Premium
Stratospheric NO y measurements on the NASA DC‐8 during AASE II
Author(s) -
Weinheimer A. J.,
Walega J. G.,
Ridley B. A.,
Sachse G. W.,
Anderson B. E.,
Collins J. E.
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 - 10.1029/93gl02627
Subject(s) - atmospheric sciences , stratosphere , denitrification , environmental science , descent (aeronautics) , altitude (triangle) , climatology , meteorology , physics , nitrogen , geology , geometry , mathematics , quantum mechanics
We survey measurements of stratospheric NO y on the NASA DC‐8 during AASE II in early 1992. Emphasis is on correlations with other long‐lived species: O 3 , N 2 O, and CH 4 . No cases of extremely high NO y /O 3 ratios were seen in 1992. This suggests that denitrification at higher altitudes was less pervasive than in 1989. Values of NO y /O 3 in 1992 are comparable to, though perhaps lower than, those measured in 1989. The correlation of NO y with N 2 O changes over the course of the mission. Relative to the correlation for the whole season, low values of NO y occur in February, most notably on the 22 nd . The reason for the low NO y is unknown. It is generally too warm at DC‐8 altitudes for the presence of PSC particles, but denitrification at higher altitudes, followed by descent, might account for the low values seen on 22 February. However, this may be unlikely since the NASA ER‐2, flying during the same period, saw no evidence of denitrification at higher altitudes [Loewenstein et al., 1993].