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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 2, NUMBER 7, JULY 1989

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY

Item #d89jul44

"Altitude Distribution of Stratospheric NO3. 1. Observations of NO3 and Related Species," J.-P. Naudet (Lab. Phys. Chim. de l'Environ., CNRS, 45071, Orléans, Cedex 2, France), P. Rigaud, M. Pirre, J. Geophys. Res., 94(D5), 6374-6382, May 20, 1989.

Five balloon-borne observations of the vertical profile of stratospheric NO3 and ozone were performed between 1981 and 1985 by using the star and planet occultation technique at 662 nm. The latest available laboratory determination at this absorption cross section gives NO3 concentrations that are about a factor of two lower than those previously reported. Ozone and NO2 results are also presented.

Item #d89jul45

"Altitude Distribution of Stratospheric NO3. 2. Comparison of Observations with Model," M. Pirre (address immed. above), R. Ramaroson et al., ibid., 6383-6388.

Theoretical calculations of the altitude distribution of NO3, made with a time-dependent zero-dimensional model taking into account the accepted photochemistry of the stratosphere, are compared with the measurements presented in the above paper. The concentration of NO3 is shown to be strongly dependent on the ozone concentration and temperature. These parameters were measured and used as fixed data in the model. Results show consistency between theory and measurements.

Item #d89jul46

"The Mean Ozone Profile and Its Temperature Sensitivity in the Upper Stratosphere and Lower Mesosphere: An Analysis of LIMS Observations," L. Froidevaux (Jet Propulsion Lab., Calif. Inst. Technol., Pasadena CA 91109), M. Allen et al., ibid., 6389-6417.

Presents a detailed analysis of one week of data from the Nimbus 7 Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS), with emphasis on the ozone abundance and its temperature sensitivity between 0.1 and 6 mbar, covering the upper stratosphere and lower mesosphere. The zonally averaged ozone profile (30° -35° N latitude) is compared with results from a simplified photochemical model that assumes ozone to be in photochemical steady state. The model ozone profile is systematically lower than the observed profile, which is in good agreement with the observations of other experiments below about 0.2 mbar. Also shows that the ozone-temperature sensitivity coefficient, Q, is affected by zonal and vertical advection terms as well as by the photochemical coupling between O3 and T.

Item #d89jul47

"Comparisons of Satellite Ozone Data in the Lower Stratosphere for 1978/1979," E.E. Remsberg (Atmos. Sci. Div., MS 401B, NASA Langley Res. Ctr., Hampton VA 23665), C.-Y. Wu, ibid., 6419-6434.

Compares monthly satellite ozone for the middle to lower stratosphere from late 1978 to mid-1979, when SBUV results are believed to be most reliable. Results from the Nimbus 7 Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) experiment are compared with those from SBUV because the sampling and precision of both are similar. Results from the Stratospheric and Aerosol Gas Experiment are included for spring 1979. Differences between the three satellite data sets are evaluated with the aid of electrochemical concentration cell sonde and Matsonde measurements and Dobson data at selected stations.

Item #d89jul48

"Stratospheric Nitric Acid Vapour Measurements in the Cold Arctic Vortex: Implications for Nitric Acid Condensation," F. Arnold (Max-Planck-Inst. für Kernphysik, POB 103980, D-6900 Heidelberg, FRG), G. Knop, Nature, 338(6218), 746-749, Apr. 27, 1989.

Reports in situ measurements of the detailed height distribution of gaseous nitric acid, using a balloon-borne technique, which offers a much better altitude resolution (30m) than previous satellite measurements. This data set shows an upper limit to Tc(NAT), the condensation temperature of nitric acid trihydrate, of 195 K at 23 km, and is consistent with model predictions based on the present gaseous nitric acid data. However, the upper limit to Tc(NAT) is markedly lower than some of the early model estimates.

Item #d89jul49

"Atmospheric Concentrations and Distributions of CF2Cl2, CFCl3 and N₂O over Japan between 1979 and 1986," M. Hirota (Aerological Observatory, 1-2, Nagamine, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan), H. Muramatsu et al., J. Meteor. Soc. Japan, Ser. 2, 66(5), 703-708, Oct. 1988.

Tropospheric and stratospheric air samples were collected and analyzed for CF2Cl2, CFCl3 and N₂O by a GC-ECD method. Mean volume mixing ratios in the troposphere of CF2Cl2 and CFCL3 were increasing at almost constant rates: 13.5 ppt/year and 9.5 ppt/year, respectively, over the study period. Those of N₂O appear to be increasing at a rate of 2.0 ppb/year between December 1982 and November 1986. Volume mixing ratios of CF2Cl2, CFCl3 and N₂O in the lower stratosphere (15-28 km) decreased with increasing altitude in agreement with the vertical profiles calculated from a one-dimensional photochemical-diffusive model.