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The variation of short‐lived NO y species around sunrise at mid‐latitudes as measured by MIPAS‐B and calculated by KASIMA
Author(s) -
Stowasser M.,
Oelhaf H.,
Ruhnke R.,
Kleinert A.,
Wetzel G.,
FriedlVallon F.,
Kouker W.,
Lengel A.,
Maucher G.,
Nordmeyer H.,
Reddmann Th.,
Fischer H.
Publication year - 2003
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 - 10.1029/2002gl016727
Subject(s) - sunrise , atmospheric sounding , altitude (triangle) , atmospheric sciences , sunset , atmosphere (unit) , environmental science , latitude , michelson interferometer , chemical transport model , stratosphere , troposphere , meteorology , geology , physics , geodesy , interferometry , optics , geometry , mathematics
Vertical profiles of total reactive nitrogen (NO y = NO 2 + HNO 3 + ClONO 2 + 2N 2 O 5 + HO 2 NO 2 ) along with the source gas N 2 O up to 38 km were retrieved from infrared limb emission spectra measured by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding, Balloonborne version (MIPAS‐B) instrument from Aire sur l'Adour (France, 42°N) on April 30, 1999. Three limb sequences of spectra were recorded 1 hour before, at and 3 hours after sunrise, respectively, allowing to investigate the NO y partitioning under night‐time and ‐ for the first time with the MIPAS‐B instrument ‐ also under day‐time conditions and to study the temporal evolution of the short‐lived species N 2 O 5 and NO 2 around sunrise. The MIPAS‐B data are compared to calculations performed with the 3‐D chemical transport model KASIMA (Karlsruhe Simulation model of the Middle Atmosphere). This comparison reveals a high degree of confidence in the model for the HNO 3 /NO y ratio in the whole altitude region and for the N 2 O 5 /NO y and NO 2 /NO y ratios above about 26 km. Below this altitude the N 2 O 5 /NO y ratio is significantly underestimated by the model. Also, the MIPAS‐B measurement suggests a night‐time built up of NO 2 which is not reproduced by the model in an altitude region around 22 km.