Inference of photochemical trace gas variations from direct measurements of ozone in the middle atmosphere

Thesis/Dissertation · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:5593854

Krueger, A J

The observed variations of ozone are analyzed with a photochemical model to assess the variability of trace photochemical constituents and to diagnose the sources of NOx. The atmospheric data base consists of direct measurements of ozone density and air temperature with sounding rockets. The annual cycle dominates all other sources of variation between 20 and 0.5 mb except for a phase transition region near 4 mb. The annual average ozone distribution is compared with prior standard ozone models. The numerical simulations use recent solar flux and rate coefficient data, prescribed distributions of odd hydrogen and chlorine source constituents, and the measured ozone, air temperature and air pressure distributions to infer abundances of HOx species in the mesosphere and NOx species in the middle stratosphere which satisfy odd oxygen steady-state conditions. The reaction rate between OH and HO/sub 2/ is assessed in the mesosphere. Variations of compared atomic oxygen, OH, HO/sub 2/, and NO are compared with prior measurements. The required NOx mixing ratio at Wallops Island varies less than +/-10% seasonally and averages near 20 ppbv. A poleward increase of NOx in fall and winter is indicated from analysis of additional ozone soundings in the southern hemisphere and at Fort Churchill. This behavior is consistent with a dominant source of NOx from oxidation of biospheric nitrous oxide supplemented by thermospheric air of high NO content during polar winter.

• Research Organization: Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5593854
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHEMISTRY
CORRELATIONS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MIXING
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OZONE
PHOTOCHEMICAL OXIDANTS
POLLUTION SOURCES
SAMPLING
STRATOSPHERE