Extending the SBUV PMC Data Record with OMPS NP.

We have utilized Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV) instrument measurements of atmospheric radiance to create a 40-year record of polar mesospheric cloud (PMC) behavior. While this series of measurements is nearing its end, we show in this paper that Ozone Mapping and Profiling Suite (OMPS) Nadir Profiler (NP) instruments can be added to the merged SBUV PMC data record. Regression analysis of this extended record shows smaller trends in PMC ice water content (IWC) since approximately 1998, consistent with previous work.

Evaluation of Space Traffic Effects in SBUV Polar Mesospheric Cloud Data.

Water-rich rocket exhaust plumes, in particular those emitted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Shuttle, have been suggested to make a significant contribution to long-term trends in polar mesospheric cloud (PMC) ice water content. We investigate this claim using the combined Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV) PMC data record from eight separate instruments, which includes 60 Shuttle launches during PMC seasons between 1985 and 2011. No statistically significant postlaunch signal in PMC total ice is observed based on superposed epoch analysis of the SBUV record.

Improvement of stratospheric aerosol extinction retrieval from OMPS/LP using a new aerosol model.

The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite Limb Profiler (OMPS/LP) has been flying on the Suomi NPP satellite since October 2011. It is designed to produce ozone and aerosol vertical profiles at ~2 km vertical resolution over the entire sunlit globe. Aerosol extinction profiles are computed with Mie theory using radiances measured at 675 nm.

Wildfire-driven thunderstorms cause a volcano-like stratospheric injection of smoke.

Intense heating by wildfires can generate deep, smoke-infused thunderstorms, known as pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb), which can release a large quantity of smoke particles above jet aircraft cruising altitudes. Injections of pyroCb smoke into the lower stratosphere have gained increasing attention over the past 15 years due to the rapid proliferation of satellite remote sensing tools. Impacts from volcanic eruptions and other troposphere-to-stratosphere exchange processes on stratospheric radiative and chemical equilibrium are well recognized and monitored.