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Losses and transport of odd nitrogen species(NO y ) over the western Atlantic Ocean during GCE/CASE/WATOX
Author(s) -
Ray John D.,
Luria Menachem,
Hastie Donald R.,
Malle Sue,
Keene William C.,
Sievering Herman
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1029/gb004i003p00279
Subject(s) - advection , oceanography , altitude (triangle) , mixing ratio , environmental science , shore , gulf stream , continental shelf , atmospheric sciences , troposphere , geology , east coast , climatology , physics , geometry , mathematics , thermodynamics
Aircraft and shipboard measurements of mixing ratios for odd nitrogen species (NO y ) were made over the western Atlantic Ocean during the summer of 1988. NO y in boundary layer air ranged from 4.8 ppbv near the U.S. east coast to 1.7 ppbv near a research ship 160 km from the coast. A vertical NO y gradient was observed near shore; mixing ratios decreased with altitude from 3.0 ppbv at 150 m to 1.3 ppbv at 2600 m. A smaller NO y gradient was observed near the ship, with mixing ratios also decreasing with altitude. During the observation period of this experiment, a high‐pressure system over the mid‐Atlantic limited advection of polluted continental air to a band just along the coast, thus preserving less polluted conditions to the east of the band. Loss rates for NO y advected from the continent, based on 3 eastward flights from the U.S. east coast, were estimated to be 2.0 ± 1.5% hour −1 . Measurements near Bermuda were in marine air with average mixing ratios near the surface of 0.8 ppbv for NO y and 0.3 ppbv for total NO 3 − . No significant vertical gradient was observed for NO y near Bermuda, where the high‐altitude NO y mixing ratio was 0.7 ppbv. Overall, NO y mixing ratios near Bermuda were higher than would be expected on the basis of either measurements or computer modeling for remote marine air, suggesting possible influence from local anthropogenic sources.