Premium
DOAS moonlight observation of atmospheric NO 3 in the Arctic winter
Author(s) -
Wagner Thomas,
Otten Cornelius,
Pfeilsticker Klaus,
Pundt Irene,
Platt Ulrich
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/1999gl011153
Subject(s) - sunset , moonlight , atmospheric sciences , zenith , environmental science , stratosphere , arctic , diurnal temperature variation , polar night , the arctic , solar zenith angle , absorption (acoustics) , atmosphere (unit) , climatology , geology , meteorology , geodesy , oceanography , physics , optics
The diurnal variation of the vertical column density (VCD) of NO 3 was measured during 16 nights in the winter 1993/94 (mid January–early March) at Kiruna (68°N, 21°E) using the moon as light source. The lunar zenith angle (LZA) dependence of the NO 3 absorption indicates that the majority (≥75%) of the atmospheric column was located in the stratosphere. After a rapid increase within the first two hours after sunset the measured NO 3 VCDs only slowly increase during the rest of the night. The NO 3 VCDs (≤ 3.2 · 10 13 molec/cm²) are significantly larger compared to previous NO 3 measurements in the Arctic. These differences can be most probably attributed to different atmospheric temperatures and differences in the correction of the H 2 O absorption structure in the NO 3 analysis.