Aerosol particle size distribution parameters and extinction coefficients from SCIAMACHY Limb measurements

Malinina, Elizaveta

Aerosol particle size distribution parameters and extinction coefficients from SCIAMACHY Limb measurements

Monday, 19 March 2018

Iriarte (Hotel Botanico)

Elizaveta Malinina¹, Alexej Rozanov², Landon A Rieger³, Vladimir V. Rozanov², Adam E Bourassa³, Heinrich Bovensmann², John Philip Burrows² and D A Degenstein³, (1)University of Bremen, Intitute of Environmental Physics, Bremen, Germany, (2)University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany, (3)University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Abstract:

Information about stratospheric aerosols retrieved from spaceborne instruments is usually characterized by aerosol extinction coefficient, although aerosol particle size distribution is a more unambiguous way to describe stratospheric aerosol loading. Here we present an algorithm to retrieve aerosol particle size distribution parameters (mode radius and distribution width) from SCIAMACHY limb measurements (2002-2012). As particle number density is fixed to the background values, mode radius is retrieved with maximal error of 20% and distribution width parameter is retrieved with maximal error of 10%. The best accuracy is achieved during volcanically quiescent periods. Errors in aerosol extinction coefficient and Angtröm exponent recalculated from retrieved particle size distribution values are as well discussed. The comparisons of retrieved particle size distribution parameters and recalculated aerosol extinction coefficients with the products from such satellite instruments as SAGE II and OSIRIS were performed and showed good agreement.