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Stratospheric NO 2 observations at the Jungfraujoch Station between June 1990 and May 1992
Author(s) -
Van Roozendael M.,
Hermans C.,
De Mazière M.,
Simon P. C.
Publication year - 1994
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 - 10.1029/93gl02432
Subject(s) - sunrise , zenith , sunset , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , nitrogen dioxide , stratosphere , radiative transfer , volcano , ozone layer , nitrogen oxides , meteorology , absorption (acoustics) , geology , physics , remote sensing , astronomy , optics , engineering , seismology , waste management
Observations of nitrogen dioxide have been performed at the International Scientific Station at the Jungfraujoch (46.5°N, 8.0°E) during the winters 1990–1991 and 1991–1992. Vertical abundances of NO 2 were obtained by measuring the scattered sunlight at the zenith, during sunset and sunrise, using the differential absorption method in the visible spectrum. The comparison between the two winters shows a NO 2 reduction of 15% in March–May 1992, following the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. This decrease is likely to be due to heterogeneous reactions on the volcanic aerosols converting N 2 O 5 to HNO 3 . Radiative interferences on ground‐based visible absorption measurements of NO 2 caused by the enhanced aerosol layer are considered to be negligible ( Perliski and Solomon, 1992). The results are discussed with respect to measurements made at Lauder, New Zealand (45°S, 170°E) and published by Johnston et al. (1992).