A COMPARISON OF THE STRATOSPHERIC AEROSOL BACKGROUND PERIODS OF 1979 AND 1989-1991

A comparison of global stratospheric aerosol levels measured in 1979 b y the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) and in 1989-1991 by SAGE II is presented. These periods exhibit the lowest stratospher ic aerosol levels in the era of modern measurements and are often refe rred to as background periods. We find that, depending on latitude, th e 1-mu m aerosol optical depth in 1989-1991 was 10 to 30% higher than that observed in 1979. We demonstrate that the latter period (prior to the June 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo) was characterized by an ong oing global recovery from the eruptions of El Chichon in 1982 and Neva do del Ruiz in 1985, with a further complication introduced by the Feb ruary 1990 Kelut eruption. Therefore the differences between 1979 and 1989-1991 cannot be completely attributed to nonvolcanic sources.