Scattered Ultraviolet Radiation in the Upper Stratosphere, II:
Models and Measurements
K. Minschwaner, G. P. Anderson, L. A. Hall, J. H. Chetwynd, R. J. Thomas,
D. W. Rusch, A. Berk, and J. A. Conant
Abstract
Scattered ultraviolet radiation in the 40-46 km altitude range is
evaluated using an analytic, single-scattering description
and results from AURIC (Atmospheric Ultraviolet Radiance Integrated
Code). The calculations are compared with measurements
obtained from a balloon-borne spectrometer at 1.5 nm resolution.
The analytic approach is useful for conceptualizing
the angular and spectral dependence of scattered UV radiation;
however, use of a single scale height to describe
the vertical distribution of absorbers and scatterers
leads to errors of 50% or greater at intermediate ozone opacities.
Results from AURIC generally are compatible with the observations,
particularly below 210 nm where large discrepancies have been noted in
prior model/measurement comparisons.
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