Premium
Atmospheric OH production—The O(¹D) + H 2 O reaction rate
Author(s) -
Lee L. C.,
Slanger T. G.
Publication year - 1979
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/gl006i003p00165
Subject(s) - stratosphere , photodissociation , troposphere , production rate , chemical reaction , chemistry , atmospheric chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , physics , atmospheric sciences , ozone , photochemistry , environmental chemistry , organic chemistry , industrial engineering , engineering
Successful modeling of the chemistry of the troposphere and stratosphere requires accurate knowledge of the production rate of the OH molecule, since it occupies a central position in a number of chemical cycles. The reaction between O(¹D) and H 2 O is believed to be the principal primary OH source, and an evaluation of the literature shows a discrepancy of about a factor of two between two of the most recent rate coefficients for this reaction. We have generated O(¹D) from pulsed 1600 Å photolysis of O 2 , and observed the 6300 Å O(¹D → ³P) transition. The rate coefficient for H 2 O quenching of O(¹D) has been directly determined, and found to be (2.6 ± 0.5) × 10 −10 cm³molec −1 s −1 at 300°K, in good agreement with the measurements of Streit, Howard, Schmeltekopf, Davidson, and Schiff .