Distributions and seasonal variations of tropospheric ethene (C2H4) from Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE-FTS) solar occultation spectra

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Herbin, H., Hurtmans, Daniel, Clarisse, Lieven, Turquety, Solène, Clerbaux, Cathy, Rinsland, C.P., Boone, C., Bernath, P.F., Coheur, Pierre-François
• Other Authors: Spectroscopie de l'atmosphère, Service de Chimie Quantique et Photophysique, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-École polytechnique (X)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), TROPO - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), NASA Langley Research Center Hampton (LaRC), Department of Chemistry Waterloo, University of Waterloo Waterloo, Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FRS-FNRS, M.I.S. nF.4511.08), European Space Agency (ESA-Prodex arrangement C90-327), Communauté Française de Belgique, CNES, Canadian Space Agency, UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2009
• Subjects: Remote-sensing; Infrared; VOCs; [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-AO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics [physics.ao-ph]; Arctic
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00362483; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00362483/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00362483/file/Herbin_et_al-2009-Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL036338

International audience This work reports the first measurements of ethene (C2H4) distributions in the upper troposphere. These are obtained by retrieving vertical profiles from 5 to 20 km from infrared solar occultation spectra recorded in 2005 and 2006 by the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment-Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS). Background volume mixing ratios (vmrs) ranging from a few to about 50 pptv (10−12) are measured at the different altitudes, while for certain occultations, vmrs as high as 200 pptv are observed. Zonal distributions and vertically resolved latitudinal distributions are derived for the two year period analyzed, highlighting spatial –including a North-South gradient– as well as seasonal variations. We show the latter to be more pronounced at the highest latitudes, presumably as a result of less active photochemistry during winter. The observation of C2H4 enhancements in remote Arctic regions at high latitudes is consistent with the occurrence of fast transport processes of gaseous pollution from the continents leading to Arctic haze.