Midlatitude lidar backscatter to mass, area, and extinction conversion model based on in situ aerosol measurements from 1980 to 1987.

Balloonborne particle counter data from Laramie, WY are used to define a seasonally averaged stratospheric sulfuric acid aerosol size distribution in three altitude intervals from 15 to 30 km for the 1980-1987 period. This period includes the volcanic eruptions of Mt. St. Helens, Alaid, Nyamuragira, El Chichon, and Nevado el Ruiz and begins and ends at what are believed to be periods of near background (nonvolcanic) stratospheric conditions. The size distributions are used to calculate lidar backscatter to extinction, mass, and area ratios for an appropriate range of particle indices of refraction. These ratios may then be used to infer particle extinction, mass, and area from midlatitude lidar data for this time period.