Extending the stratospheric aerosol record with OMPS-LP measurements

Abstract:

Measurements from the Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imaging System (OSIRIS) are an important component in extending the aerosol extinction record from the occultation era to the present, and have been incorporated successfully into the Global, Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology (GloSSAC). However, as OSIRIS ages the continuity of the stratospheric aerosol record rests largely on measurements from the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite - Limb Profiler (OMPS-LP). While SAGE II provided a robust climatology with which to merge OSIRIS, merging aerosol datasets from two limb scatter instruments is complicated by the retrievals dependence on particle size assumptions. This results in a bias dependent on the measurement geometry, and which varies between OSIRIS and OMPS-LP. In this work a new aerosol extinction retrieval algorithm is developed that takes advantage of the OSIRIS and OMPS-LP wavelength range to help reduce biases related to particle size assumptions as well as maximize sensitivity to aerosol in the UTLS region. Comparisons of the new algorithm are made with coincident OSIRIS measurements and initial merging studies are performed.