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Polar Stratospheric Cloud Sightings by SAM II
- Source :
- Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. 39:1387-1397
- Publication Year :
- 1982
- Publisher :
- American Meteorological Society, 1982.
-
Abstract
- The functions and data gained regarding stratospheric cloud sightings by the stratospheric aerosol measurement (SAM) II experiment on board the Numbus 7 spacecraft are reported. SAM II comprises a single channel sun photometer centered at 1.0 micron wavelength for measuring the solar intensity when the sun descends below an apparent 300 km altitude until the sun is occulted by clouds or the horizon. Readings are also made during sunrise in an opposite fashion. Transmission profiles are developed from the data and used to construct profiles of aerosol extinction with a 1 km resolution. Polar stratospheric clouds have been observed in more than 90% of the cases when the minimum temperature is 185 K or less, and 45% of the time when the temperature is 193 K or less. The clouds were more prevalent in the Antarctic winter than during the Arctic winter, and cloud height was lower than indicated by previous data.
Details
- ISSN :
- 15200469 and 00224928
- Volume :
- 39
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........0252df0c0b23022b000744ad25369a3f