Subsidence, Mixing and Denitrification of Arctic Polar Vortex Air Measured During POLARIS

• Main Authors: Rex, M., Salawitch, R., Toon, G., Sen, B., Margitan, J., Osterman, G., Blavier, J. F., Gao, R., Donnelly, S., Keim, E., Neuman, J., Fahey, D., Webster, C., Scott, D., Herman, R., May, R., Moyer, E., Gunson, M., Irion, F., Chang, A., Rinsland, C., Bui, T.
• Language: English
• Published: 2004
• Subjects: stratosphere transport tracers mixing ozone polar vortex denitrification subsidence; Arctic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2014/16853

A new technique is presented to determine the degree of denitrification that occured during the 1996/97 Arctic winter, based on balloon and aircraft borne measurements of NOy, N2O and CH4. In this study high-altitude balloon measurements are used to define the properties of air masses that later descend in the polar vortex to altitudes sampled by the ER-2 aircraft and mix isentropically with mid-latitude air.