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Snowpack photochemical production of HONO: A major source of OH in the Arctic boundary layer in springtime
Author(s) -
Zhou Xianliang,
Beine Harald J.,
Honrath Richard E.,
Fuentes Jose D.,
Simpson William,
Shepson Paul B.,
Bottenheim Jan W.
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 - 10.1029/2001gl013531
Subject(s) - sunrise , snowpack , snow , arctic , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , nitrous acid , atmospheric chemistry , ozone depletion , northern hemisphere , boundary layer , planetary boundary layer , photochemistry , climatology , ozone layer , ozone , meteorology , oceanography , chemistry , stratosphere , geology , geography , physics , thermodynamics , inorganic chemistry
Both snow manipulation experiments and ambient measurements during the Polar Sunrise Experiment 2000 at Alert (Alert2000) indicate intensive photochemical production of nitrous acid (HONO) in the snowpack. This process constitutes a major HONO source for the overlying atmospheric boundary layer in the Arctic during the springtime, and sustained concentrations of HONO high enough that upon photolysis they became the dominant hydroxyl radical (OH) source. This implies a much greater role for OH radicals in Arctic polar sunrise chemistry than previously believed. Although the observations were made in the high Arctic, this finding has a significant implication for the boundary layer atmospheric chemistry in Antarctica during sunlit seasons and in the mid to high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere during the winter and spring seasons when approximately 50% of the land mass may be covered by snow.