Greifswald 2024 – scientific programme

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UP: Fachverband Umweltphysik

UP 7: Posters

UP 7.6: Poster

Wednesday, February 28, 2024, 16:30–18:30, ELP 6: Foyer

Investigating the size distribution of stratospheric aerosols following volcanic eruptions during the SAGE-I mission from 1979 to 1981 — •Christian Löns, Felix Wrana, and Christian von Savigny — University of Greifswald

As part of my master’s thesis, I retrieved particle size information from satellite solar occultation measurements of SAGE-I, which collected data from February 1979 to 1981. The particle size was derived with a fixed distribution width using a Mie code via two aerosol extinction coefficients at 450 nm and 1000 nm. To verify the results, they were compared with in situ particle counter measurements from Laramie. At altitudes of 15 km to 25 km, a good usability of the data set is observed, which improves with an increase in aerosol extinction and thus a lower influence of NO2 on the 450 nm channel. While the volcanic eruptions of Mt. St. Helens (1980) and Alaid (1981) in the northern mid-latitudes tended to increase the average aerosol size, the tropical volcanic eruptions of Sierra Negra (1979) and Ulawun (1980) led to a reduction in the median radius.

Keywords: SAGE-I; Aerosols; Satellite measurements; Particle size distribution; Volcanic Eruptions