Optical modeling of stratopheric aerosols: present status

A stratospheric aerosol optical model is developed which is based on a size distribution conforming to direct measurements. Additional constraints are consistent with large data sets of independently measured macroscopic aerosol properties such as mass and backscatter. The period under study covers background as well as highly disturbed volcanic conditions and an altitude interval ranging from the tropopause to approximately 30 km. The predictions of the model are used to form a basis for interpreting and intercomparing several diverse types of stratospheric aerosol measurement.