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Destruction of ozone at the earth's surface
Author(s) -
Galbally I. E.,
Roy C. R.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
quarterly journal of the royal meteorological society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.744
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1477-870X
pISSN - 0035-9009
DOI - 10.1002/qj.49710644915
Subject(s) - ozone , snow , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , tropospheric ozone , diurnal cycle , diurnal temperature variation , surface water , climatology , troposphere , daytime , atmosphere (unit) , geology , meteorology , geography , environmental engineering
Several hundred new measurements of the surface resistance to ozone uptake of grass, soil, sand, fresh water, sea water and snow are presented. Grass and soil show, in agreement with previous work, a daytime surface resistance of median value 100 sm −1 . The first direct evidence is presented of a nocturnal increase in surface resistance for grass and soil, with night‐time values of surface resistance of about 300 sm −1 . The surface resistances of sea water and snow are considerably larger, about 1000 to 2000 sm −1 . A representative global ozone destruction rate for the earth's surface is derived using the above information and other published ozone data. Allowance is made for the latitudinal variation of the different types of surface, their various ozone destruction constants, the latitudinal and diurnal variation of ozone in the surface air and the diurnal variation of eddy transfer near the earth's surface. The global average ozone destruction rate is estimated to be in the range 2 to 6 × 10 29 molecules s −1 (0.5 to 1.5 × 10 12 kg yr −1 ). This range extends to slightly higher values than previous estimates. The ratio of ozone destruction rate between the southern and northern hemispheres is about 2:3. The implications for the tropospheric ozone cycle are discussed.