Meridional and vertical ozone distribution in the background troposphere (70°n-60°s; 0–12 km altitude) from scientific aircraft measurements during the STRATOZ III experiment (june 1984)

During the STRATOZ III experiment (June 1984), aimed at studying several minor air constituents, more than 10,000 ozone measurements were made using u.v. absorption analysis during a series of flights aboard a “Caravelle 116” scientific aircraft. The flights were made over the Atlantic Ocean, and along the American, African and European continents, between 70°N and 60°S, and up to a cruising altitude of 12 km. While a comprehensive interpretation must await the data from the whole series of compounds measured, initial results concerning O3 are presented here. The stratospheric and tropospheric O3 contents are found to be significantly higher in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern. The data indicate an important photochemical formation of tropospheric O3 at this time of the year, resulting from the anthropogenic pollution of industrialized areas of the Northern Hemisphere (North America, Europe). Except for West Africa, the tropical area (including the Caribbean and the northern part of South America) constitutes an important sink for tropospheric O3, likely to be due to photochemical losses and air ascents. The detailed and coherent data presented here highlight the importance of photochemical processes in the distribution of tropospheric O3.

[1]  H. Singh,et al.  The impact of stratospheric ozone on tropospheric air quality: Implications from an analysis of existing field data , 1980 .

[2]  V. Linnenbom,et al.  C 1 -C 4 hydrocarbons in the North and South Pacific , 1974 .

[3]  Wolfgang Seiler,et al.  The distribution of carbon monoxide and ozone in the free troposphere , 1981 .

[4]  S. Oltmans.  Surface ozone measurements in clean air , 1981 .

[5]  W. Seiler,et al.  The atmospheric 12CO and 14CO budget , 1971 .

[6]  S. Oltmans,et al.  Surface ozone distributions and variations from 1973–1984: Measurements at the NOAA Geophysical Monitoring for Climatic Change Baseline Observatories , 1986 .

[7]  J. Logan.  Tropospheric ozone: Seasonal behavior, trends, and anthropogenic influence , 1985 .

[8]  P. Fraser,et al.  Tropospheric methane in the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere , 1984 .

[9]  Wolfgang Seiler,et al.  The cycle of atmospheric CO. , 1974 .

[10]  J. Logan,et al.  Seasonal variations of tropospheric ozone at Natal, Brazil , 1986 .

[11]  D. Packham,et al.  Photochemical ozone in smoke from prescribed burning of forests , 1977 .

[12]  W. Seiler,et al.  Correlative nature of ozone and carbon monoxide in the troposphere - Implications for the tropospheric ozone budget , 1983 .

[13]  Paul J. Crutzen,et al.  A two‐dimensional photochemical model of the atmosphere: 2. The tropospheric budgets of the anthropogenic chlorocarbons CO, CH4, CH3Cl and the effect of various NO x sources on tropospheric ozone , 1983 .

[14]  D. Kley,et al.  On the origin of tropospheric ozone , 1980 .

[15]  A. Marenco,et al.  Experimental evidence of natural sources of CO from measurements in the troposphere , 1980 .

[16]  P. Minnis,et al.  Use of satellite data to study tropospheric ozone in the tropics , 1986 .

[17]  F. Vukovich,et al.  The reservoir of ozone in the boundary layer of the eastern United States and its potential impact on the global tropospheric ozone budget , 1985 .

[18]  D. J. Gauntner,et al.  Measurements of carbon monoxide, condensation nuclei, and ozone on a B 747SP aircraft flight around the world , 1979 .

[19]  B. Huebert,et al.  Tropospheric NO x and O3 budgets in the equatorial Pacific , 1983 .

[20]  P. Crutzen,et al.  Latitudinal distributions of CO and CH4 over the Pacific , 1980 .

[21]  P. Fabian,et al.  Meridional distribution of tropospheric ozone from measurements aboard commercial airliners , 1973 .

[22]  Leonard K. Peters,et al.  Numerical simulation of the transport and chemistry of CH4 and co in the troposphere , 1979 .

[23]  P. Crutzen,et al.  Tropospheric chemical composition measurements in Brazil during the dry season , 1985 .

[24]  A. J. Crawford,et al.  The global distribution of methane in the troposphere , 1987 .

[25]  W. Seiler,et al.  The seasonality of CO abundance in the Southern Hemisphere , 1984 .

[26]  P. Fraser,et al.  Methane, carbon monoxide and methylchloroform in the southern hemisphere , 1986 .

[27]  R. Pratt,et al.  Circumpolar measurements of ozone, particles, and carbon monoxide from a commercial airliner , 1979 .

[28]  M. Khalil,et al.  Atmospheric methane /CH4/ - Trends and seasonal cycles , 1981 .

[29]  D. Ehhalt,et al.  Measurements of selected C2-C5 hydrocarbons in the background troposphere: Vertical and latitudinal variations , 1985 .

[30]  A. Marenco.  Variations of CO and O3 in the troposphere: Evidence of O3 photochemistry , 1986 .

[31]  R. Harrison,et al.  The contribution of middle- and long-range transport of tropospheric photochemical ozone to pollution at a rural site in North-West England , 1979 .

[32]  J. Fishman,et al.  Distribution of total ozone and stratospheric ozone in the tropics: Implications for the distribution of tropospheric ozone , 1987 .

[33]  Michael Keller,et al.  Emissions of N2O, CH4 and CO2 from tropical forest soils , 1986 .

[34]  V. Linnenbom,et al.  C1-C4hydrocarbons in the North and South Pacific , 1974 .

[35]  D. Davis,et al.  Free tropospheric/boundary‐layer airborne measurements of H2O over the latitude range of 58°S to 70°N: Comparison with simultaneous ozone and carbon monoxide measurements , 1980 .

[36]  W. B. Johnson,et al.  Assessment of the oxidant-forming potential of light saturated hydrocarbons in the atmosphere , 1981 .

[37]  M. Khalil,et al.  Sources, sinks, and seasonal cycles of atmospheric methane , 1983 .

[38]  C. Rinsland,et al.  Concentration of methane in the troposphere deduced from 1951 infrared solar spectra , 1985, Nature.

[39]  F. S. Rowland,et al.  Global increase in atmospheric methane concentrations between 1978 and 1980 , 1982 .

[40]  W. Seiler,et al.  Simultaneous presence of O3 and CO bands in the troposphere , 1980 .

[41]  D. Blake,et al.  World-wide increase in tropospheric methane, 1978–1983 , 1986 .

[42]  M. Khalil,et al.  Atmospheric methane: Trends over the last 10,000 years , 1987 .

[43]  P. Crutzen,et al.  Observational and theoretical evidence in support of a significant in‐situ photochemical source of tropospheric ozone , 1979 .

[44]  P. Fabian,et al.  Meridional distribution of ozone in the troposphere and its seasonal variations , 1977 .

[45]  M. Khalil,et al.  Causes of Increasing Atmospheric Methane: Depletion of Hydroxyl Radicals and the Rise of Emissions , 1985 .

[46]  P. Crutzen,et al.  Photochemically produced ozone in the emission from large-scale tropical vegetation fires , 1985 .

[47]  W. Bach.  Global air pollution and climatic change , 1976 .

[48]  M. Khalil,et al.  Natural and anthropogenic trace gases in the lower troposphere of the Arctic , 1983 .

[49]  D. Blake,et al.  Methane: Interhemispheric concentration gradient and atmospheric residence time. , 1982, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[50]  D. Ehhalt.  The atmospheric cycle of methane , 1974 .

[51]  S. Wofsy,et al.  Tropospheric chemistry: A global perspective , 1981 .

[52]  P. Crutzen,et al.  A numerical study of tropospheric photochemistry using a one‐dimensional model , 1977 .

[53]  P. Crutzen,et al.  Biomass burning as a source of atmospheric gases CO, H2, N2O, NO, CH3Cl and COS , 1979, Nature.

[54]  D. Ehhalt,et al.  On the temporal increase of tropospheric CH4 , 1983 .