Backscattersonde Soundings of Equatorial Free Tropospheric Aerosols

University Of Wyoming, Laramie WY

Investigators

Abstract

Measurements of aerosol backscatter at two wavelengths, ozone concentration, relative humidity, and temperature will be obtained from balloons up to altitudes of 30 km, providing high resolution vertical profiles. Monthly flights will be carried out from Natal, Brazil. These measurements will serve to define the natural aerosol background and identify perturbations occurring throughout the free troposphere. These measurements will add information on a very undersampled region and provide the opportunity to study sources of aerosols in the tropics, their transport, and radiative impact.