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Evidence for a missing carbon monoxide sink based on tropospheric measurements of 14 CO
Author(s) -
Mak John E.,
Brenninkmeijer Carl A. M.,
Manning Martin R.
Publication year - 1992
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 - 10.1029/92gl01611
Subject(s) - carbon monoxide , troposphere , sink (geography) , trace gas , tracer , environmental science , environmental chemistry , atmospheric sciences , atmospheric chemistry , chemistry , compounds of carbon , photochemistry , chemical reaction , ozone , physics , catalysis , nuclear physics , organic chemistry , cartography , geography
An important problem in atmospheric chemistry is the determination of the oxidative capacity of the troposphere, which provides an index of how quickly trace gas species are destroyed. Central to this question are the abundance and distribution of hydroxyl radical, which is responsible for the destruction of a large proportion of chemical compounds such as CH 4 , CO, and nonmethane hydrocarbons. 14 CO can be used as a chemical tracer to help constrain the OH concentration, as oxidation via OH is the major sink for all carbon monoxide. We present the first 14 CO observations in the free troposphere during different seasons from 90°S to 34°N. Model simulations suggest that a large increase in the carbon monoxide sink strength may be needed in order to accommodate the experimental results.