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Nitric oxide mixing ratios near the stratopause measured by a rocket‐borne chemiluminescent detector
Author(s) -
Horvath Jack J.,
Mason Conrad J.
Publication year - 1978
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/gl005i012p01023
Subject(s) - stratopause , rocket (weapon) , detector , environmental science , calibration , chemiluminescence , ozone , mixing ratio , remote sensing , mixing (physics) , atmospheric sciences , meteorology , stratosphere , physics , materials science , nuclear engineering , optics , aerospace engineering , mesosphere , chemistry , geology , quantum mechanics , organic chemistry , engineering
A direct measurement of the nitric oxide mixing ratio between 43 km and 61 km was made with a rocket‐borne chemiluminescent detector. This was the second flight in a series of two designed primarily to determine feasibility. The rocket was launched at Wallops, Island, Virginia on 19 March 1976 at 14:15 EST. The ozone‐generated background signal was monitored throughout the flight by periodically interrupting the atmospheric sample flow with a pure‐ N 2 bias‐supply gas. An extensive error analysis was performed to evaluate the uncertainty in our results. The discovery of computational and calibration‐gas concentration errors required us to reanalyze the results from the first flight of this detector in 1975; the corrected results are reported here. A comparison of the results from the two flights is made.