Southern hemisphere tropospheric aerosol backscatter measurements - Implications for a laser wind system
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Aspendale (Australia)
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL (USA)
- Coherent Technologies Inc., Boulder, CO (USA)
- Dept. of Applied Physics, Footscray (Australia)
Values of backscatter coefficient at 0.532 {mu}m, 0.694 {mu}m, and 10.6 {mu}m were determined both by direct measurement and by Mie computation from measured aerosol microphysical properties in the eastern Australian region from 4{degree}S to 41{degree}S. Volume backscatter coefficients at 10.6 {mu}m were typically in the range 1 {times} 10{sup {minus}11} to 3 {times} 10{sup {minus}11} m{sup {minus}1}sr{sup {minus}1} for both approaches, although the experimental uncertainty in both cases was quite large. Agreement between the shorter wavelength lidars and the aerosol data was typically within the combined experimental uncertainties, although direct measurements were systematically larger than values derived from the aerosol data; individual regions were observed where the disagreement was larger than the combined error. Backscatter at 10.6 {mu}m and at visible wavelengths was found to be sensitive to essentially different regions of the aerosol size spectrum, questioning to some degree the validity of using short-wavelength extinction and backscatter data to infer tha global distribution of backscatter at wavelengths around 10.6 {mu}m. Considerable day-to-day variability in backscatter was observed at all wavelengths. The implications of the very low backscatter values found, compared to northern hemisphere values, should be considered in the design of the Laser Atmospheric Wind Sounder (LAWS).
- OSTI ID:
- 5398017
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States) Vol. 96:D3; ISSN 0148-0227; ISSN JGREA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
AEROSOLS
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
AUSTRALASIA
AUSTRALIA
BACKSCATTERING
CHEMISTRY
COLLOIDS
DAILY VARIATIONS
DESIGN
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DISPERSIONS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH PLANET
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
METEOROLOGY
MONITORING
OPTICAL RADAR
PLANETS
RADAR
RANGE FINDERS
SATELLITES
SCATTERING
SOLS
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
TROPOSPHERE
VARIATIONS
WAVELENGTHS
WIND