The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment(SAGE) Ⅱ aerosol extinction profiles at 1020 nm were used to study the distribution characteristics of stratospheric aerosols during the volcanically quiescent period of 1998–2004. The stratospheric aerosol distributions exhibited hemispheric asymmetry between the Northern Hemisphere(NH) and the Southern Hemisphere(SH). In the lower stratosphere below 20 km, the zonal averaged aerosol optical depths in the NH were higher than those of the corresponding SH; whereas at higher altitudes above 20 km, the optical depths in the SH— except the equatorial region—were higher than those of the NH. At 0–10°N and 10–20°N, the stratospheric aerosol optical depth(SAOD) exhibited larger values in boreal winter and lower values in the spring and summer; at 0–10°S and 10–20°S, the SAOD presented small seasonal variations. At 30–40°N, the SAOD presented larger values in the boreal fall and winter and lower values in the spring and summer; while at 30–40°S, the SAOD exhibited larger values in the austral winter and early spring and lower values in the summer and fall. These characteristics can mainly be attributed to the seasonal cycle of the dynamic transport, and the effects of the buildup and breakdown of the polar vortex. At 50–60°S, the SAOD exhibited extremely high values during austral winter associated with the Antarctic polar vortex boundary; at 50–60°N, the SAOD also exhibited larger values during the boreal winter, but it was much less obvious than that of its southern counterpart.
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