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Report on Atmospheric Effects (1980-1989) — January 1987


Atmospheric Effects (1980-1989)

Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 12, no. 1 (January 1987)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Atmospheric Effects (1980-1989) 4.5 years of lidar data summarized

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1987. Report on Atmospheric Effects (1980-1989) (McClelland, L., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 12:1. Smithsonian Institution.



Atmospheric Effects (1980-1989)

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Lidar data from Mauna Loa, Hawaii continued to show remnants of the broad aerosol layer seen 18 November and 12 and 16 December between 20 and 25 km altitude (figure 36). Only the upper portion of the layer was detected 6 and 20 January and only the lower portion on the 16th, suggesting the layer was breaking up into different atmospheric circulation regimes. From Fukuoka, Japan, some higher altitude peaks continued to be detected through early January, but peak values were declining later in the month. Data from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany showed that peak backscattering ratios increased slightly from early December through late January, while peak altitudes declined gradually.

Figure with caption Figure 36. Lidar data from various locations, showing altitudes of aerosol layers. Note that some layers have multiple peaks. Backscattering ratios from Fukouka, Japan, are for the Nd-YAG wavelength of 1.06 µm; all others are for the ruby wavelength of 0.69 µm. Integrated values show total backscatter, expressed in steradians-1, integrated over 300-m intervals from 16-33 km at Mauna Loa and from the tropopause to 30 km at Hampton. Altitudes of maximum backscattering ratios and coefficients are shown for each layer at Mauna Loa.

Peak backscattering ratios measured at four lidar observation sites since the March/April 1982 eruption of El Chichón showed that values at sites nearer the equator remained substantially stronger through late 1982, as aerosols gradually migrated to higher latitudes. A generally consistent decline then continued until the November 1985 Ruiz eruption. Data remained scattered through late 1986, with no obvious trends.

Information Contacts: Thomas DeFoor, Mauna Loa Observatory, P.O. Box 275, Hilo, HI 96720 USA; M.P. McCormick and William Fuller, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23665 USA; Motowo Fujiwara, Physics Department, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812, Japan; H. Jäger, Fraunhofer-Institut für Amosphärische Umweltforschung, Kreuzeckbahnstrasse 19, D-8100 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany.