SAGE II observations of a previously unreported stratospheric volcanic aerosol cloud in the northern polar summer of 1990

Abstract

Analysis of aerosol extinction profiles obtained by the spaceborne SAGE II sensor reveals that there was an anomalous increase of aerosol extinction below 18.5 km at latitudes poleward of 50°N from July 28 to September 9, 1990. This widespread increase of aerosol extinction in the lower stratosphere was apparently due to a remote high‐latitude volcanic eruption that has not been reported to date. The increase in stratospheric optical depth in the northern polar region was about 50% in August and had diminished by October 1990. This eruption caused an increase in stratospheric aerosol mass of about 0.33 × 105 tons, assuming the aerosol was composed of sulfuric acid and water. Copyright 1994 by the American Geophysical Union.