A study of the vertical scale of halogen chemistry in the Arctic troposphere during Polar Sunrise at Barrow, Alaska

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research
• Main Authors: Tackett, Philip J., E. Cavender, Aubrey, D. Keil, Adam, B. Shepson, Paul, W. Bottenheim, Jan, Morin, Samuel, Deary, John, Steffen, Alexandra, Doerge, Chris
• Other Authors: Department of Chemistry, Purdue University West Lafayette, Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Jonathan Amy Facility for Chemical Instrumentation
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2007
• Subjects: Arctic; halogen chemistry; vertical profiles; [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology; Barrow; Alaska
• Online Access: https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00377484; https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00377484/document; https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00377484/file/2006JD007785.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JD007785

International audience The vertical extent and impact of halogen chemistry in the Arctic springtime was investigated through balloon-based measurement of several atmospheric chemical components. Various chemical species, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ozone, and elemental mercury, that are modified by halogen chemistry were measured from the surface to ∼300 m during late March through mid-April 2005 in Barrow, Alaska. It is observed that the halogen chemistry appears to be most active in the lowest 100–200 m of the atmosphere. The Hg vertical concentration profiles are consistent with destruction by chemistry that evolves from a species emitted from the snowpack, most likely Br2 and BrCl, and the VOC profiles also demonstrate the limited vertical scale of halogen-initiated chemistry taking place above the Arctic snowpack.