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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1, JULY 1988

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY

Item #d88jul46

"The Three-Dimensional Morphology of the Antarctic Ozone Minimum," A.C. Aikin (NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr., Greenbelt, Md.), R.D. McPeters, Geophys. Res. Lett., 15(5), 413-416, May 1988.

Nimbus 7 solar backscattered ultraviolet (SBUV) data from October 1986 show a clearly defined O3 minimum from the tropopause to above 50 km. Displacement toward the equator at the upper levels may create the illusion that the minimum is restricted to low altitudes. Three distinct altitude domains are identified: O3 is more stable in the middle domain (33-43 km); above that altitude, O3 has suffered a long-term decrease of 7-12% since 1979.

Item #d88jul47

"Antarctic Ozone Depletion Chemistry: Reactions of N₂O5 with H2O and HCl on Ice Surfaces," M.A. Tolbert (Dept. Chem. Kinetics, SRI Int., Menlo Pk. CA 94025), M.J. Rossi, S.M. Golden, Science, 240(4855), 1018-1021, May 20, 1988.

N₂O5 reacted on ice at 185K in the laboratory to form condensed-phase HNO3. The reaction may provide a sink for odd nitrogen during the polar winter, a requirement of nearly all models of ozone depletion. Also produced was gaseous nitryl chloride (ClNO2), which can be readily photolyzed in the Antarctic spring to form atomic Cl for catalytic O3 destruction cycles.

Item #d88jul48

"Extremely Low N₂O Concentrations in the Springtime Stratosphere at McMurdo Station, Antarctica," A. Parrish (Millitech Corp., S. Deerfield MA 01373), R.L. de Zafra et al., Nature, 332(6159), 53-55, Mar. 3, 1988.

Measurements using the State University of New York at Stony Brook millimeter-wave remote sensing spectrometer indicated that October N₂O levels were 10-20% of summer levels, much less than predicted by global-scale stratospheric models. Results argue against theories that require springtime upwelling to explain the Antarctic ozone hole, and suggest that lower stratospheric air during late winter and early spring has been subjected to considerable downward transport.

Item #d88jul49

"Regional Studies of Potential Carbon Monoxide Sources Based on Space Shuttle and Aircraft Measurements," R.E. Newell (Dept. Earth Atmos. Sci., Rm. 54-1522, Mass. Inst. Technol., Cambridge MA 02139), S.T. Shipley et al., J. Atmos. Chem., 6, 61-81, 1988.

Maxima were found over South America, central Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and China. They appear to be associated with convection, which carries boundary layer air into the upper troposphere, and are consistent with previous aircraft measurements of CO and O3 over South America. In the tropics three regions of long-term mean rising motion are associated with elevated CO.

Item #d88jul50

"Helium-Cooled Balloon-Borne Infrared Experiment for Measurements of Stratospheric Trace Gas Emissions," H. Rippel (Kayser-Threde GmbH, 80000 Munich 70, FRG), L. Hilbert et al., Appl. Optics, 26(15), 3097 ff., Aug. 1, 1987.

Reports limb scan measurements made in the 5.5-19 micro m band in France in September as part of the MAP/Globus 1983 field experiment. Mixing ratios of NO2, H2O, CH₄, HNO3, O3 and N₂O were derived.