On the global distribution of aerosols

Aerosol concentrations were measured during a 54-hour circum-navigation of the earth at altitudes between 238 and 162 millibars and concurrently by a separate flight at lower altitudes over the Pacific Ocean. The aerosol concentrations were found to be symmetrically distributed about the earth. Concurrent meteorological measurements indicate that tropospheric aerosols enter the stratosphere in the vicinity of jet streams and that surface aerosols are carried aloft over the intertropical convergence and Antarctic polar front.