RESUMEN
Highly resolved aerosol size distributions measured from high-altitude aircraft can be used to describe the effect of the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo on the stratospheric aerosol. In some air masses, aerosol mass mixing ratios increased by factors exceeding 100 and aerosol surface area concentrations increased by factors of 30 or more. Increases in aerosol surface area concentration were accompanied by increases in chlorine monoxide at mid-latitudes when confounding factors were controlled. This observation supports the assertion that reactions occurring on the aerosol can increase the fraction of stratospheric chlorine that occurs in ozone-destroying forms.
RESUMEN
The nature of the Arctic polar stratosphere is observed to be similar in many respects to that of the Antarctic polar stratosphere, where an ozone hole has been identified. Most of the available chlorine (HCl and ClONO(2)) was converted by reactions on polar stratospheric clouds to reactive ClO and Cl(2)O(2) throughout the Arctic polar vortex before midwinter. Reactive nitrogen was converted to HNO(3), and some, with spatial inhomogeneity, fell out of the stratosphere. These chemical changes ensured characteristic ozone losses of 10 to 15% at altitudes inside the polar vortex where polar stratospheric clouds had occurred. These local losses can translate into 5 to 8% losses in the vertical column abundance of ozone. As the amount of stratospheric chlorine inevitably increases by 50% over the next two decades, ozone losses recognizable as an ozone hole may well appear.
RESUMEN
A recently developed semianalytic Monte Carlo radiative transfer model applicable to oceanographic lidar systems (SALMON) has been used to simulate a series of laboratory experiments studying the backscatter of laser light from dispersions of Teflon spheres. Results obtained with SALMON, using best estimates of pertinent optical parameters, compared quite well with experimental data in both a qualitative and quantitative sense, with the largest relative discrepancies being approximately 30%. The results firmly establish the validity of SALMON in studying the performance of real oceanographic lidar systems.
RESUMEN
The technique of normalizing airborne lidar measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence by the water Raman scattering signal is investigated for laser-excitation wavelengths of 480 and 532 nm using a semianalytic Monte Carlo methodology (SALMON). The signal-integration depth for chlorophyll fluorescence, Z(90,F), is found to be insensitive to excitation wavelength and ranges from a maximum of 4.5 m in clearest waters to <1 m at a chlorophyll concentration of 20 microg/liter. For excitation at 532 nm, the signal-integration depth for Raman scattering, Z(90,R), is comparable to Z(90,F). For excitation at 480 nm, Z(90,R) is four times as large as Z(90,F) in clearest waters but nearly equivalent at chlorophyll concentrations >2-3 microg/liter. Absolute signal levels are stronger with excitation at 480 nm than with excitation at 532 nm, but this advantage must be weighed against potential ambiguities resulting from different integration depths for the fluorescence and Raman scattering signals in clearer waters. To the precision of the simulations, Raman normalization produces effectively linear response to chlorophyll concentration for both excitation wavelengths.
RESUMEN
The relation of reflectance to backscatter and absorption parameters is investigated for waters more turbid than those of previous investigations. Experimental data are examined for river waters in which beam attenuation values range from 8.9 to 18.9 m(_1) at 550 nm. Attenuation, absorption, backscatter, and irradiance reflectance spectral properties are presented for wavelengths between 450 and 800 nm. Comparisons of reflectance with backscatter to absorption ratio and backscatter with absorption plus backscatter ratio indicate that data for turbid waters do not fit linear or polynomial models which are presently available in the literature.
RESUMEN
A semianalytic Monte Carlo radiative transfer model (SALMON) has been developed which is particularly well-suited for addressing oceanographic lidar systems. SALMON is based on the method of expected values in which an analytical estimate is made of the probability of collection by a remote receiver of scattered or emitted photons at appropriate points in the stochastically constructed underwater photon trajectory. Sample results indicate that a substantial reduction in both variance and computer resources can be realized by using SALMON, as compared with more conventional Monte Carlo approaches, to study radiative transfer mechanisms associated with lidar systems.
