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Photodissociation of isotopically heavy O 2 as a source of atmospheric O 3
Author(s) -
Cicerone R. J.,
McCrumb J. L.
Publication year - 1980
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/gl007i004p00251
Subject(s) - photodissociation , stratosphere , atmosphere (unit) , line (geometry) , atmospheric chemistry , mesosphere , spectral line , radiation , physics , atmospheric sciences , analytical chemistry (journal) , atomic physics , meteorology , chemistry , optics , ozone , environmental chemistry , photochemistry , geometry , mathematics , astronomy
18 O 16 O is the sixth most abundant gas in the atmosphere after 14 N 14 N , 16 O 16 O , Ar, 15 N 14 N and H 2 O . From available data on line positions in the Schumann‐Runge (S‐R) bands (175 < λ < 205 nm) of 18 O 16 O we estimate its atmospheric photodissociation rates. In the high stratosphere and mesosphere this proposed source of O and O 3 could be significant compared to photodissociation of 16 O 16 O although our estimates are subject to several uncertainties that are discussed. We calculate the transmission of solar radiation through the S‐R bands of 18 O 16 O and 16 O 16 O with transmission functions averaged over individual S‐R bands. Line‐by‐line calculations will be needed to refine our estimates but certain spectroscopic data are not yet available.