Gaseous Sulfuric Acid and Sulfur Dioxide Measurements in the Arctic Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere: Implications for Hydroxyl Radical Abundances

• Published in: Berichte der Bunsengesellschaft für physikalische Chemie
• Main Authors: Möhler, O., Arnold, F.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1992
• Subjects: Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1002/bbpc.19920960310; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fbbpc.19920960310; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/bbpc.19920960310

Abstract Measurements of gaseous sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide were made in the winter arctic troposphere and lower stratosphere, using aircraft‐borne mass spectrometers. The measurements, covering altitudes between 3.5 and 11.4 km, took place on 14 and 18 February, 1987 in Northern Scandinavia. Our mean measured H 2 SO 4 ‐concentrations are around 1.0–3.0 · 10 5 cm −3 and the measured SO 2 ‐volume mixing ratios are around 50–400 pptV in the troposphere and decrease steeply above the tropopause to about 10 pptV. The combined H 2 SO 4 ‐ and SO 2 ‐measurements offer an interesting opportunity to infer hydroxyl radical concentrations. Inferred OH‐concentrations are around 0.1–1.0 · 10 5 cm −3 , roughly consistent with model predictions.