HR: 0800h
AN: A51D-0820    [Abstracts]
TI: Comparative Studies of Aerosol Extinction Measurements Made by the SAGE II and SAGE III Satellite Experiments
AU: * Yue, G K
EM: Glenn.K.Yue@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Langley Research Center, 100 NASA Road, Hampton, VA 23681 United States
AU: Lu, C
EM: Sarah.Lu@noaa.gov
AF: NOAA/NWS/NCEP, 5200 Auth Road, Camp Springs, MD 20746 United States
AU: Wang, P -
EM: p.wang@larc.nasa.gov
AF: Science and Technology Corporation, 10 Basil Sawyer Dr., Hampton, VA 23666 United States
AB: SAGE II and SAGE III are two currently operating satellite systems designed to measure aerosol extinction coefficients and concentrations of trace gases in the atmosphere by using the techniques of solar and/or lunar occultation. Four of the nine aerosol channels used by SAGE III are centered at wavelengths very close to that of the four SAGE II aerosol channels. Since February 2002, there are occasions when measurement locations for both satellites are nearly coincident, thereby providing opportunities for a measurement comparison. In this paper, the coincidences are identified, and aerosol extinctions and optical depths measured by SAGE II and SAGE III at these coincidences are compared. It was found that in the main aerosol layer, between about 18 to 26 km, differences are less than about 30%. Larger differences are shown at altitudes near the tropopause and around 30 km. The contribution of measurement uncertainties to the observed differences is discussed.
DE: 0300 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE
DE: 0305 Aerosols and particles (0345, 4801)
DE: 0340 Middle atmosphere--composition and chemistry
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting