Mixing Ratios and Photostationary State of NO and NO2 Observed During the POPCORN Field Campaign at a Rural Site in Germany

Ambient mixing ratios of NO, NO2, and O3 were determined together with the photolysis frequency of NO2, JNO2, at a rural, agricultural site in Germany. The data were collected during the POPCORN-campaign from August 1 to August 24, 1994, in a maize field 6 m above ground. The medians of the NO, NO2, and O3 mixing ratios between 10:00 and 14:00 UT were 0.25, 1.09, and 45 ppbv, respectively. The corresponding median of JNO2 was 6.0 · 10−3 s−1. NOx = NO + NO2 showed a strong diurnal variation with maximum mixing ratios at night, suggestive of a strong local surface source of NO, probably by microbial activity in the soil. The estimated average emission rate was 40 ng(N) m−2 s−1 of NOx, the major part of it probably in the form of NO. The available measurements allowed the estimation of the local NOx budget. At night the budget is almost closed and the measured NOx mixing ratios can be explained by the local source, local dry deposition of NO2, formation of NO3 and N2O5, and vertical exchange of air across the nocturnal inversion. During day-time, the local surface source of NO is not sufficient to explain the measured mixing ratios, and horizontal advection of NOx to the site must be included. The NO2/NO ratio during the morning und late afternoon is lower than predicted from the photostationary state owing to the local NO surface source, but is regulary higher during the hours around noon. For noon, August 10, 1994, the NO2/NO ratio was used to derive the momentary lower limit for the concentration of the peroxy-radicals of 2.2 · 109 cm−3 (86 pptv).