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On the impact of heterogeneous chemistry on ozone in the tropopause region
Author(s) -
Meilinger S. K.,
Kärcher B.,
von Kuhlmann R.,
Peter Th.
Publication year - 2001
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 - 10.1029/2000gl011657
Subject(s) - ozone , atmospheric chemistry , tropopause , stratosphere , troposphere , ozone depletion , middle latitudes , bromine , chemistry , atmospheric sciences , chlorine , aerosol , environmental chemistry , geology , organic chemistry
We examine the impact of heterogeneous chemistry involving liquid aerosol and ice particles on net ozone (O 3 ) production rates under conditions representative of the midlatitude upper troposphere (UT) and lowermost stratosphere (LS). We demonstrate that heterogeneous effects are controlled by nitrogen oxides (NO x ) and by the location of the air masses relative to the tropopause (TP). The net effect of heterogeneous chemistry is to decrease net O 3 production below the TP (via heterogeneous HO 2 loss) and to cause O 3 destruction above the TP (via heterogeneous chlorine (Cl) activation). In the UT, gas phase chemistry due to non‐methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) can become as important for O 3 chemistry as heterogeneous reactions, and removal of HO 2 by particles can become more important than changes of hydrogen oxides (HO x ) through heterogeneous bromine (Br) chemistry. In the humid LS, Cl activation can become sufficiently large, so that O 3 depletion occurs at all conceivable values of NO x . Such cold and humid conditions occur frequently enough to reduce the average ozone production rates in the midlatitude LS by more than 10%.