Abstract

Significant amounts of stratospheric aerosols can cause a cooling of the earth's surface due to the scattering of solar radiation back into space. Likewise a warming of the stratosphere where the particles reside will occur due to absorption of upwelling infrared radiation [1]. The eruption of the Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines (15.14°N, 120.35°E) on June 15, 1991, produced the largest impact on the stratosphere ever observed by modem airborne, spaceborne, and ground-based scientific instruments. The volcanic aerosols were ejected into the upper troposphere and the stratosphere to heights above 33 km. Due to their long residence time, the volcanic aerosols were transported around the globe in about three weeks [2]. The effects are spread in the meridional direction by the interactions of large scale planetary waves with the resivour regions about the equator. By September 27 small amounts were observed as far north as Norway.

© 1993 Optical Society of America