Relationships between extinction, absorption, backscattering, and mass content of sulfuric acid aerosols
Linear relationships between aerosol extinction, absorption, backscatter, and mass content are derived for polydispersions of sulfuric acid aerosols. These relationships are independent of the form of the size distribution and are a consequence of approximating the corresponding Mie efficiency factors (the extinction efficiency Q/sub e/, the absorption efficiency Q/sub a/, and the backscatter gain G) by linear functions of the particle size parameter x. The relationships are valid only at particular wavelengths that depend on the range of particle sizes present in a particular polydispersion. For example, at a wavelength lambda=0.694 ..mu..m the relation between aerosol backscatter coefficient sigma/sub b/s (m/sup -1/ sr/sup -1/) and mass content M(g m/sup -3/) is sigma/sub b/s=0.048M for 75% sulfuric acid (25% water) aerosol, under the restriction that particles in the poly-dispersion have sizes not exceeding about 1.5 ..mu..m in radius. Possible applications of the relationships are (1) inference of path-integrated mass content of sulfuric acid aerosol (for example, the clouds of Venus) from an infrared laser transmission measurement through the aerosol cloud, (2) determination of sulfuric acid aerosol mass content at a particular point in an aerosol cloud from aerosol absorption measurements at that point with a CO/sub 2/(lambda=10.6 ..mu..m) laser spectrophone, (3) inference of path-integrated stratospheric aerosol mass from aerosol extinction measurements made by solar occultation for wavelengths lambda=0.55 and 1 ..mu..m, and (4) inference of vertical profiles of stratospheric aerosol mass from ruby lidar (lambda=0.694 ..mu..m) backscatter measurements.
- Research Organization:
- U.S. Army Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico 88002
- OSTI ID:
- 5102199
- Journal Information:
- J. Geophys. Res.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Geophys. Res.; (United States) Vol. 85:C7; ISSN JGREA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AEROSOLS
ATTENUATION
BACKSCATTERING
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
LIGHT SCATTERING
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PARTICLE SIZE
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
SCATTERING
SIZE
SOLS
STRATOSPHERE
SULFURIC ACID
VISIBILITY
WAVE PROPAGATION