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At least 163 records · Page 9

Chlorine chemistry on polar stratospheric cloud particles in the Arctic winter

Simultaneous in situ measurements of hydrochloric acid (HCl) and chlorine monoxide (ClO) in the Arctic winter vortex showed large HCl losses of up to 1 ppbv, which were correlated with high ClO levels of up to 1.4 ppbv. Air parcel trajectory analysis identified that this conversion of inorganic chlorine occurred at air temperatures of less than 196 -/+ 4 kelvin. High ClO was always accompanied by loss of HCl mixing ratios equal to 1/2(ClO+ 2Cl2O2). These data indicate that the heterogeneous reaction HCl + ClONO2 - Cl2 + HNO3 on particles of polar stratospheric clouds establishes the chlorine partitioning, which, contrary to earlier notions, begins with an excess of ClONO2, not HCl.

Webster, C. R.↗

The seasonal evolution of reactive chlorine in the Northern Hemisphere stratosphere

In situ measurements of chlorine monoxide (ClO) at mid- and high northern latitudes are reported for the period October 1991 to February 1992. As early as mid-December and throughout the winter, significant enhancements of this ozone-destroying radical were observed within the polar vortex shortly after temperatures dropped below 195 K. Decreases in ClO observed in February were consistent with the rapid formation of chlorine nitrate (ClONO2) by recombination of ClO with nitrogen dioxide (NO2) released photochemically from nitric acid (HNO3). Outside the vortex, ClO abundances were higher than in previous years as a result of NO(x) suppression by heterogeneous reactions on sulfate aerosols enhanced by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo.

Toohey, D. W.↗

An overview of millimeter-wave spectroscopic measurements of chlorine monoxide at Thule, Greenland, February-March, 1992: Vertical profiles, diurnal variation, and longer-term trends

Measurements of chlorine monoxide in the stratosphere over Thule, Greenland (73.6 N, 68.4 W) were made quasi-continuously during the period February 8 to March 24, 1992, using a high-sensitivity ground based mm-wave spectrometer. These observations give diurnal, short term, and long term changes in the mixing ratio and vertical distribution of ClO. At an equivalent time after the Antarctic winter solstice, very large concentrations (up to approximately 1.5 ppbv) occur in lower stratospheric ClO, resulting in massive ozone destruction. We saw no evidence for large (approximately 1 top 1.5 ppbv) amounts of ClO in the 16-25 km range over Thule in February or March, in agreement with UARS (satellite) observations by the MLS mm-wave spectrometer for this period, and in marked contrast to UARS/MLS and ER-2 aircraft measurements over northern Europe and eastern Canada, respectively, during January, 1992. We have evidence for smaller enhancements (approximately 0.2 to 0.5 ppbv) in the 18-30 km range during late February-early March, which could result from transport of residual low NO2 air following earlier polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) processing (the last of which occurred at least one month earlier, however) or the result of chemical processing by Pinatubo aerosols. Direct influence of Pinatubo aerosols on Arctic ozone during the spring of 1992 has been difficult to assess, and this enhancement of low-altitude ClO might be a significant indicator of aerosol effects.

De Zafra, R. L.↗

Pressure Dependence and Metastable State Formation in the Photolysis of Dichlorine Monoxide (Cl2O)

Physics%K photolysis, dichlorine monoxide, pressure%U http://techreports.jpl.nasa.gov/1995/95-0924.pdfThe photodissociation of dichlorine monoxide (Cl2O) was studied using broadband flash photolysis to investigate the influence of variations in the photolysis wavelength domain, bath gas pressure, and bath gas identity on the yield and temporal dependence of the ClO product. ClO yields were independent of bath gas pressure when the photolysis spectral band extended to 200 nm (quartz cutoff) but for photolysis restricted to wavelengths longer than about 250 nm, ClO yields decreased with increasing bath gas pressure and there was a pressure-dependent delay in the formation of ClO.!.

photolysis↗

Nighttime OClO in the Winter Arctic Vortex

We show that a nighttime profile of OClO in the Arctic vortex during the winter of 2000 is overestimated, by nearly a factor of 2, using an isentropic trajectory model constrained by observed profiles of ClOx (ClO + 2 X ClOOCl) and BrO. Calculated abundances of nighttime OClO are shown to be sensitive to the abundance of BrOx (BrO + BrCl), details of the air parcel history during the most recent sunrise/sunset transitions, and the BrCl yield from the reaction BrO + ClO. Many uncertainties are considered, and the discrepancy between measured and modeled nighttime OClO appears to be robust. This discrepancy suggests that production of OClO occurs more slowly than implied by standard photochemistry. If the yield of BrCl from the reaction of BrO + ClO is increased from 7% (JPL 2002 value) to 11% (near the upper limit of the uncertainty), good agreement is found between measured and modeled nighttime OClO. This study highlights the importance of accurate knowledge of BrO + ClO reaction kinetics as well as air parcel trajectories for proper interpretation of nighttime OClO. These factors have a considerably smaller impact on the interpretation of OClO observations obtained during twilight (90(deg) <=SZA <= 92(deg)), when photolytic processes are still active.

chlorine activation↗

Atomic chlorine and the chlorine monoxide radical in the stratosphere - Three in situ observations

Three simultaneous observations of atomic chlorine (Cl) and the clorine monoxide radical (ClO) are reported which encompass the altitude interval between 25 and 45 kilometers. Together, Cl and ClO form a gas-phase catalytic cycle potentially capable of depleting stratospheric ozone. Observed Cl and ClO densities, although variable, imply that chlorine compounds constitute an important part of the stratospheric ozone budget. The results are compared with recent models of stratospheric photochemistry which have been used as a basis for predicting ozone depletion resulting from fluorocarbon release.

Anderson, J. G.↗

An experiment concept to measure stratospheric trace constituents by laser heterodyne spectroscopy

Laser heterodyne spectroscopy (LHS) techniques were used to measure radical gases from Spacelab. Major emphasis was placed on the measurement of ClO, ClOnO2, HO2, H2O2, N2O5, and HOCl in solar occultation with vertical resolution less than or equal to 2-km and vertical range from 1O to 70-km. Sensitivity analyses were performed on ClO and O3 to determine design criteria for the LHS instrument. Results indicate that O3 and ClO vertical profiles can be measured with an accuracy more than or equal to 95% and more than or equal to 80%, respectively, over the total profile.

Allario, F.↗

Chlorine monoxide radical, ozone, and hydrogen peroxide - Stratospheric measurements by microwave limb sounding

Profiles of stratospheric ozone and chlorine monoxide radical (ClO) have been obtained from balloon measurements of atmospheric limb thermal emission at millimeter wavelengths. The ClO measurements, important for assessing the predicted depletion of stratospheric ozone by chlorine from industrial sources, are in close agreement with present theory. The predicted decrease of ClO at sunset was measured. A tentative value for the stratospheric abundance of hydrogen peroxide was also determined.

Waters, J. W.↗

Submillimeter measurement of stratospheric chlorine monoxide

The measurement of the ClO concentration in the stratosphere provides crucial information on the mechanism for ozone depletion by catalytic reactions involving chlorine. Two rotational transitions of ClO, J = 35/2 - 33/2 and J = 37/2 - 35/2 have been identified in balloon-borne high-resolution spectra of the stratospheric emission in the submillimeter region. The measurements provide information on the ClO concentration at altitudes around 28 km. In the case of afternoon measurements obtained in April 1979, a scaling factor of 0.85 (+0.67, -0.64) is observed, and in the case of afternoon and early morning measurements obtained in October 1982, a scaling factor of 0.88 (+0.18, -0.08) is observed.

Carli, B.↗

Chemistry and transport in a three-dimensional stratospheric model - Chlorine species during a simulated stratospheric warming

The distributions in the stratosphere of a variety of chemical species were calculated for a 6-day period during the February 1979 stratospheric major warming, using winds derived from a spectral forecast model which included O(x), NO(x), HO(x), and ClO(x) chemistries as well as longitudinally varying reaction rate coefficients and photolysis rates for these molecules. The results obtained indicate a particular importance of chemistry and transport for the Cl-containing species ClO, ClONO2, HCl, and HOCl. Dynamical effects dominate the variability of HCl, while diurnal effects dominate that of ClONO2 and ClO. The effects of strong planetary wave activity may be seen in terms of large longitudinal variability of the total HCl and ClONO columns in the stratosphere; in the middle and high northern latitudes, it is sufficiently large to exceed the diurnal variability of the column.

Kaye, Jack A.↗

The rotational spectrum and structure of chlorine peroxide

The dimerization products of the ClO + ClO reaction were investigated in a flowing chemical reactor using submillimeter wave spectroscopy. The major products were identified as the chlorine peroxide (Cl2O2) and chlorine dioxide (OClO). The rotational constants as well as a complete set of quartic centrifugal distortion constants were determined. The identification of the chlorine peroxide supports the earlier proposed ClO-dimer mechanisms, which partly explain the ozone hole formation during the Antarctic springtime.

Birk, Manfred↗

Measurements of nitric oxide and total reactive nitrogen in the Antarctic stratosphere - Observations and chemical implications

Results are presented on measurements of NO and the sum of reactive nitrogen species, NO(y), which include NO, NO2, NO3, N2O5, HNO3, and ClONO2 (in addition to ClO, O3, H2O, and N2O measurements), obtained aboard the NASA ER-2 aircraft flying over the Antarctica between the latitudes of 53 and 72 deg S during the Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment. The boundary of the chemically perturbed region (CPR), as indicated by a sharp increase in the level of ClO, occurred near 66 deg S; outside or equatorward of the CPR, the NO(y) mixing ratios ranged between 6 and 12 ppbv, with values decreasing poleward and reaching total NO(y) levels of 4 ppbv or less within 5-deg poleward of the boundary. Data presented in this paper clearly associate the Antarctic ozone decrease with perturbed conditions of ClO, NO(y), and H2O, which are in turn associated with processes defined as nonstandard heterogeneous chemistry, denitrification, and dehydration, respectively.

Fahey, D. W.↗

Heterogeneous chemistry on liquid sulfate aerosols - A comparison of in situ measurements with zero-dimensional model calculations

The possibility that stratospheric chlorine is converted from reservoir to reactive forms by heterogeneous reactions on background sulfate aerosols is examined. Tightly constrained photochemical models have been used to calculate ClO abundances for the morning and the afternoon conditions observed on January 24, 1989 outside the Arctic polar vortex by instruments on the NASA ER-2 aircraft. Calculations involving gas-phase chemistry only and calculations with heterogeneous chemistry including HCl evaporation from the aerosol both produce ClO abundances that agree with observations; calculations in which HCl removal from the aerosol is controlled by heterogeneous reactions produce ClO abundances that are 3 to 3.5 times larger than observations. These results suggest that HCl evaporation must be included in a model of the chemistry of background aerosols.

Mather, J. H.↗

More rapid polar ozone depletion through the reaction of HOCl with HCl on polar stratospheric clouds

The direct reaction of HOCl with HCl is shown here to play a critical part in polar ozone loss. Observations of high levels of OClO and ClO in the springtime Antarctic stratosphere confirm that most of the available chlorine is in the form of ClO(x). But current photochemical models have difficulty converting HCl to ClO(x) rapidly enough in early spring to account fully for the observations. Here, a chemical model is used to show that the direct reaction of HOCl with HCl provides the missing mechanism. As alternative sources of nitrogen-containing oxidants have been converted in the late autumn to inactive HNO3 by known reactions on the sulfate layer aerosols, the reaction of HOCl with HCl on polar stratospheric clouds becomes the most important pathway for releasing that stratospheric chlorine which goes into polar night as HCl.

Prather, Michael J.↗

A 3D simulation of the early winter distribution of reactive chlorine in the north polar vortex

Early in December 1991, high values of ClO are seen by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite at latitudes south of areas of temperatures cold enough to form polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). A 3D simulation shows that the heterogeneous conversion of chlorine reservoirs to reactive chlorine on the surfaces of PSCs (processing) takes place at high latitudes. Often the processed air must be transported to lower latitudes, where the reactive chlorine is photochemically converted to ClO, to be observed by MLS. In this simulation, one incidence of cold temperatures is associated with an anticyclone, and a second with a cyclone. The transport of processed air associated with the anticyclone is marked by shearing; a decrease in the maximum of the processed air is accompanied by growth of the area influenced by the processing. In contrast, the air processed in the cyclonic event spreads more slowly. This shows that transport and shearing is a crucial element to the evolution of reactive chlorine associated with a processing event. In particular, transport and shearing, as well as photochemical processes, can cause variations in observed ClO.

Douglass, A.↗

Structure and thermochemistry of ClO2 radicals

The structure of ClO2 has been calculated for the X 2A-double prime ground state using unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF), unrestricted second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation (UMP2), configuration interaction employing single and double excitation (CISD), and quadratic configuration interaction (QCI) ab initio molecular orbital methods. Calculations using UMP2 and CISD wave functions predict a ClO bond length of 1.728 +/- 0.01 A. The single-configuration-based QCI in the singles and doubles space with perturbation inclusion of triple substitutions, denoted QCISD(T), yield a ClO bond length of 2.205 A. The QCI results are consistent with results of Jensen (1990) who showed that the ClO bond length is 2.181 A using annihilated self-consistent methods (AUMP2). The thermochemistry of ClO2 radical has been calculated using MP2 and QCI methods employing an isodesmic scheme. Our scheme predicts the heat of formation for ClO2 at 0 K to be 24.6 +/- 2 kcal/mol.

Francisco, J. S.↗

Global ozone observations from the UARS MLS: An overview of zonal-mean results

Global ozone observations from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) aboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) are presented, in both vertically resolved and column abundance formats. The authors review the zonal-mean ozone variations measured over the two and a half years since launch in September 1991. Well-known features such as the annual and semiannual variations are ubiquitous. In the equatorial regions, longer-term changes are believed to be related to the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), with a strong semiannual signal above 20 hPa. Ozone values near 50 hPa exhibit an equatorial low from October 1991 to June 1992, after which the low ozone pattern splits into two subtropical lows (possibly in connection with residual circulation changes tied to the QBO) and returns to an equatorial low in September 1993. The ozone hole development at high southern latitudes is apparent in MLS column data integrated down to 100 hPa, the MLS data reinforce current knowledge of this lower-stratospheric phenomenon by providing a height-dependent view of the variations. The region from 30 deg S to 30 deg N (an area equal to half the global area) shows very little change in the ozone column from year to year and within each year. The most striking ozone changes have occurred at northern midlatitudes, with the October 1992 to July 1993 column values significantly lower than during the prior year. The zonal-mean changes manifest themselves as a slower rate of increase during the 1992/93 winter, and there is some evidence for a lower fall minimum. A recovery occurs during late summer of 1993; early 1994 values are significantly larger than during the two previous winters. The timing and latitudinal extent of the northern midlatitude decreases appear to rule out observed ClO enhancements in the Arctic vortex, with related chemical processing and ozone dilution effects, as a unique cause. Local depletion from ClO-related chemical mechanisms alone is also not sufficient, based on MLS ClO data. The puzzling asymmetric nature of the changes probably requires a dynamical component as an explanation. A combination of effects (including chemical destruction via heterogeneous processes and QBO phasing) apparently needs to be invoked. This dataset will place constraints on future modeling studies, which are required to better understand the source of the observed changes.

Froidevaux, Lucien↗

In situ measurements of the ClO/HCl ratio: Heterogeneous processing on sulfate aerosols and polar stratospheric clouds

Simultaneous in situ measurements of stratospheric ClO and HCl have been made for the first time, during numerous flights of the ER-2 aircraft covering latitudes 24-90 deg N from October 1991 through March 1992. The ClO/HCl ratio is identified as a key indicator of heterogeneous processing both outside and within the Arctic polar vortex. For ClO mixing ratios below about 120 pptv, remarkably constant ClO/HCl values of about 15% characterize the lower stratosphere. The observed values are significantly higher than those derived from a 2-D model using either gas phase photochemistry alone (2%), or including heterogeneous sulfate chemistry (5-10%). During the Arctic early spring, after conversion of HCl into reactive chlorine has taken place, the vortex edge is poorly defined by ClO levels. Loss of HCl and its slow recovery following low-temperature polar heterogeneous chemistry distinguishes HCl as a new and unique dynamical tracer of polar stratospheric clouds (PSC)-processed air.

Webster, C. R.↗