In situ measurements of NO(x) in the Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition

• Main Authors: Carroll, Mary Anne, Montzka, Denise D., Hubler, Gerhard, Kelly, Kenneth K., Gregory, Gerald L.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1990
• Subjects: 46; Arctic
• Online Access: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19900041454

In situ measurements of NO and NO2 were made simultaneously from the NASA DC-8 aircraft as part of the Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition. Mixing ratios of NO(x) (NO + NO2) were typically higher in the arctic troposphere than in the stratosphere, with median values of 59 and 40 pptv, respectively. In the stratosphere, there tended to be a positive correlation between NO(x) and water vapor and negative correlations between NO(x) and ozone and between NO(x) and total reactive odd-nitrogen, NO(y). The ratio of NO(x) to NO(y), in conjunction with NO(y), appears to be an excellent tracer of tropospheric or stratospheric air at northern latitudes during winter. Tropospheric NO(x) was typically 10 to 50 percent of gas-phase NO(y), while in the stratosphere, NO(x) was typically less than 10 percent, and frequently less than 5 percent of gas-phase NO(y).