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stratospheric trace gas concentrations in the Arctic polar night derived by FTIR‐spectroscopy with the Moon as IR light source
Author(s) -
Notholt J.,
Neuber R.,
Schrems O.,
Clarmann T. V.
Publication year - 1993
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 - 10.1029/93gl01971
Subject(s) - trace gas , stratosphere , polar , polar vortex , arctic , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , polar night , infrared , spectroscopy , the arctic , analytical chemistry (journal) , materials science , geology , physics , chemistry , optics , environmental chemistry , astronomy , oceanography
In winter 1992/93 we have performed ground‐based FTIR measurements in the Arctic (79°N, 12°E) to derive column densities of stratospheric trace gases within the polar vortex. Due to the polar night the moon had to serve as infrared light source instead of the sun. It was possible to perform FTIR‐measurements for about a week around full moon. Column densities of N 2 O, CH 4 , HF, HCl, O 3 , NO 2 , HNO 3 and ClONO 2 have been obtained. The spectra were recorded at 0.01 cm −1 or 0.02 cm −1 resolution using MCT or InSb detectors. Measurements with an aerosol lidar performed at the same site show that polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) appeared several times during the polar night. It seems that the concentrations of the stratospheric trace gases are strongly influenced by the occurrence of PSCs.