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An examination of the total hydrogen budget of the lower stratosphere
Author(s) -
Dessler A. E.,
Weinstock E. M.,
Hintsa E. J.,
Anderson J. G.,
Webster C. R.,
May R. D.,
Elkins J. W.,
Dutton G. S.
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 - 10.1029/94gl02283
Subject(s) - stratosphere , mixing ratio , northern hemisphere , southern hemisphere , atmospheric sciences , hydrogen , methane , environmental science , atmospheric chemistry , atmosphere (unit) , mixing (physics) , in situ , water vapor , hydrogen molecule , climatology , meteorology , chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , physics , environmental chemistry , geology , ozone , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
We analyze the hydrogen budget of the lower stratosphere using simultaneous in situ measurements of northern hemispheric water vapor (H 2 O) and methane (CH 4 ) obtained during the spring Stratospheric Photochemistry, Aerosols, and Dynamics Expedition (SPADE), as well as previously published in situ H 2 data. Based on this data, we conclude that approximately two H 2 O molecules are produced for each CH 4 molecule destroyed. This implies that H 2 production from CH 4 oxidation is balanced by H 2 oxidation. The uncertainty in this analysis is greatly reduced by the use of multiple data sets. Additionally, we infer that, on an annual and global average, H 2 O enters the stratosphere with a mixing ratio of 4.2±0.5 ppmv, and that the quasi‐conserved quantity 2×[CH 4 ] + [H 2 O] has a value of 7.6±0.6 ppmv in these northern hemisphere air parcels (where [ξ] denotes the mixing ratio of the constituent ξ).