SAGE III aerosol extinction measurements: Initial results

Beginning in February 2002, the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) has been producing aerosol extinction profiles in the upper troposphere and stratosphere at nine wavelengths between 384 and 1545 nm. An initial examination of the data quality has found that the data agree well with coincident measurements by SAGE II and the shape of the aerosol spectra suggests that the measurement ensemble is consistent across most wavelengths. A problem, probably associated with ozone cross sections, creates small bias at 755 nm and possibly 869 nm. The channel at 601 nm is noisy due to strong ozone absorption and is produced mostly as a tool for tracking ozone data quality.