RETRIEVAL ANALYSIS OF AEROSOL-SIZE DISTRIBUTION WITH SIMULATED EXTINCTION MEASUREMENTS AT SAGE-III WAVELENGTHS

The retrieval of aerosol-size distribution from simulated aerosol-exti nction-coefficient measurements of the new satellite instrument, the S tratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III, is investigated. A detailed discussion on the aerosol-size-distribution information cont ent of the SAGE III aerosol-extinction-coefficient measurement is prov ided. Results of the investigation indicate that unimodal as well as b imodal log-normal size distributions can be inferred. In addition, it is shown that a shape-constraint-free size distribution can be derived from SAGE III aerosol measurements by use of the randomized minimizat ion search technique and the optimal estimation theory.