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Related Experiment Videos

Measuring and modeling twilight's purple light.

Raymond L Lee1, Javier Hernández-Andrés

  • 1Mathematics and Science Division, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland 21402, USA. raylee@usna.edu

Applied Optics
|February 7, 2003
PubMed
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Stratospheric aerosols alone do not cause twilight

Area of Science:

  • Atmospheric optics
  • Aerosol science
  • Radiative transfer

Background:

  • Twilight sky often displays pastel purples.
  • Purple light's reddening is typically attributed to stratospheric aerosols.
  • Volcanic eruptions enhance stratospheric aerosols, intensifying twilight purples.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the primary cause of purple light during twilights.
  • Quantify the contribution of stratospheric aerosols to twilight's red hues.
  • Determine the role of atmospheric scattering and extinction in producing purple light.

Main Methods:

  • Time-series spectral measurements of twilight.
  • Radiative transfer modeling.
  • Satellite sounding data analysis.

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Main Results:

  • Background stratospheric aerosols alone are insufficient to redden sunlight sufficiently for purple light.
  • Both tropospheric and stratospheric scattering and extinction are necessary to explain observed purple light phenomena.
  • Post-volcanic twilights show enhanced purple hues due to increased stratospheric aerosols.

Conclusions:

  • The reddening of twilight is a complex phenomenon.
  • Tropospheric and stratospheric aerosols interact to create the purple color.
  • Stratospheric aerosols play a role, but are not the sole cause of purple twilights.