Trajectory calculations are employed to identify Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) II flights sampling the same air mass as is observed by a ground-based aerosol lidar at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (47.5 ¿N, 11.1 ¿E, 735 m above sea level), during the periods of January-April 1993 and January-December 1998. Intercomparisons between lidar-observed and SAGE II-derived backscatters at 532 nm are conducted. Percentage differences between trajectory-tracked SAGE II profiles and ground-based lidar observations with respect to aerosol lidar are generally within 20--40%, though localized discrepancies > 50% are found for some cases. In addition, aerosol extinction, aerosol to molecular extinction ratio, and ozone mixing ratio profiles obtained from the SAGE II flights overpassing the vicinity of Garmisch-Partenkirchen during the January-April 1993 period are compared with profiles obtained from corresponding trajectory-tracked SAGE II flights. Percentage discrepancies between SAGE II ozone profiles are generally within 10--20% above the Junge layer. Data comparisons for aerosol profiles show mixed results. While some cases agree within the error bars, there are several cases where percentage discrepancies exceed 50%. ¿ 2000 American Geophysical Union