Articles | Volume 23, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10361-2023
© Author(s) 2023. 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-23-10361-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Quantifying SAGE II (1984–2005) and SAGE III/ISS (2017–2022) observations of smoke in the stratosphere
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, USA
Travis Knepp
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, USA
Related authors
Thomas Jacques Aubry, Matthew Toohey, Sujan Khanal, Man Mei Chim, Magali Verkerk, Ben Johnson, Anja Schmidt, Mahesh Kovilakam, Michael Sigl, Zebedee Nicholls, Larry Thomason, Vaishali Naik, Landon Rieger, Dominik Stiller, Elisa Ziegler, and Isabel Smith
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4990, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4990, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Short summary
Short summary
Climate forcings, such as solar radiation or anthropogenic greenhouse gases, are required to run global climate model simulations. Stratospheric aerosols, which mostly originate from large volcanic eruptions, are a key natural forcing. In this paper, we document the stratospheric aerosol forcing dataset that will feed the next generation (CMIP7) of climate models. Our dataset is very different from its predecessor (CMIP6), which might affect simulations of the 1850–2021 climate.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
There is a natural and globally occurring layer of small droplets (aerosols) at roughly 20 km altitude in the atmosphere. In this work, the size of these droplets is calculated from satellite measurements for the years 2002 to 2005, which is important for the aerosol cooling effect on Earth's climate. These years are interesting because there were no large volcanic eruptions that would change the background state of the aerosols. The results are compared to reliable balloon-borne measurements.
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
Short summary
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.
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Larry W. Thomason, Mahesh Kovilakam, Anja Schmidt, Christian von Savigny, Travis Knepp, and Landon Rieger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1143–1158, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1143-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1143-2021, 2021
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Thomas Jacques Aubry, Matthew Toohey, Sujan Khanal, Man Mei Chim, Magali Verkerk, Ben Johnson, Anja Schmidt, Mahesh Kovilakam, Michael Sigl, Zebedee Nicholls, Larry Thomason, Vaishali Naik, Landon Rieger, Dominik Stiller, Elisa Ziegler, and Isabel Smith
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4990, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4990, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Short summary
Short summary
Climate forcings, such as solar radiation or anthropogenic greenhouse gases, are required to run global climate model simulations. Stratospheric aerosols, which mostly originate from large volcanic eruptions, are a key natural forcing. In this paper, we document the stratospheric aerosol forcing dataset that will feed the next generation (CMIP7) of climate models. Our dataset is very different from its predecessor (CMIP6), which might affect simulations of the 1850–2021 climate.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
There is a natural and globally occurring layer of small droplets (aerosols) at roughly 20 km altitude in the atmosphere. In this work, the size of these droplets is calculated from satellite measurements for the years 2002 to 2005, which is important for the aerosol cooling effect on Earth's climate. These years are interesting because there were no large volcanic eruptions that would change the background state of the aerosols. The results are compared to reliable balloon-borne measurements.
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
Short summary
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.
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Larry W. Thomason, Mahesh Kovilakam, Anja Schmidt, Christian von Savigny, Travis Knepp, and Landon Rieger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1143–1158, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1143-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1143-2021, 2021
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Cited articles
Ansmann, A., Ohneiser, K., Mamouri, R.-E., Knopf, D. A., Veselovskii, I., Baars, H., Engelmann, R., Foth, A., Jimenez, C., Seifert, P., and Barja, B.:
Tropospheric and stratospheric wildfire smoke profiling with lidar: mass, surface area, CCN, and INP retrieval, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9779–9807, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9779-2021, 2021.
Binskin, M., Bennett, A., and Macintosh, A.:
Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements: report, The Commission, Canberra, p. 115, ISBN: 978-1-921091-45-2, 2020.
Bergstrom, R. W., Russell, P. B., and Hignett, P.:
Wavelength Dependence of the Absorption of Black Carbon Particles: Predictions and Results from the TARFOX Experiment and Implications for the Aerosol Single Scattering Albedo, J. Atmos. Sci., 59, 567–577, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2002)059<0567:WDOTAO>2.0.CO;2, 2002.
Boone, C. D., Bernath, P. F., Labelle, K., and Crouse, J.:
Stratospheric aerosol composition observed by the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment following the 2019 Raikoke eruption, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos, 127, e2022JD036600, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JD036600, 2022.
Bourassa, A. E., Rieger, L. A., Zawada, D. J., Khaykin, S., Thomason, L. W., and Degenstein, D. A.:
Satellite limb observations of unprecedented forest fire aerosol in the stratosphere, J. Geophys. Res., 124, 9510–9519, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD030607, 2019.
Bourassa, A. E., Zawada, D. J., Rieger, L. A., Warnock, T. W., Toohey, M., and Degenstein, D. A.:
Tomographic retrievals of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic aerosol, Geophys. Res. Lett., 50, e2022GL101978, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL101978, 2023.
Cahoon, D., Stocks, B., Levine, J., Cofer III, W. R., and Pierson, J. M.:
Satellite analysis of the severe 1987 forest fires in northern China and southeastern Siberia, J. Geophys. Res., 99, 18627–18638, 1994.
Canadell, J. G., Meyer, C. P., Cook, G. D., Dowdy, A., Briggs, P., Knauer, J., Pepler, A., and Haverd, V.:
Multi-decadal increase of forest burned area in Australia is linked to climate change, Nat. Commun., 12, 6921, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27225-4, 2021.
Fromm, M., Alfred, J., Hoppel, K., Hornstein, J., Bevilacqua, R., Shettle, E., Servranckx, R., Li, Z., and Stocks, B.:
Observations of boreal forest fire smoke in the stratosphere by POAM III, SAGE II, and lidar in 1998, Geophys. Res. Lett., 27, 1407–1410, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999GL011200, 2000.
Fromm, M., Tupper, A., Rosenfeld, D., Servranckx, R., and McRae, R.:
Violent pyro-convective storm devastates Australia's capital and pollutes the stratosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L05815, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL025161, 2006.
Fromm, M., Shettle, E. P., Fricke, K. H., Ritter, C., Trickl, T., Giehl, H., Gerding, M., Barnes, J. E., O'Neill, M., Massie, S. T., Blum, U., McDermid, I. S., Leblanc, T., and Deshler, T.:
Stratospheric impact of the Chisholm pyrocumulonimbus eruption: 2. Vertical profile perspective, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D08203, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009147, 2008.
Fromm, M., Lindsey, D. T., Servranckx, R., Yue, G., Trickl, T., Sica, R., Doucet, P., and Godin-Beekmann, S.:
The Untold Story of Pyrocumulonimbus, B. Am. Meteoril. Soc., 91, 1193–1209, https://doi.org/10.1175/2010BAMS3004.1, 2010.
Gerasimov, V. V., Zuev, V. V., and Savelieva, E. S.:
Traces of Canadian Pyrocumulonimbus Clouds in the Stratosphere over Tomsk in June–July 1991, Atmos. Ocean Opt., 32, 316–323, https://doi.org/10.1134/S1024856019030096, 2019.
Global Volcanism Program:
Report on Atka Volcanic Complex (United States), edited by: Wunderman, R., Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 23:6,. Smithsonian Institution, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199806-311160, 1998.
Global Volcanism Program:
Report on Shishaldin (United States), edited by: Wunderman, R., Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 24:4, Smithsonian Institution, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199904-311360, 1999.
Global Volcanism Program:
Report on Bezymianny (Russia), edited by: Wunderman, R., Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 26:7, Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN200107-300250, 2001.
Katich, J. M., Apel, Bourgeois, E., Brock, C., Bui, T., Campuzano-Jost, P. Commane, R., Daube, B., Dollner, M., Fromm, M., Froyd, K., Hills, A., Hornbrook, R., Jimenez, I., Kupc, A., Lamb, K., McKain, K., Moore, F., Murphy, D., Nault, B., Peischl, J., Perring, A., Peterson, D., Ray, E., Rosenlof, K., Ryerson, T., Schill, G., Schroder, G., Weinzier, B., Thompson, C., Williamson, C., Wofsy, S., Yu, P., and Schwarz, J.:
Pyrocumulonimbus affect average stratospheric aerosol composition, Science, 379, 815–820, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.add3101, 2023.
Keeley, J. and Syphard, A.:
Large California wildfires: 2020 fires in historical context, Fire Ecol., 17, 22, https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-021-00110-7, 2021.
Kent, G. S., Trepte, C. R., Wang, P. H., and Lucker, P. L.:
Problems in separating aerosol and cloud in the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) II data set under conditions of lofted dust: Application to the Asian deserts, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, 4410, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002jd002412, 2003.
Khaykin, S., Legras, B., Bucci, S., Sellitto, P., Isaksen, L., Tence, F., Bekki, S., Bourassa, A., Rieger, L., Zawada, D., Jumulet, J., and Godin-Beekmann, S.:
The 2019/20 Australian wildfires generated a persistent smoke-charged vortex rising up to 35 km altitude, Commun. Earth Environ., 1, 22, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-020-00022-5, 2020.
Khaykin, S., Podglajen, A., Ploeger, F., Grooß, J.-U., Tence, F., Bekki, S., Khlopenkov, K., Bedka, K., Rieger, L., Baron, A., Godin-Beekmann, S., Legras, B., Sellitto, P., Sakai, T., Barnes, J., Uchino, O., Morino, I., Nagai, T., Wing, R., Baumgarten, G., Gerding, M., Duflot, V., Payen, G., Jumelet, J., Querel, R., Liley, B., Bourassa, A., Clouser, B., Feofilov, A., Hauchecorne, A., and Ravetta, F.:
Global perturbation of stratospheric water and aerosol burden by Hunga eruption, Commun. Earth Environ., 3, 316, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00652-x, 2022.
Kloss, C., Berthet, G., Sellitto, P., Ploeger, F., Taha, G., Tidiga, M., Eremenko, M., Bossolasco, A., Jégou, F., Renard, J.-B., and Legras, B.:
Stratospheric aerosol layer perturbation caused by the 2019 Raikoke and Ulawun eruptions and their radiative forcing, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 535–560, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-535-2021, 2021.
Knepp, T. N., Thomason, L., Kovilakam, M., Tackett, J., Kar, J., Damadeo, R., and Flittner, D.:
Identification of smoke and sulfuric acid aerosol in SAGE III/ISS extinction spectra, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5235–5260, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5235-2022, 2022.
Kovilakam, M., Thomason, L. W., Ernest, N., Rieger, L., Bourassa, A., and Millán, L.:
The Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology (version 2.0): 1979–2018, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2607–2634, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2607-2020, 2020.
Kovilakam, M., Thomason, L., and Knepp, T.:
SAGE III/ISS aerosol/cloud categorization and its impact on GloSSAC, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2709–2731, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2709-2023, 2023.
Kremser, S., Thomason, L., von Hobe, M., Hermann, M., Deshler,T., Timmreck, C., Toohey, M., Stenke, A., Schwarz, J. P., Weigel, R., Fueglistaler, S., Prata, F. J., Vernier, J.-P., Schlager, H., Barnes, J. E., Antuña-Marrero, J.-C., Fairlie, D., Palm, M., Mahieu, E., Notholt, J., Rex, M., Bingen, C., Vanhellemont, F., Bourassa, A., Plane, J. M. C., Klocke, D., Carn, S. A., Clarisse,
L., Trickl, T., Neely, R., James, A. D., Rieger, L., Wilson, J., and Meland, B.:
Stratospheric aerosol—Observations, processes, and impact on climate, Rev. Geophys., 54, 278–335, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015RG000511, 2016.
Lareau, N. P., Nauslar, N. J., and Abatzoglou, J. T.:
The Carr fire vortex: A case of pyrotornadogenesis?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 45, 13107–13115, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080667, 2018.
Moore, R. H., Wiggins, E. B., Ahern, A. T., Zimmerman, S., Montgomery, L., Campuzano Jost, P., Robinson, C. E., Ziemba, L. D., Winstead, E. L., Anderson, B. E., Brock, C. A., Brown, M. D., Chen, G., Crosbie, E. C., Guo, H., Jimenez, J. L., Jordan, C. E., Lyu, M., Nault, B. A., Rothfuss, N. E., Sanchez, K. J., Schueneman, M., Shingler, T. J., Shook, M. A., Thornhill, K. L., Wagner, N. L., and Wang, J.:
Sizing response of the Ultra-High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer (UHSAS) and Laser Aerosol Spectrometer (LAS) to changes in submicron aerosol composition and refractive index, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4517–4542, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4517-2021, 2021.
Murphy, D. M., Froyd, K. D., Schwarz, J. P., and Wilson, J. C.:
Observations of the chemical composition of stratospheric aerosol particles, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 140, 1269–1278, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2213, 2014.
Nath, A. and Nath, R.:
Identification of Black Dragon forest fire in Amur River Basin Using Satellite Borne NDVI Data and Its Impact on Long Range Transport of Pollutants: A Case Study, Journal of Atmospheric Science Research, 02, 6–10, https://doi.org/10.30564/jasr.v2i3.1182, 2019.
Ohneiser, K., Ansmann, A., Chudnovsky, A., Engelmann, R., Ritter, C., Veselovskii, I., Baars, H., Gebauer, H., Griesche, H., Radenz, M., Hofer, J., Althausen, D., Dahlke, S., and Maturilli, M.:
The unexpected smoke layer in the High Arctic winter stratosphere during MOSAiC 2019–2020 , Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15783–15808, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15783-2021, 2021.
Pieri, D., Ma, C., Simpson, J. J., Hufford, G., Grindle, T., and Grove, C.: Analyses of in-situ airborne volcanic ash from the February 2000 eruption of Hekla Volcano, Iceland, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29, 191–194, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001GL013688, 2001.
Pitts, M. C., Poole, L. R., and McCormick, M. P.:
SAGE II observations: Polar stratospheric clouds near 50∘ N, January 31–February 2, 1989, Geophys. Res. Lett., 17, 405–408, https://doi.org/10.1029/GL017i004p00405, 1990.
Rieger, L. A., Zawada, D., J,Bourassa, A. E., and Degenstein, D. A.:
A multiwavelength retrieval approach for improved OSIRIS aerosol extinction retrievals, J. Geophys. Res., 124, 7286–7307, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD029897, 2019.
Rosenfeld, D., Fromm, M., Trentmann, J., Luderer, G., Andreae, M. O., and Servranckx, R.:
The Chisholm firestorm: observed microstructure, precipitation and lightning activity of a pyro-cumulonimbus, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 645–659, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-7-645-2007, 2007.
Sumlin, B. J., Heinson, Y. W., Shetty, N., Pandey, A., Pattison, R. S., Baker, S., Hao, W. M., and Chakrabarty, R. K.:
UV–Vis–IR spectral 875 complex refractive indices and optical properties of brown carbon aerosol from biomass burning, J. Quant. Spectrosc. Ra., 206, 392–398, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2017.12.009, 2018.
Tackett, J. L., Winker, D. M., Getzewich, B. J., Vaughan, M. A., Young, S. A., and Kar, J.:
CALIPSO lidar level 3 aerosol profile product: version 3 algorithm design, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 4129–4152, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4129-2018, 2018.
Taha, G., Loughman, R., Zhu, T., Thomason, L., Kar, J., Rieger, L., and Bourassa, A.:
OMPS LP Version 2.0 multi-wavelength aerosol extinction coefficient retrieval algorithm, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1015–1036, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1015-2021, 2021.
Thomason, L. W.:
Observations of a new SAGE II aerosol extinction mode following the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, Geophys. Res. Lett., 19, 2179–2182, https://doi.org/10.1029/92GL02185, 1992.
Thomason, L. W.: append Data following V7.0,
https://doi.org/10.5067/ERBS/SAGEII/SOLAR_BINARY_L2-V7.0 (last access: 28 August 2023), 2013.
Thomason, L. W.: SAGE III V5.2 Solar Data Products,
https://doi.org/10.5067/ISS/SAGEIII/SOLAR_HDF5_L2-V5.2 (last access: 28 August 2023), 2020a.
Thomason, L. W.: Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology Data, V2.2, https://doi.org/10.5067/GLOSSAC-L3-V2.
(last access: 28 August 2023), 2020b.
Thomason, L. W., Burton, S. P., Luo, B.-P., and Peter, T.:
SAGE II measurements of stratospheric aerosol properties at non-volcanic levels, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 983–995, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-983-2008, 2008.
Thomason, L. W. and Vernier, J.-P.:
Improved SAGE II cloud/aerosol categorization and observations of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer: 1989–2005, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 4605–4616, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4605-2013, 2013.
Thomason, L. W., Ernest, N., Millán, L., Rieger, L., Bourassa, A., Vernier, J.-P., Manney, G., Luo, B., Arfeuille, F., and Peter, T.:
A global space-based stratospheric aerosol climatology: 1979–2016, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 469–492, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-469-2018, 2018.
Thomason, L. W., Kovilakam, M., Schmidt, A., von Savigny, C., Knepp, T., and Rieger, L.:
Evidence for the predictability of changes in the stratospheric aerosol size following volcanic eruptions of diverse magnitudes using space-based instruments, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1143–1158, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1143-2021, 2021.
Yu, P., Toon, O. B., Bardeen, C. G., Zhu, Y., Rosenlof, K. H., Portmann, R. W., Thornberry, T. D., Gao, R.-S., and Robock, A.:
Black carbon lofts wildfire smoke high into the stratosphere to form a persistent plume, Science, 365, 587–590, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax1748, 2019.
Short summary
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.
We examine space-based observations of stratospheric aerosol to infer the presence of episodic...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint