Reduction of photosynthetically active radiation under extreme stratospheric aerosol loads

Details Reduction of photosynthetically active radiation under extreme stratospheric aerosol loads Reduction of photosynthetically active radiation under extreme stratospheric aerosol loads

Aug 1981

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1981rpar.rept.....g&link_type=abstract

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Computer Science

Aerosols, Particle Size Distribution, Radiative Transfer, Stratosphere, Vertical Distribution, Atmospheric Models, Particulates, Photosynthesis, Sunlight

Scientific paper

The hypothesis that the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinctions might be caused by an obstruction of sunlight is tested by model calculations. First the total mass of stratospheric aerosols under normal atmospheric conditions is compared for four different (measured) aerosol size distributions and vertical profiles. For comparison, the stratospheric dust masses after four volcanic eruptions are also evaluated. Detailed solar radiative transfer calculations are then performed for artificially increased aerosol amounts until the postulated darkness scenario is obtained. Thus it is found that a total stratospheric aerosol mass between 1 and 4 times 10 g is sufficient to reduce photosynthesis to 10 of normal. The impact of a 0.4 to 3 km diameter asteroid or a close encounter with a Halley size comet may deposit that amount of particulates into the stratosphere. The darkness scenario of Alvarez et al. is thus shown to be a possible extinction mechanism, even with smaller size asteroids of comets than previously estimated.

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