Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III installed on the International Space Station (SAGE III/ISS): First year observations of the UTLS
Abstract
In early June 2017 the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III began routine observations from the International Space Station (ISS), joining the family of space-based solar occultation instruments operated by NASA to investigate Earth's upper atmosphere since the late 1970s. One of three identical instruments, the SAGE III/ISS mission was restarted in 2009 with a primary objective to monitor the vertical distribution of aerosol, ozone and other trace gases to enhance understanding of ozone recovery and climate change processes in the upper atmosphere. The 52-degree inclined orbit of the ISS is well-suited for solar occultation and provides near-global observations on a monthly basis with coverage of low and mid-latitudes similar to that of the SAGE II mission. The nominal science products (solar products are vertical profiles of ozone, nitrogen dioxide and water vapor, along with multi-wavelength aerosol extinction) nominally extend from the upper stratosphere to cloud top and routinely sample the Upper Troposphere, Lower Stratosphere (UTLS). Presented are observations drawn from the first year of operations. For example, significant perturbation of aerosol extinction induced by intense wildfires in North America during August 2017 and the subsequent evolution. Additionally, we discuss the quality of SAGE III/ISS data within the UTLS and what these measurements offer in conjunction with other data sets to address relevant science questions involving the UTLS.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.A43F..02F
- Keywords:
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- 0305 Aerosols and particles;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0322 Constituent sources and sinks;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0368 Troposphere: constituent transport and chemistry;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 3311 Clouds and aerosols;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES