Mass fluxes of O3, CH4, N2O and CF2Cl2 in the lower stratosphere calculated from observational data

Trace gas mixing ratio data from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) are combined with a radiatively derived transformed Eulerian mean (TEM) stream function to estimate the net ozone (O 3 ) mass flux from the stratosphere to the troposphere and to investigate the net fluxes of methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), and CFC-12 (CF 2 Cl 2 ) into the lower stratosphere. The mass fluxes of ozone and long-lived tracers such as nitrous oxide, methane, and CFC-12 in the lower stratosphere can be estimated from data obtained by the cryogenic limb array etalon spectrometer (CLAES), the microwave limb sounder (MLS) for ozone, and the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) for ozone and methane. The flux of ozone from the stratosphere to the troposphere is estimated to be 510 Tg of ozone per year with a range of 450 to 590 Tg O 3 /yr. Net fluxes into the stratosphere are estimated as 27 Tg of methane per year, 8 Tg/yr of N in nitrous oxide, and 0.08 Tg/yr of CF 2 Cl 2 . There is good agreement with previous estimates within the range of uncertainty of these calculations.

[1]  K. Shine.  Sources and sinks of zonal momentum in the middle atmosphere diagnosed using the diabatic circulation , 1989 .

[2]  K. Tung,et al.  Cross‐isentropic stratosphere‐troposphere exchange of mass and water vapor , 1996 .

[3]  J. Lelieveld,et al.  Model study of the influence of cross-tropopause O3 transports on tropospheric O3 levels , 1997 .

[4]  D. Edwards,et al.  Global CF2Cl2 measurements by UARS cryogenic limb array etalon spectrometer: Validation by correlative data and a model , 1996 .

[5]  P. Mote,et al.  An atmospheric tape recorder: The imprint of tropical tropopause temperatures on stratospheric water vapor , 1996 .

[6]  B. Connor,et al.  Comparison of cryogenic limb array etalon spectrometer (CLAES) ozone observations with correlative measurements , 1996 .

[7]  Paul J. Crutzen,et al.  Chemical budgets of the stratosphere , 1983 .

[8]  Hu Yang,et al.  A Reexamination of the Radiative Balance of the Stratosphere , 1992 .

[9]  Christopher R. Webster,et al.  Validation of Halogen Occultation Experiment CH4 measurements from the UARS , 1996 .

[10]  Malcolm K. W. Ko,et al.  The chlorine budget of the present-day atmosphere - A modeling study , 1992 .

[11]  S. R. Drayson,et al.  Halogen Occultation Experiment ozone channel validation , 1996 .

[12]  David W. Fahey,et al.  An estimate of the flux of stratospheric reactive nitrogen and ozone into the troposphere , 1994 .

[13]  J. A. Kaye,et al.  Report on concentrations, lifetimes, and trends of CFCs, halons, and related species , 1994 .

[14]  William G. Read,et al.  Validation of UARS Microwave Limb Sounder ClO measurements , 1996 .

[15]  Keith P. Shine,et al.  On the “Downward Control” of Extratropical Diabatic Circulations by Eddy-Induced Mean Zonal Forces , 1991 .

[16]  Paul J. Crutzen,et al.  Methane's sinks and sources , 1991, Nature.

[17]  John C. Gille,et al.  Validation of CH4 and N2O measurements by the cryogenic limb array etalon spectrometer instrument on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite , 1996 .

[18]  J. Mahlman.  Mechanistic Interpretation of Stratospheric Tracer Transport , 1985 .

[19]  Lori M. Perliski,et al.  On the interpretation of seasonal variations of stratospheric ozone , 1989 .

[20]  D. Fahey,et al.  Quantifying Transport Between the Tropical and Mid-Latitude Lower Stratosphere , 1996, Science.

[21]  V. Mohnen,et al.  Project dustorm report: ozone transport, in situ measurements, and meteorological analyses of tropopause folding , 1977 .

[22]  B. Hoskins.  Towards a PV- θ view of the general circulation , 1991 .

[23]  E. Remsberg,et al.  The atmospheric effects of stratospheric aircraft. Report of the 1992 Models and Measurements Workshop. Volume 3: Special diagnostic studies , 1993 .

[24]  D. Fahey,et al.  Reactive nitrogen and its correlation with ozone in the lower stratosphere and upper troposphere , 1993 .

[25]  Richard Swinbank,et al.  Quasi-biennial and semi-annual oscillations in equatorial wind fields constructed by data assimilation , 1994 .

[26]  J. Lelieveld,et al.  Role of Deep Cloud Convection in the Ozone Budget of the Troposphere , 1994, Science.

[27]  D. G. Andrews,et al.  Planetary Waves in Horizontal and Vertical Shear: The Generalized Eliassen-Palm Relation and the Mean Zonal Acceleration , 1976 .

[28]  J. Holton,et al.  Stratosphere‐troposphere exchange , 1995 .

[29]  K. Rosenlof,et al.  Estimates of the stratospheric residual circulation using the downward control principle , 1993 .

[30]  J. Holton.  An introduction to dynamic meteorology , 2004 .

[31]  C. Appenzeller,et al.  Seasonal variation of mass transport across the tropopause , 1996 .

[32]  M. Khalil,et al.  Atmospheric Methane: Sources, Sinks, and Role in Global Change , 1993, NATO ASI Series.

[33]  J. Lelieveld,et al.  Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange and its role in the budget of tropospheric ozone , 1996 .

[34]  T. Dunkerton,et al.  On the Mean Meridional Mass Motions of the Stratosphere and Mesosphere , 1978 .

[35]  J. Lerner,et al.  Three‐dimensional model synthesis of the global methane cycle , 1991 .

[36]  D. Weisenstein,et al.  Use of satellite data to constrain the model-calculated atmospheric lifetime for N2O - Implications for other trace gases , 1991 .

[37]  Aidan E. Roche,et al.  Bulk properties of isentropic mixing into the tropics in the lower stratosphere , 1996 .

[38]  D. Jaffe.  12 The Nitrogen Cycle , 1992 .

[39]  K. Rosenlof.  Seasonal cycle of the residual mean meridional circulation in the stratosphere , 1995 .