Chemical Loss of Ozone in the Arctic Polar Vortex in the Winter of 1991-1992
- 27 August 1993
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 261 (5125), 1146-1149
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.261.5125.1146
Abstract
In situ measurements of chlorine monoxide, bromine monoxide, and ozone are extrapolated globally, with the use of meteorological tracers, to infer the loss rates for ozone in the Arctic lower stratosphere during the Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition II (AASE II) in the winter of 1991-1992. The analysis indicates removal of 15 to 20 percent of ambient ozone because of elevated concentrations of chlorine monoxide and bromine monoxide. Observations during AASE II define rates of removal of chlorine monoxide attributable to reaction with nitrogen dioxide (produced by photolysis of nitric acid) and to production of hydrochloric acid. Ozone loss ceased in March as concentrations of chlorine monoxide declined. Ozone losses could approach 50 percent if regeneration of nitrogen dioxide were inhibited by irreversible removal of nitrogen oxides (denitrification), as presently observed in the Antarctic, or without denitrification if inorganic chlorine concentrations were to double.Keywords
This publication has 46 references indexed in Scilit:
- In Situ Observations of Aerosol and Chlorine Monoxide After the 1991 Eruption of Mount Pinatubo: Effect of Reactions on Sulfate AerosolScience, 1993
- Chlorine Chemistry on Polar Stratospheric Cloud Particles in the Arctic WinterScience, 1993
- Stratospheric CIO and ozone from the Microwave Limb Sounder on the Upper Atmosphere Research SatelliteNature, 1993
- Vapor Pressures of Solid Hydrates of Nitric Acid: Implications for Polar Stratospheric CloudsScience, 1993
- The Potential for Ozone Depletion in the Arctic Polar StratosphereScience, 1991
- Radiative heating rates during the Airborne Arctic Stratospheric ExperimentGeophysical Research Letters, 1990
- Influence of polar stratospheric clouds on the depletion of Antarctic ozoneGeophysical Research Letters, 1988
- Laboratory studies of the nitric acid trihydrate: Implications for the south polar stratosphereGeophysical Research Letters, 1988
- Condensation of HNO3 and HCl in the winter polar stratospheresGeophysical Research Letters, 1986
- The conversion of N2O5 to HNO3 at high latitudes in winterGeophysical Research Letters, 1985