A. Laakso, A. Schmidt, H. Kokkola, T. Kuokkanen, J.-P. Pietikäinen, V.-M. Kerminen, K. E. J. Lehtinen, L. Laakso, and H. Korhonen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 12059–12071, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12059-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12059-2013, 2013
F. Arfeuille, B. P. Luo, P. Heckendorn, D. Weisenstein, J. X. Sheng, E. Rozanov, M. Schraner, S. Brönnimann, L. W. Thomason, and T. Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11221–11234, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11221-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11221-2013, 2013
E. Kyrölä, M. Laine, V. Sofieva, J. Tamminen, S.-M. Päivärinta, S. Tukiainen, J. Zawodny, and L. Thomason
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 10645–10658, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10645-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10645-2013, 2013
N. Rahpoe, C. von Savigny, M. Weber, A.V. Rozanov, H. Bovensmann, and J. P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 2825–2837, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2825-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2825-2013, 2013
L. W. Thomason and J.-P. Vernier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 4605–4616, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4605-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4605-2013, 2013
M. C. Pitts, L. R. Poole, A. Lambert, and L. W. Thomason
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 2975–2988, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2975-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2975-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Remote Sensing | Altitude Range: Stratosphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Stratospheric aerosol formed from the boiling sea induced by the 2022 Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption
OMPS-LP aerosol extinction coefficients and their applicability in GloSSAC
Radiative impact of the Hunga stratospheric volcanic plume: role of aerosols and water vapor over Réunion Island (21° S, 55° E)
Long-term (2010–2021) lidar observations of stratospheric aerosols in Wuhan, China
Evidence of a dual African and Australian biomass burning influence on the vertical distribution of aerosol and carbon monoxide over the southwest Indian Ocean basin in early 2020
Does the Asian summer monsoon play a role in the stratospheric aerosol budget of the Arctic?
The 2019 Raikoke eruption as a testbed used by the Volcano Response group for rapid assessment of volcanic atmospheric impacts
Measurement report: Violent biomass burning and volcanic eruptions – a new period of elevated stratospheric aerosol over central Europe (2017 to 2023) in a long series of observations
Radiative impacts of the Australian bushfires 2019–2020 – Part 2: Large-scale and in-vortex radiative heating
Short- and long-term stratospheric impact of smoke from the 2019–2020 Australian wildfires
Quantifying SAGE II (1984–2005) and SAGE III/ISS (2017–2022) observations of smoke in the stratosphere
Stratospheric aerosol size reduction after volcanic eruptions
Occurrence of polar stratospheric clouds as derived from ground-based zenith DOAS observations using the colour index
Retrieving instantaneous extinction of aerosol undetected by the CALIPSO layer detection algorithm
Radiative impacts of the Australian bushfires 2019–2020 – Part 1: Large-scale radiative forcing
Australian wildfire smoke in the stratosphere: the decay phase in 2020/2021 and impact on ozone depletion
Five-satellite-sensor study of the rapid decline of wildfire smoke in the stratosphere
The unexpected smoke layer in the High Arctic winter stratosphere during MOSAiC 2019–2020
Changes in stratospheric aerosol extinction coefficient after the 2018 Ambae eruption as seen by OMPS-LP and MAECHAM5-HAM
Tropospheric and stratospheric wildfire smoke profiling with lidar: mass, surface area, CCN, and INP retrieval
Quasi-coincident observations of polar stratospheric clouds by ground-based lidar and CALIOP at Concordia (Dome C, Antarctica) from 2014 to 2018
Stratospheric aerosol layer perturbation caused by the 2019 Raikoke and Ulawun eruptions and their radiative forcing
Is the near-spherical shape the “new black” for smoke?
Smoke of extreme Australian bushfires observed in the stratosphere over Punta Arenas, Chile, in January 2020: optical thickness, lidar ratios, and depolarization ratios at 355 and 532 nm
Long-term (1999–2019) variability of stratospheric aerosol over Mauna Loa, Hawaii, as seen by two co-located lidars and satellite measurements
The unprecedented 2017–2018 stratospheric smoke event: decay phase and aerosol properties observed with the EARLINET
Transport of the 2017 Canadian wildfire plume to the tropics via the Asian monsoon circulation
Lidar observations of pyrocumulonimbus smoke plumes in the UTLS over Tomsk (Western Siberia, Russia) from 2000 to 2017
Long-range-transported Canadian smoke plumes in the lower stratosphere over northern France
Comparison of Antarctic polar stratospheric cloud observations by ground-based and space-borne lidar and relevance for chemistry–climate models
Extreme levels of Canadian wildfire smoke in the stratosphere over central Europe on 21–22 August 2017
Depolarization and lidar ratios at 355, 532, and 1064 nm and microphysical properties of aged tropospheric and stratospheric Canadian wildfire smoke
Volcanic impact on the climate – the stratospheric aerosol load in the period 2006–2015
A climatology of polar stratospheric cloud composition between 2002 and 2012 based on MIPAS/Envisat observations
Accuracy and precision of polar lower stratospheric temperatures from reanalyses evaluated from A-Train CALIOP and MLS, COSMIC GPS RO, and the equilibrium thermodynamics of supercooled ternary solutions and ice clouds
Lidar ratios of stratospheric volcanic ash and sulfate aerosols retrieved from CALIOP measurements
30-year lidar observations of the stratospheric aerosol layer state over Tomsk (Western Siberia, Russia)
Variability and evolution of the midlatitude stratospheric aerosol budget from 22 years of ground-based lidar and satellite observations
Interannual variations of early winter Antarctic polar stratospheric cloud formation and nitric acid observed by CALIOP and MLS
Spectroscopic evidence of large aspherical β-NAT particles involved in denitrification in the December 2011 Arctic stratosphere
CALIOP near-real-time backscatter products compared to EARLINET data
Characterisation of a stratospheric sulfate plume from the Nabro volcano using a combination of passive satellite measurements in nadir and limb geometry
Dispersion of the Nabro volcanic plume and its relation to the Asian summer monsoon
Possible effect of extreme solar energetic particle events of September–October 1989 on polar stratospheric aerosols: a case study
An assessment of CALIOP polar stratospheric cloud composition classification
On recent (2008–2012) stratospheric aerosols observed by lidar over Japan
Toward a combined SAGE II-HALOE aerosol climatology: an evaluation of HALOE version 19 stratospheric aerosol extinction coefficient observations
Possible effect of extreme solar energetic particle event of 20 January 2005 on polar stratospheric aerosols: direct observational evidence
Odin-OSIRIS stratospheric aerosol data product and SAGE III intercomparison
Optical extinction by upper tropospheric/stratospheric aerosols and clouds: GOMOS observations for the period 2002–2008
Bengt G. Martinsson, Johan Friberg, and Moa K. Sporre
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-971, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-971, 2025
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The highly variable stratospheric aerosol bears great importance for Earth's climate. The one-year average aerosol load from the 2022 volcanic eruption in Hunga Tonga is the highest since the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption. The usual volcanic aerosol precursor gas (SO2) mass was not sufficient to explain the aerosol load. Volcaniclastic density current in runouts exceeding 100 km amplified the eruption and bubble-bursting in the boiling sea forms a plausible explanation for high aerosol loading.
Mahesh Kovilakam, Larry W. Thomason, Magali Verkerk, Thomas Aubry, and Travis N. Knepp
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 535–553, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-535-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-535-2025, 2025
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The Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology (GloSSAC) is essential for understanding and modeling the climatic impacts of stratospheric aerosols, comprising data from various space-based measurements. Here, we examine the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite Limb Profiler (OMPS-LP) against other data sets, particularly the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III/ISS, to discern differences and explore the applicability of OMPS data within the GloSSAC framework.
Michaël Sicard, Alexandre Baron, Marion Ranaivombola, Dominique Gantois, Tristan Millet, Pasquale Sellitto, Nelson Bègue, Hassan Bencherif, Guillaume Payen, Nicolas Marquestaut, and Valentin Duflot
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 367–381, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-367-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-367-2025, 2025
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This study quantifies the radiative impact over Réunion Island (21° S, 55° E) of the aerosols and water vapor injected into the stratosphere by the Hunga volcano in the South Pacific. The overall aerosol and water vapor impact on the Earth’s radiation budget for the whole period is negative (cooling, -0.82 ± 0.35 W m-2) and dominated by the aerosols. At the Earth’s surface, aerosols are the main drivers and produce a negative (cooling, -1.04 ± 0.36 W m-2) radiative impact.
Yun He, Dongzhe Jing, Zhenping Yin, Kevin Ohneiser, and Fan Yi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11431–11450, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11431-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11431-2024, 2024
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We present a long-term ground-based lidar observation of stratospheric aerosols at a mid-latitude site, Wuhan, in central China, from 2010 to 2021. We observed a stratospheric background period from 2013 to mid-2017, along with several perturbations from volcanic aerosols and wildfire-induced smoke. In summer, injected stratospheric aerosols are found to be captured by the Asian monsoon anticyclone, resulting in prolonged residence and regional transport in the mid-latitudes of East Asia.
Nelson Bègue, Alexandre Baron, Gisèle Krysztofiak, Gwenaël Berthet, Corinna Kloss, Fabrice Jégou, Sergey Khaykin, Marion Ranaivombola, Tristan Millet, Thierry Portafaix, Valentin Duflot, Philippe Keckhut, Hélène Vérèmes, Guillaume Payen, Mahesh Kumar Sha, Pierre-François Coheur, Cathy Clerbaux, Michaël Sicard, Tetsu Sakai, Richard Querel, Ben Liley, Dan Smale, Isamu Morino, Osamu Uchino, Tomohiro Nagai, Penny Smale, John Robinson, and Hassan Bencherif
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8031–8048, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8031-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8031-2024, 2024
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During the 2020 austral summer, the pristine atmosphere of the southwest Indian Ocean basin experienced significant perturbations. Numerical models indicated that the lower-stratospheric aerosol content was influenced by the intense and persistent stratospheric aerosol layer generated during the 2019–2020 extreme Australian bushfire events. Ground-based observations at Réunion confirmed the simultaneous presence of African and Australian aerosol layers.
Sandra Graßl, Christoph Ritter, Ines Tritscher, and Bärbel Vogel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7535–7557, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7535-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7535-2024, 2024
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Arctic lidar data for 1 year are compared with global modeling of aerosol tracers in the stratosphere. A trend in the aerosol backscatter can be found. These observations are further compared with a model study to investigate the aerosol origin of the observed arctic aerosol. We found a correlation with increased backscatter signal during summer and early autumn and pathways from the Southeast Asian monsoon region and remains of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer in the Arctic.
Jean-Paul Vernier, Thomas J. Aubry, Claudia Timmreck, Anja Schmidt, Lieven Clarisse, Fred Prata, Nicolas Theys, Andrew T. Prata, Graham Mann, Hyundeok Choi, Simon Carn, Richard Rigby, Susan C. Loughlin, and John A. Stevenson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5765–5782, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5765-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5765-2024, 2024
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The 2019 Raikoke eruption (Kamchatka, Russia) generated one of the largest emissions of particles and gases into the stratosphere since the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption. The Volcano Response (VolRes) initiative, an international effort, provided a platform for the community to share information about this eruption and assess its climate impact. The eruption led to a minor global surface cooling of 0.02 °C in 2020 which is negligible relative to warming induced by human greenhouse gas emissions.
Thomas Trickl, Hannes Vogelmann, Michael D. Fromm, Horst Jäger, Matthias Perfahl, and Wolfgang Steinbrecht
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1997–2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1997-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1997-2024, 2024
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In 2023, the lidar team at Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany) celebrated its 50th year of aerosol profiling. The highlight of these activities has been the lidar measurements of stratospheric aerosol carried out since 1976. The observations since 2017 are characterized by severe smoke from several big fires in North America and Siberia and three volcanic eruptions. The sudden increase in the frequency of such strong fire events is difficult to understand.
Pasquale Sellitto, Redha Belhadji, Juan Cuesta, Aurélien Podglajen, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15523–15535, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15523-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15523-2023, 2023
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Record-breaking wildfires ravaged south-eastern Australia during the fire season 2019–2020. These fires injected a smoke plume in the stratosphere, which dispersed over the whole Southern Hemisphere and interacted with solar and terrestrial radiation. A number of detached smoke bubbles were also observed emanating from this plume and ascending quickly to over 35 km altitude. Here we study how absorption of radiation generated ascending motion of both the the hemispheric plume and the vortices.
Johan Friberg, Bengt G. Martinsson, and Moa K. Sporre
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12557–12570, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12557-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12557-2023, 2023
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We study the short- and long-term stratospheric impact of smoke from the massive Australian wildfires in Dec 2019–Jan 2020 using four satellite sensors. Smoke entered the stratosphere rapidly via transport by firestorms, as well as weeks after the fires. The smoke particle properties evolved over time together with rapidly decreasing stratospheric aerosol load, suggesting photolytic loss of organics in the smoke particles. The depletion rate was estimated to a half-life (e folding) of 10 (14) d.
Larry W. Thomason and Travis Knepp
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10361–10381, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10361-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10361-2023, 2023
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We examine space-based observations of stratospheric aerosol to infer the presence of episodic smoke perturbations. We find that smoke's optical properties often show a consistent behavior but vary somewhat from event to event. We also find that the rate of smoke events observed in the 1984–2005 period is about half the rate of similar observations in the period from 2017 to the present; however, with such low overall rates, inferring change between the periods is difficult.
Felix Wrana, Ulrike Niemeier, Larry W. Thomason, Sandra Wallis, and Christian von Savigny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9725–9743, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9725-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9725-2023, 2023
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The stratospheric aerosol layer is a naturally occurring and permanent layer of aerosol, in this case very small droplets of mostly sulfuric acid and water, that has a cooling effect on our climate. To quantify this effect and for our general understanding of stratospheric microphysical processes, knowledge of the size of those aerosol particles is needed. Using satellite measurements and atmospheric models we show that some volcanic eruptions can lead to on average smaller aerosol sizes.
Bianca Lauster, Steffen Dörner, Carl-Fredrik Enell, Udo Frieß, Myojeong Gu, Janis Puķīte, Uwe Raffalski, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15925–15942, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15925-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15925-2022, 2022
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Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are an important component in ozone chemistry. Here, we use two differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) instruments in the Antarctic and Arctic to investigate the occurrence of PSCs based on the colour index, i.e. the colour of the zenith sky. Additionally using radiative transfer simulations, the variability and the seasonal cycle of PSC occurrence are analysed and an unexpectedly high signal during spring suggests the influence of volcanic aerosol.
Feiyue Mao, Ruixing Shi, Daniel Rosenfeld, Zengxin Pan, Lin Zang, Yannian Zhu, and Xin Lu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10589–10602, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10589-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10589-2022, 2022
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Previous studies generally ignored the faint aerosols undetected by the CALIPSO layer detection algorithm because they are too optically thin. Here, we retrieved the faint aerosol extinction based on instantaneous CALIPSO observations with the constraint of SAGE data. The correlation and normalized root-mean-square error of the retrievals with independent SAGE data are 0.66 and 100.6 %, respectively. The minimum retrieved extinction at night can be extended to 10-4 km-1 with 125 % uncertainty.
Pasquale Sellitto, Redha Belhadji, Corinna Kloss, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9299–9311, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9299-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9299-2022, 2022
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As a consequence of extreme heat and drought, record-breaking wildfires ravaged south-eastern Australia during the fire season in 2019–2020. Fires injected a smoke plume very high up to the stratosphere, which dispersed quite quickly to the whole Southern Hemisphere and interacted with solar radiation, reflecting and absorbing part of it – thus producing impacts on the climate system. Here we estimate this impact on radiation and we study how it depends on the properties and ageing of the plume.
Kevin Ohneiser, Albert Ansmann, Bernd Kaifler, Alexandra Chudnovsky, Boris Barja, Daniel A. Knopf, Natalie Kaifler, Holger Baars, Patric Seifert, Diego Villanueva, Cristofer Jimenez, Martin Radenz, Ronny Engelmann, Igor Veselovskii, and Félix Zamorano
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7417–7442, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7417-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7417-2022, 2022
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We present and discuss 2 years of long-term lidar observations of the largest stratospheric perturbation by wildfire smoke ever observed. The smoke originated from the record-breaking Australian fires in 2019–2020 and affects climate conditions and even the ozone layer in the Southern Hemisphere. The obvious link between dense smoke occurrence in the stratosphere and strong ozone depletion found in the Arctic and in the Antarctic in 2020 can be regarded as a new aspect of climate change.
Bengt G. Martinsson, Johan Friberg, Oscar S. Sandvik, and Moa K. Sporre
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3967–3984, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3967-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3967-2022, 2022
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Large amounts of wildfire smoke reached the stratosphere in 2017. The literature on stratospheric aerosol is mainly based on horizontally viewing sensors that saturate in dense smoke. Using also a vertically viewing sensor with orders of magnitude shorter path in the smoke, we show that the horizontally viewing sensors miss a dramatic exponential decline of the aerosol load with a half-life of 10 d, where 80 %–90 % of smoke is lost. We attribute the decline to photolytic loss of organic aerosol.
Kevin Ohneiser, Albert Ansmann, Alexandra Chudnovsky, Ronny Engelmann, Christoph Ritter, Igor Veselovskii, Holger Baars, Henriette Gebauer, Hannes Griesche, Martin Radenz, Julian Hofer, Dietrich Althausen, Sandro Dahlke, and Marion Maturilli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15783–15808, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15783-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15783-2021, 2021
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The highlight of the lidar measurements during the 1-year MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) expedition of the German icebreaker Polarstern (October 2019–October 2020) was the detection of a persistent, 10 km deep Siberian wildfire smoke layer in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) from about 7–8 km to 17–18 km height that could potentially have impacted the record-breaking ozone depletion over the Arctic in the spring of 2020.
Elizaveta Malinina, Alexei Rozanov, Ulrike Niemeier, Sandra Wallis, Carlo Arosio, Felix Wrana, Claudia Timmreck, Christian von Savigny, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14871–14891, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14871-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14871-2021, 2021
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In the paper, changes in the stratospheric aerosol loading after the 2018 Ambae eruption were analyzed using OMPS-LP observations. The eruption was also simulated with the MAECHAM5-HAM global climate model. Generally, the model and observations agree very well. We attribute the good consistency of the results to a precisely determined altitude and mass of the volcanic injection, as well as nudging of the meteorological data. The radiative forcing from the eruption was estimated to be −0.13 W m−2.
Albert Ansmann, Kevin Ohneiser, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Daniel A. Knopf, Igor Veselovskii, Holger Baars, Ronny Engelmann, Andreas Foth, Cristofer Jimenez, Patric Seifert, and Boris Barja
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9779–9807, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9779-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9779-2021, 2021
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We present retrievals of tropospheric and stratospheric height profiles of particle mass, volume, surface area concentration of wildfire smoke layers, and related cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice-nucleating particle (INP) concentrations. The new analysis scheme is applied to ground-based lidar observations of stratospheric Australian smoke over southern South America and to spaceborne lidar observations of tropospheric North American smoke.
Marcel Snels, Francesco Colao, Francesco Cairo, Ilir Shuli, Andrea Scoccione, Mauro De Muro, Michael Pitts, Lamont Poole, and Luca Di Liberto
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2165–2178, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2165-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2165-2021, 2021
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A total of 5 years of polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) observations by ground-based lidar at Concordia station (Antarctica) are presented. These data have been recorded in coincidence with the overpasses of the CALIOP lidar on the CALIPSO satellite. First we demonstrate that both lidars observe essentially the same thing, in terms of detection and composition of the PSCs. Then we use both datasets to study seasonal and interannual variations in the formation temperature of NAT mixtures.
Corinna Kloss, Gwenaël Berthet, Pasquale Sellitto, Felix Ploeger, Ghassan Taha, Mariam Tidiga, Maxim Eremenko, Adriana Bossolasco, Fabrice Jégou, Jean-Baptiste Renard, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 535–560, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-535-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-535-2021, 2021
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The year 2019 was particularly rich for the stratospheric aerosol layer due to two volcanic eruptions (at Raikoke and Ulawun) and wildfire events. With satellite observations and models, we describe the exceptionally complex situation following the Raikoke eruption. The respective plume overwhelmed the Northern Hemisphere stratosphere in terms of aerosol load and resulted in the highest climate impact throughout the past decade.
Anna Gialitaki, Alexandra Tsekeri, Vassilis Amiridis, Romain Ceolato, Lucas Paulien, Anna Kampouri, Antonis Gkikas, Stavros Solomos, Eleni Marinou, Moritz Haarig, Holger Baars, Albert Ansmann, Tatyana Lapyonok, Anton Lopatin, Oleg Dubovik, Silke Groß, Martin Wirth, Maria Tsichla, Ioanna Tsikoudi, and Dimitris Balis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14005–14021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14005-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14005-2020, 2020
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Stratospheric smoke particles are found to significantly depolarize incident light, while this effect is also accompanied by a strong spectral dependence. We utilize scattering simulations to show that this behaviour can be attributed to the near-spherical shape of the particles. We also examine whether an extension of the current AERONET scattering model to include the near-spherical shapes could be of benefit to the AERONET retrieval for stratospheric smoke associated with enhanced PLDR.
Kevin Ohneiser, Albert Ansmann, Holger Baars, Patric Seifert, Boris Barja, Cristofer Jimenez, Martin Radenz, Audrey Teisseire, Athina Floutsi, Moritz Haarig, Andreas Foth, Alexandra Chudnovsky, Ronny Engelmann, Félix Zamorano, Johannes Bühl, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8003–8015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8003-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8003-2020, 2020
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Unique lidar observations of a strong perturbation in stratospheric aerosol conditions in the Southern Hemisphere caused by the extreme Australian bushfires in 2019–2020 are presented. One of the main goals of this article is to provide the CALIPSO and Aeolus spaceborne lidar science teams with basic input parameters (lidar ratios, depolarization ratios) for a trustworthy documentation of this record-breaking event.
Fernando Chouza, Thierry Leblanc, John Barnes, Mark Brewer, Patrick Wang, and Darryl Koon
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 6821–6839, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6821-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6821-2020, 2020
Holger Baars, Albert Ansmann, Kevin Ohneiser, Moritz Haarig, Ronny Engelmann, Dietrich Althausen, Ingrid Hanssen, Michael Gausa, Aleksander Pietruczuk, Artur Szkop, Iwona S. Stachlewska, Dongxiang Wang, Jens Reichardt, Annett Skupin, Ina Mattis, Thomas Trickl, Hannes Vogelmann, Francisco Navas-Guzmán, Alexander Haefele, Karen Acheson, Albert A. Ruth, Boyan Tatarov, Detlef Müller, Qiaoyun Hu, Thierry Podvin, Philippe Goloub, Igor Veselovskii, Christophe Pietras, Martial Haeffelin, Patrick Fréville, Michaël Sicard, Adolfo Comerón, Alfonso Javier Fernández García, Francisco Molero Menéndez, Carmen Córdoba-Jabonero, Juan Luis Guerrero-Rascado, Lucas Alados-Arboledas, Daniele Bortoli, Maria João Costa, Davide Dionisi, Gian Luigi Liberti, Xuan Wang, Alessia Sannino, Nikolaos Papagiannopoulos, Antonella Boselli, Lucia Mona, Giuseppe D'Amico, Salvatore Romano, Maria Rita Perrone, Livio Belegante, Doina Nicolae, Ivan Grigorov, Anna Gialitaki, Vassilis Amiridis, Ourania Soupiona, Alexandros Papayannis, Rodanthi-Elisaveth Mamouri, Argyro Nisantzi, Birgit Heese, Julian Hofer, Yoav Y. Schechner, Ulla Wandinger, and Gelsomina Pappalardo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15183–15198, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15183-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15183-2019, 2019
Corinna Kloss, Gwenaël Berthet, Pasquale Sellitto, Felix Ploeger, Silvia Bucci, Sergey Khaykin, Fabrice Jégou, Ghassan Taha, Larry W. Thomason, Brice Barret, Eric Le Flochmoen, Marc von Hobe, Adriana Bossolasco, Nelson Bègue, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 13547–13567, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13547-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13547-2019, 2019
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With satellite measurements and transport models, we show that a plume resulting from strong Canadian fires in July/August 2017 was not only distributed throughout the northern/higher latitudes, but also reached the faraway tropics, aided by the circulation of Asian monsoon anticyclone. The regional climate impact in the wider Asian monsoon area in September exceeds the impact of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer by a factor of ~ 3 and compares to that of an advected moderate volcanic eruption.
Vladimir V. Zuev, Vladislav V. Gerasimov, Aleksei V. Nevzorov, and Ekaterina S. Savelieva
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 3341–3356, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-3341-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-3341-2019, 2019
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Massive wildfires sometimes generate pyrocumulonimbus clouds (pyroCbs), inside of which combustion products can ascend to the upper troposphere or even lower stratosphere (UTLS). Smoke plumes from pyroCbs occurred in North America can spread in the UTLS for long distances and be observed in the UTLS over Europe and even over Russia. In this work, we analyzed aerosol layers detected in the UTLS over Tomsk (Russia) that could be smoke plumes from such pyroCbs that occurred in the 2000–2017 period.
Qiaoyun Hu, Philippe Goloub, Igor Veselovskii, Juan-Antonio Bravo-Aranda, Ioana Elisabeta Popovici, Thierry Podvin, Martial Haeffelin, Anton Lopatin, Oleg Dubovik, Christophe Pietras, Xin Huang, Benjamin Torres, and Cheng Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 1173–1193, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1173-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1173-2019, 2019
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Smoke plumes generated in Canadian fire activities were elevated to the lower stratosphere and transported from North America to Europe. The smoke plumes were observed by three lidar systems in northern France. This study provides a comprehensive characterization for aged smoke aerosols at high altitude using lidar observations. It presents that fire activities on the Earth's surface can be an important contributor of stratospheric aerosols and impact the Earth's radiation budget.
Marcel Snels, Andrea Scoccione, Luca Di Liberto, Francesco Colao, Michael Pitts, Lamont Poole, Terry Deshler, Francesco Cairo, Chiara Cagnazzo, and Federico Fierli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 955–972, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-955-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-955-2019, 2019
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Polar stratospheric clouds are important for stratospheric chemistry and ozone depletion. Here we statistically compare ground-based and satellite-borne lidar measurements at McMurdo (Antarctica) in order to better understand the differences between ground-based and satellite-borne observations. The satellite observations have also been compared to models used in CCMVAL-2 and CCMI studies, with the goal of testing different diagnostic methods for comparing observations with model outputs.
Albert Ansmann, Holger Baars, Alexandra Chudnovsky, Ina Mattis, Igor Veselovskii, Moritz Haarig, Patric Seifert, Ronny Engelmann, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11831–11845, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11831-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11831-2018, 2018
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Extremely large light extinction coefficients of 500 Mm-1, about 20 times higher than after the Pinatubo volcanic eruptions in 1991, were observed by EARLINET lidars in the stratosphere over central Europe from 21 to 22 August, 2017. This paper provides an overview based on ground-based (lidar, AERONET) and satellite (MODIS, OMI) remote sensing.
Moritz Haarig, Albert Ansmann, Holger Baars, Cristofer Jimenez, Igor Veselovskii, Ronny Engelmann, and Dietrich Althausen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11847–11861, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11847-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11847-2018, 2018
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The worldwide only triple-wavelength polarization/Raman lidar was used to measure optical, microphysical, and morphological properties of aged Canadian wildfire smoke occurring in the troposphere and stratosphere over Leipzig, Germany, in August 2017. A strong contrast between the tropospheric and stratospheric smoke properties was found.
Johan Friberg, Bengt G. Martinsson, Sandra M. Andersson, and Oscar S. Sandvik
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11149–11169, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11149-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11149-2018, 2018
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During 2006–2015 volcanism contributed 40 % of the stratospheric aerosol load. We compute the AOD (aerosol optical depth) of the stratosphere (from the tropopause to 35 km altitude) using new techniques of handling CALIOP data. Regional and global AODs are presented for the entire stratosphere in relation to transport patterns, and the AOD is presented for three stratospheric layers: the LMS, the potential temperature range of 380 to 470 K, and altitudes above the 470 K isentrope.
Reinhold Spang, Lars Hoffmann, Rolf Müller, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Ines Tritscher, Michael Höpfner, Michael Pitts, Andrew Orr, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5089–5113, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5089-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5089-2018, 2018
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This paper represents an unprecedented pole-covering day- and nighttime climatology of the polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) based on satellite measurements, their spatial distribution, and composition of different particle types. The climatology has a high potential for the validation and improvement of PSC schemes in chemical transport and chemistry–climate models, which is important for a better prediction of future polar ozone loss in a changing climate.
Alyn Lambert and Michelle L. Santee
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1945–1975, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1945-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1945-2018, 2018
Andrew T. Prata, Stuart A. Young, Steven T. Siems, and Michael J. Manton
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 8599–8618, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8599-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8599-2017, 2017
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We have studied the optical properties of ash-rich and sulfate-rich volcanic aerosols by analysing satellite observations of three different volcanic eruptions. Our results indicate that ash particles have distinctive optical properties when compared to sulfates. We expect our results will improve space-borne lidar detection of volcanic aerosols and provide new insight into their interaction with the atmosphere and solar radiation.
Vladimir V. Zuev, Vladimir D. Burlakov, Aleksei V. Nevzorov, Vladimir L. Pravdin, Ekaterina S. Savelieva, and Vladislav V. Gerasimov
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 3067–3081, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3067-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3067-2017, 2017
Sergey M. Khaykin, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Philippe Keckhut, Alain Hauchecorne, Julien Jumelet, Jean-Paul Vernier, Adam Bourassa, Doug A. Degenstein, Landon A. Rieger, Christine Bingen, Filip Vanhellemont, Charles Robert, Matthew DeLand, and Pawan K. Bhartia
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1829–1845, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1829-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1829-2017, 2017
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The article is devoted to the long-term evolution and variability of stratospheric aerosol, which plays an important role in climate change and the ozone layer. We use 22-year long continuous observations using laser radar soundings in southern France and satellite-based observations to distinguish between natural aerosol variability (caused by volcanic eruptions) and human-induced change in aerosol concentration. An influence of growing pollution above Asia on stratospheric aerosol is found.
Alyn Lambert, Michelle L. Santee, and Nathaniel J. Livesey
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15219–15246, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15219-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15219-2016, 2016
Wolfgang Woiwode, Michael Höpfner, Lei Bi, Michael C. Pitts, Lamont R. Poole, Hermann Oelhaf, Sergej Molleker, Stephan Borrmann, Marcus Klingebiel, Gennady Belyaev, Andreas Ebersoldt, Sabine Griessbach, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Thomas Gulde, Martina Krämer, Guido Maucher, Christof Piesch, Christian Rolf, Christian Sartorius, Reinhold Spang, and Johannes Orphal
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9505–9532, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9505-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9505-2016, 2016
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The analysis of spectral signatures of a polar stratospheric cloud in airborne infrared remote sensing observations in the Arctic in combination with further collocated measurements supports the view that the observed cloud consisted of highly aspherical nitric acid trihydrate particles. A characteristic "shoulder-like" spectral signature may be exploited for identification of large, highly aspherical nitric acid trihydrate particles involved in denitrification of the polar winter stratosphere.
T. Grigas, M. Hervo, G. Gimmestad, H. Forrister, P. Schneider, J. Preißler, L. Tarrason, and C. O'Dowd
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 12179–12191, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-12179-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-12179-2015, 2015
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The expedited near-real-time Level 1.5 Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization version 3 products were evaluated against data from the ground-based European Aerosol Research Lidar Network. The statistical framework and results of the 3-year evaluation of 48 CALIOP overpasses with ground tracks within a 100km distance from operating EARLINET stations are presented.
M. J. M. Penning de Vries, S. Dörner, J. Puķīte, C. Hörmann, M. D. Fromm, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8149–8163, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8149-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8149-2014, 2014
T. D. Fairlie, J.-P. Vernier, M. Natarajan, and K. M. Bedka
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 7045–7057, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7045-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7045-2014, 2014
I. A. Mironova and I. G. Usoskin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 8543–8550, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-8543-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-8543-2013, 2013
M. C. Pitts, L. R. Poole, A. Lambert, and L. W. Thomason
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 2975–2988, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2975-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2975-2013, 2013
O. Uchino, T. Sakai, T. Nagai, K. Nakamae, I. Morino, K. Arai, H. Okumura, S. Takubo, T. Kawasaki, Y. Mano, T. Matsunaga, and T. Yokota
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 11975–11984, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-11975-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-11975-2012, 2012
L. W. Thomason
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 8177–8188, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-8177-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-8177-2012, 2012
I. A. Mironova, I. G. Usoskin, G. A. Kovaltsov, and S. V. Petelina
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 769–778, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-769-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-769-2012, 2012
A. E. Bourassa, L. A. Rieger, N. D. Lloyd, and D. A. Degenstein
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 605–614, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-605-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-605-2012, 2012
F. Vanhellemont, D. Fussen, N. Mateshvili, C. Tétard, C. Bingen, E. Dekemper, N. Loodts, E. Kyrölä, V. Sofieva, J. Tamminen, A. Hauchecorne, J.-L. Bertaux, F. Dalaudier, L. Blanot, O. Fanton d'Andon, G. Barrot, M. Guirlet, T. Fehr, and L. Saavedra
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 7997–8009, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-7997-2010, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-7997-2010, 2010
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Short summary
Measurements of the impact of volcanic eruptions on stratospheric aerosol loading by space-based instruments show show a fairly well-behaved relationship between the magnitude and the apparent changes to aerosol size over several orders of magnitude. This directly measured relationship provides a unique opportunity to verify the performance of interactive aerosol models used in climate models.
Measurements of the impact of volcanic eruptions on stratospheric aerosol loading by...
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