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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 6, JUNE 1989

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY

Item #d89jun57

"Ozone Destruction Through Heterogeneous Chemistry Following the Eruption of El Chichón," D.J. Hofmann (Dept. Phys., Univ. Wyoming, Laramie WY 82071), S. Solomon, J. Geophys. Res., 94(D4), 5029-5041, Apr. 20, 1989.

Recent laboratory studies suggest that the same heterogeneous reactions that occur on HNO3/H2O clouds in the cold Antarctic stratosphere can also take place at slower rates on sulfuric acid particles (e.g., volcanic and background aerosols) typical of lower latitudes. The reduction in stratospheric ozone observed at northern mid-latitudes in late 1982 and 1983 is investigated in this respect. Aerosol surface area density and percent by weight of sulfuric acid in the particles, thought to be crucial to rates of the relevant heterogeneous reactions, were measured. Results show that heterogeneous reactions similar to those occurring in Antarctica may have been responsible for at least a portion of the anomalous ozone reduction observed at mid-latitudes.

Item #d89jun58

"Project Airstream: COS Measurements in the Stratosphere and Troposphere," R. Leifer (U.S. DOE, Environ. Meas. Lab., 376 Hudson St., New York NY 10014), ibid., 5173-5181.

Presents a detailed study of the latitudinal and seasonal variations of COS in the stratosphere, as collected by the High-Altitude Sampling Program (HASP) during 1980-1983, which can lead to the formation of stratospheric aerosol particles that affect the radiation balance. The northern hemispheric stratospheric inventories range from 0.24 to 0.29 Tg. The HASP data base when compared to existing climate models supports the concept of a low OH concentration profile in the lower stratosphere. Results of the tropospheric samples suggest a decreasing COS mixing ratio with altitude.

Item #d89jun59

"Climatology of Nitric Oxide in the Upper Stratosphere, Mesosphere, and Thermosphere: 1979 through 1986," R.D. McPeters (Code 616, NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr., Greenbelt MD 20701), ibid., 94(D3), 3461-3472, Mar. 20, 1989.

Presents measurements of cumulative NO above 50 km which should help bridge the gap between the stratosphere and the thermosphere. Analysis of solar backscattered ultraviolet (SBUV) showed approximately 5-6 x 1014 molecules cm-2 of nitric oxide cumulative above 48 km over a wide range of latitudes, increasing sharply near the winter terminator by about a factor of 3. Between 1979 and 1986 column NO near the equator decreased by about a factor of two, which correlates well with a decline in solar activity at the same time.

Item #d89jun60

"NO2 Observations at 45° S During the Decreasing Phase of Solar Cycle 21, from 1980 to 1987," P.V. Johnston (Phys. & Eng. Lab., Lauder, Central Otago, 9182, N.Z.), R.L. McKenzie, ibid., 3473-3486.

Presents monthly averaged NO2 slant column measurements. In addition to the expected diurnal and seasonal variations, the data also show variations on longer time scales. The effects of El Chichón are identified and discussed as to whether the observed changes are real or are due to changes in the zenith scattering geometry caused by the increased aerosol. Also discusses the effects of solar activity and cooling in the stratosphere on long-term trends.

Item #d89jun61

"Impact of Heterogeneous Reactions on Stratospheric Chemistry of the Arctic," A.R. Douglass (Appl. Res. Corp., 8201 Corporate Dr., Landover MD 20985), R.S. Stolarski, Geophys. Res. Lett., 16(2), 131-134, Feb. 1989.

Examines the Arctic situation using a model which calculates photochemical processes as a function of longitude in air circulating with fixed velocity around the pole at fixed pressure level and latitude. Measurements of chemical species including HCl, ClO, NO2 and HNO3 downwind from a polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) show a sensitivity to sticking coefficients, cloud characteristics including particle number density and surface area, and to the PSC exposure time.

Item #d89jun62

"Ozone Climate and Biospheric Environment in the Ancient Oxygen-Poor Atmosphere," L.M. Francois (Inst. D'Astrophys., Liége Univ., Belgium), J.-C. Gerard, Planet. Space Sci. (UK), 36(12), 1391-1414, Dec. 1988.

Develops a one-dimensional radiative-convective and photochemical model to study the climatological role of ozone in the precambrian atmosphere and includes calculations at enhanced CO₂ levels. Discusses a possible evolutionary scenario of atmospheric O2 and CO₂. The consequences of these calculations for the ultraviolet environment of the primitive biosphere is discussed with a quantitative model calculating bacterial survival rate.

Item #d89jun63

"Effects of Long-Range Transport on Atmospheric Trace Constituents at the Baseline Station Tenerife (Canary Islands)," R. Schmitt (Meteorologie Consult GmbH, POB 17, D-6246 Glashütten, FRG), B. Schreiber, I. Levin, Atmos. Chem., 7(4), 335-351, Nov. 1988.

Presents a brief overview of the observation program at the new WMO background air pollution monitoring station. Shows that the changes of air mass are strongly reflected in the concentration records of carbon dioxide, methane and ozone depending on the seasonal and meridional distributions of these components. Transport of Sahara dust results in an increase of optical thickness and an ozone depletion.

Item #d89jun64

"Global-fit Approach to the Analysis of Limb-Scanning Atmospheric Measurements," M. Carlotti (Dept. Phys. Inorg. Chem., Univ. Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy), Appl. Opt., 27(15), 3250-3254, 1988.

Uses a nonlinear least-square procedure to fit simultaneously the whole concentration profile of atmospheric constituents on a limb-scanning sequence of spectra. Shows an application to interferometric measurements of stratospheric emission, and compares with the results obtained from the analysis of the same data set using the onion-peeling method, taking into account the error propagation over concentrations. The global-fit analysis produces error bars smaller than with the onion-peeling analysis. Discusses computational details.

Item #d89jun65

"Radiative Heat Transfer to Chemically Reacting Flow Between Concentric Rotating Spheres," A.R. Bestman (Intl. Ctr. Theor. Phys., Trieste, Italy), Nuovo Cimento C. (Italy), 11C, Ser. 1, No. 3, 257-272, May-June 1988.

The hydromagnetic flow between two hot concentric rotating spheres in the presence of a chemical reaction is used to model the depletion of ozone by nitrogen and chlorine compounds in the middle atmosphere. Observes that a 6% depletion of the ozone budget is easily plausible due to the emission of anthropogenic material.

Item #d89jun66

"Spring Decreases in Stratospheric Ozone Content Above Antarctica in the 1980s," I.L. Karol' (Main Geophys. Lab.), Izvestiya, Atmos. and Oceanic Phys., 837-842, June 1988 (English trans. from Russian, 23(11), 1987.)

Describes the temporal and lateral variations in the ozone hole in the southern hemisphere as surveyed in 1980-1985. Analyzes the possible causes of the hole and dynamic and photochemical models that have been proposed to date.