Spectral Measurements of PMCs from SBUV/2 Instruments

Details Spectral Measurements of PMCs from SBUV/2 Instruments Spectral Measurements of PMCs from SBUV/2 Instruments

Dec 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004agufmsa21a0333d&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2004, abstract #SA21A-0333

Physics

0320 Cloud Physics And Chemistry, 0340 Middle Atmosphere: Composition And Chemistry, 0394 Instruments And Techniques

Scientific paper

The SBUV/2 instrument is designed to monitor stratospheric profile and total column ozone using measurements of the Earth's backscattered ultraviolet albedo. We have previously demonstrated that the normal radiance measurements from SBUV/2 instruments, which sample 12 discrete wavelengths between 252-340 nm during each scan, can be used to identify polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs). A 25-year PMC data set has been constructed using data from six SBUV/2 instruments, three of which are currently operating. Some SBUV/2 instruments also periodically view the Earth in continuous scan mode, covering the wavelength range 160-400 nm with 0.15 nm sampling. These data can be analyzed for the presence of PMCs using the same detection algorithm applied to discrete SBUV/2 data. PMC spectra observed by SBUV/2 instruments show a monotonic variation in brightness over the wavelength range 250-295 nm, with maximum enhancements above the background albedo of 10-15% at 250 nm. This result is consistent with microphysical model predictions, using a mean particle radius of 60 nm and a log-normal distribution width of 1.4. We find no evidence for a systematic localized increase in PMC brightness near 260 nm, in contrast to the recently reported results from the MSX UVISI instrument [Carbary et al., 2004]. The flat spectral dependence of PMCs in the mid-UV is observed from three different SBUV/2 instruments in both Northern and Southern Hemisphere data over a 13-year span. The spectral signature of the SBUV/2 continuous scan PMC data does not require the existence of a bimodal particle size distribution, as suggested by Carbary et al. [2004]. Carbary, J. F., D. Morrison, and G. J. Romick (2004), Evidence for bimodal particle distribution from the spectra of polar mesospheric clouds, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L13108, doi:10.1029/2004GL020101.

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