Measurement and analysis of polar stratospheric ClO and N2O by ground-based mm-wave spectroscopy. Ph.D. Thesis
Analysis and interpretation of measured spectra of spring-time stratospheric ClO and N2O in Antarctica and Greenland during three field campaigns are presented in this dissertation. Measurements were made at McMurdo Station, Antarctica during September and October in 1992, and at Thule Air Base, Greenland during February and March in 1992 and 1993, using a ground-based mm-wave receiver. Measurements of ClO, a direct product of ozone destruction, were made through the evolution of the Antarctic `ozone hole.` The emission spectrum of ClO at 278.632 GHz was observed and vertical profiles have been determined from measurements both inside and outside the polar vortex and a sharp difference is seen between them. Comparisons are made to coincident balloon and satellite measurements of ozone, and ground-based measurements of NO2. The Arctic polar vortex generally has warmer stratospheric temperatures and is more variable in its position over the pole, consequently no ozone hole has been observed there. However, these measurements, as well as others, show the presence of ClO indicating some ozone depletion has occurred by the same mechanisms at work in the Antarctic. Low altitude mixing ratios of ClO in 1992 were never above 0.2 ppbv, but in 1993 up to 0.5 ppbv was observed in late February. The diurnal variation of the low altitude layer of ClO present in the Antarctic ozone `hole` has also been measured. The mixing ratio increases after sunrise, from less than 0.1 ppbv just before sunrise to approximately 1.5 ppbv at midday, and decreases with increasing solar zenith angle after midday. This diurnal record is unique and is valuable for the validation of photochemical models of the polar stratosphere. N2O is a good tracer of stratospheric dynamics, having only ground sources and having a long chemical lifetime in the atmosphere. N2O spectra at 276.328 GHz were observed at Thule from late February to late March, 1992.
- Research Organization:
- State Univ. of New York, Stony Brook, NY (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 236794
- Report Number(s):
- N--96-21619; NIPS--96-08040
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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