SAGE III and POAM III Observation of PSCs: Data Comparison and Analysis

The winter of 2002-03 was unusual for the early onset of extremely cold temperatures in the Arctic favorable for polar stratospheric cloud (PSCs) formation and for the duration that these temperatures persisted. During the first half of the winter, sightings of PSCs were frequently observed by the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III and the Polar Ozone and Aerosol Measurement (POAM) III satellite experiments. Many PSCs were also observed during the southern hemispheric winter of 2003, when SAGE III took measurements inside the Antarctic vortex. The close proximity of satellite measurements in the northern hemisphere provides a valuable opportunity to compare PSC observations from the two instruments. Special consideration will be given to identifying optically thin PSCs in both polar. This study will utilize information on the spectral dependence of aerosol extinction together with temperature, potential vorticity, a proxy indicator for the edge of the vortex and backt rajectories to identify and analyze PSC properties.