GACP Projects
SAM II, SAGE I, SAGE II, and Ground-Based Lidar Aerosol Data
Lamont R. Poole
Abstract: Aerosol data will be made available to the team from solar occultation spaceborne instruments and a ground-based lidar system operated by the Aerosol Research Branch (ARB) at NASA Langley Research Center. These data include the following: (1) Aerosol extinction profiles (1-km vertical resolution) at a wavelength of 1.0 micron from SAM II (Stratospheric Aerosol Measurement II), which operated from 1978-1993 onboard Nimbus 7. Measurement latitudes varied from about 65 deg (N and S) at the solstices to about 80 deg (N and S) at the equinoxes. (2) Aerosol extinction profiles at a wavelength of 1.0 micron from SAGE I (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment I), which operated from 1979-1981 onboard the Applications Explorer Mission B spacecraft. Measurement latitudes ranged from about 80 deg S to 80 deg N during each month. (3) Aerosol extinction profiles at wavelengths of 1.02, 0.525, 0.453, and 0.385 micron from SAGE II (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II), which has been operating from 1984 to the present onboard the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite. Measurement latitudes range from about 80 deg S to 80 deg N during each month. (4) Aerosol backscatter profiles and integrated backscatter at a wavelength of 0.6943 micron collected on a continuing basis since 1974 using a ground-based lidar system at Langley (37 deg N, 76 deg W).
