Abstract
Abstract. As part of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC), ground-based measurements obtained from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) stratospheric ozone lidar and the NOAA stratospheric aerosol lidar at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, over the past 2 decades were used to investigate the impact of volcanic eruptions and pyrocumulonimbus (PyroCb) smoke plumes on the stratospheric aerosol load above Hawaii since 1999. Measurements at 355 and 532 nm conducted by these two lidars revealed a color ratio of 0.5 for background aerosols and small volcanic plumes and 0.8 for a PyroCb plume recorded on September 2017. Measurements of the Nabro plume by the JPL lidar in 2011–2012 showed a lidar ratio of (64±12.7) sr at 355 nm around the center of the plume. The new Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology (GloSSAC), Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) Level 3 and Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III on the International Space Station (SAGE III-ISS) stratospheric aerosol datasets were compared to the ground-based lidar datasets. The intercomparison revealed a generally good agreement, with vertical profiles of extinction coefficient within 50 % discrepancy between 17 and 23 km above sea level (a.s.l.) and 25 % above 23 km a.s.l. The stratospheric aerosol depth derived from all of these datasets shows good agreement, with the largest discrepancy (20 %) being observed between the new CALIOP Level 3 and the other datasets. All datasets consistently reveal a relatively quiescent period between 1999 and 2006, followed by an active period of multiple eruptions (e.g., Nabro) until early 2012. Another quiescent period, with slightly higher aerosol background, lasted until mid-2017, when a combination of extensive wildfires and multiple volcanic eruptions caused a significant increase in stratospheric aerosol loading. This loading maximized at the very end of the time period considered (fall 2019) as a result of the Raikoke eruption, the plume of which ascended to 26 km altitude in less than 3 months.
Highlights
The impact of stratospheric aerosols in the Earth’s radiative budget and ozone burden is widely recognized (e.g., Thompson and Solomon, 2009; Hofmann and Solomon, 1989)
Stratospheric aerosols are typically found in the form of a layer that extends from the tropopause up to 35 km above sea level (a.s.l.) in the tropics and about 30 km a.s.l. at midlatitudes (Hitchman et al, 1994; Kremser et al, 2016)
In order to provide a quantitative assessment of the plume characteristics observed by Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) on 31 August 2017 and compare it with the Mauna Loa Stratospheric Ozone Lidar (MLSOL) observations during 1 September 2017, an aerosol backscatter profile was derived from the CALIOP Level 1B V4.1 (L1) total attenuated backscatter averaged over the southern end of the plume (21 to 22◦ N)
Summary
The impact of stratospheric aerosols in the Earth’s radiative budget and ozone burden is widely recognized (e.g., Thompson and Solomon, 2009; Hofmann and Solomon, 1989). As part of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) lidar group has been performing stratospheric ozone and temperature measurements at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, since 1994 (e.g., Leblanc et al, 2006; Kirgis et al, 2013). This long-term ground-based lidar dataset provides stratospheric ozone and temperature records and a unique opportunity to evaluate current and past global stratospheric aerosol datasets.
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