Validation studies using multiwavelength cryogenic limb array etalon spectrometer (CLAES) observations of stratospheric aerosol

Validation studies of multiwavelength Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) observations of stratospheric aerosol are discussed. An error analysis of the CLAES aerosol extinction data is presented. Aerosol extinction precision values are estimated at latitudes and times at which consecutive Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) orbits overlap. Comparisons of CLAES aerosol data with theoretical Mie calculations, based upon in situ particle size measurements at Laramie, Wyoming, are presented. CLAES aerosol data are also compared to scaled aerosol extinction measured by the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE II) and Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiments. Observed and calculated extinction spectra, from CLAES, Improved Stratospheric and Mesospheric Sounder (ISAMS), and Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) data, are compared. CLAES extinction data have precisions between 10 and 25%, instrumental biases near 30%, and accuracies between 33 and 43%.