Properties of the background global aerosol and their effects on climate

Properties of the aerosols above Hawaii, Alaska, and the South Pole are derived from sun photometry at several wavelengths. The mass loading of aerosol material is several milligrams per square meter. At the South Pole the mean particle radius is 0.04 micrometer; at Hawaii in March 1975 there was a thin volcanic layer with a mean particle radius of 0.1 micrometer. The aerosols cause heating of the earth-atmosphere system at the poles and cooling at low latitudes.