Producing a global and comprehensive description of atmospheric aerosols requires integration of ground-based, airborne, satellite and model datasets. Due to its complexity, aerosol monitoring requires the use of several data records with complementary information

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This paper presents stratospheric aerosol climate records developed in the framework of the Aerosol_cci project, one of the 14 parallel projects from the ESA Climate Change Initiative. These data records were processed from a stratospheric aerosol dataset derived from the GOMOS experiment, using an inversion algorithm optimized for aerosol retrieval, called AerGOM. They provide a suite of aerosol parameters, such as the aerosol extinction coefficient at different wavelengths in the UV–visible range. The extinction record includes the total extinction as well as separate fields for liquid sulfate aerosols and polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). Several additional fields (PSC flag, etc.) are also provided. The resulting stratospheric aerosol dataset, which spans the whole duration of the GOMOS mission (2002 − 2012), was validated using different reference datasets (lidar and balloon profiles). In the present paper, the emphasis is put on the extinction records. After a thorough analysis of the original AerGOM dataset, we describe the methodology used to construct the gridded CCI-GOMOS dataset and the resulting improvements on both the AerGOM algorithm and the binning procedure, in terms of spatio-temporal resolution, coverage and data quality. The extinction datasets were validated using lidar profiles from three ground-based stations (Mauna Loa, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Dumont d'Urville). The median difference of the CCI-GOMOS (Level 3) extinction and ground-based lidar profiles is between ~ 15% and ~ 45% in the 16–21 km altitude range, depending on the considered site and aerosol type. The CCI-GOMOS dataset was subsequently used, together with a MIPAS SO2 time series, to update a volcanic eruption inventory published previously, thus providing a more comprehensive list of eruptions for the ENVISAT period (2002–2012). The number of quantified eruptions increases from 102 to 230 in the updated inventory. This new inventory was used to simulate the evolution of the global radiative forcing by application of the EMAC chemistry-climate model. Results of this simulation improve the agreement between modelled global radiative forcing of stratospheric aerosols at about 100 hPa compared to values estimated from observations. Medium eruptions like the ones of Soufriere Hills/Rabaul (2006), Sarychev (2009) and Nabro (2011) cause a forcing change from about − 0.1 W/m2 to − 0.2 W/m2

[1] We report on simultaneous measurements of the westward propagating quasi 5-day wave in the occurrence rate of noctilucent clouds (NLCs) and the temperature field at NLC altitude during the 2005 NLC season in the northern hemisphere. NLCs are detected using SCIAMACHY/ Envisat limb scattering measurements, and the temperature profiles are measured with MLS/Aura. Quasi 5-day wave signatures are clearly identified in both physical and wavelet space. We find good general agreement in the quasi 5-day wave activity of NLC occurrence rates and the mesopause temperature field, indicating that planetary wave signatures in the temperature field are the main driver of corresponding signatures in NLCs. Citation: von Savigny, C., C. Robert, H. Bovensmann, J. P. Burrows, and M. Schwartz (2007), Satellite observations of the quasi 5-day wave in noctilucent clouds and mesopause temperatures, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L24808,

[1] This paper presents evidence of a connection between the 27 day modulation of the solar activity and noctilucent cloud (NLC) occurrence frequency as measured by the Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography (SCIAMACHY) and solar backscatter ultraviolet (SBUV) instruments. Observations show anticorrelations significant at the 90% confidence level between noctilucent cloud occurrence rate anomalies and Lyman-a irradiance variation during several seasons in both hemispheres. A superposed epoch analysis confirms these results and also reveals a clear recurrence pattern in noctilucent clouds occurrence anomalies with a $27 day period. The superposed epoch analysis also shows that the maximum NLC response in the Northern Hemisphere is clearly localized at 0 day phase lag, while in the Southern Hemisphere the maximum response is broader and occurs at 0 ± 2 day phase lag. Microwave Limb Sounder mesospheric products suggest that the more likely driver for the variation in NLC occurrence is temperature instead of water vapor, but the mechanisms responsible for the observed variations are not yet fully understood.