The diurnal variability of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2 above the Antarctic Plateau driven by atmospheric stability and snow emissions
Atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2) were observed at Dome C, East Antarctica (75.1� S, 123.3� E, 3233 m), for a total of 50 days, from 10 December 2009 to 28 January 2010. Average (±1�) mixing ratios at 1.0m of NO and NO2, the latter measured for the first time on the East Antarctic Plateau, we...
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Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union
2013
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/500822/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/500822/1/acp-13-3045-2013.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3045-2013 |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:500822 2023-05-15T13:48:07+02:00 The diurnal variability of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2 above the Antarctic Plateau driven by atmospheric stability and snow emissions Frey, M.M. Brough, N. France, J. L. Anderson, P.S. Traulle, O. King, M. D. Jones, A.E. Wolff, E.W. Savarino, J. 2013-03-15 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/500822/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/500822/1/acp-13-3045-2013.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3045-2013 en eng Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/500822/1/acp-13-3045-2013.pdf Frey, M.M. orcid:0000-0003-0535-0416 Brough, N. orcid:0000-0002-2316-5292 France, J. L.; Anderson, P.S.; Traulle, O.; King, M. D.; Jones, A.E. orcid:0000-0002-2040-4841 Wolff, E.W.; Savarino, J. 2013 The diurnal variability of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2 above the Antarctic Plateau driven by atmospheric stability and snow emissions. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 13 (6). 3045-3062. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3045-2013 <https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3045-2013> Chemistry Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2013 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3045-2013 2023-02-04T19:36:31Z Atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2) were observed at Dome C, East Antarctica (75.1� S, 123.3� E, 3233 m), for a total of 50 days, from 10 December 2009 to 28 January 2010. Average (±1�) mixing ratios at 1.0m of NO and NO2, the latter measured for the first time on the East Antarctic Plateau, were 111 (±89) and 98 (±89) pptv, respectively. Atmospheric mixing ratios are on average comparable to those observed previously at South Pole, but in contrast show strong diurnal variability: a minimum around local noon and a maximum in the early evening coincide with the development and collapse of a convective boundary layer. The asymmetric diurnal cycle of NOx concentrations and likely any other chemical tracer with a photolytic surface source is driven by the turbulent diffusivity and height of the atmospheric boundary layer, with the former controlling the magnitude of the vertical flux and the latter the size of the volume into which snow emissions are transported. In particular, the average (±1�) NOx emission flux from 22 December 2009 to 28 January 2010, estimated from atmospheric concentration gradients, was 8.2 (±7.4)×1012 moleculem−2 s−1 belongs to the largest values measured so far in the polar regions and explains the 3-fold increase in mixing ratios in the early evening when the boundary layer becomes very shallow. Dome C is likely not representative for the entire East Antarctic Plateau but illustratesthe need of an accurate description of the boundary layer above snow in atmospheric chemistry models. A simple nitrate photolysis model matches the observed median diurnal NOx flux during the day but has significant low bias during the night. The difference is significant taking into account the total random error in flux observations and model uncertainties due to the variability of NO− 3 concentrations in snow and potential contributions from NO− 2 photolysis. This highlights uncertainties in the parameterization of the photolytic NOx source in natural snowpacks, such as the poorly constrained quantum ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica South pole South pole Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic The Antarctic East Antarctica South Pole Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 13 6 3045 3062 |
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Open Polar |
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Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
topic |
Chemistry |
spellingShingle |
Chemistry Frey, M.M. Brough, N. France, J. L. Anderson, P.S. Traulle, O. King, M. D. Jones, A.E. Wolff, E.W. Savarino, J. The diurnal variability of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2 above the Antarctic Plateau driven by atmospheric stability and snow emissions |
topic_facet |
Chemistry |
description |
Atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2) were observed at Dome C, East Antarctica (75.1� S, 123.3� E, 3233 m), for a total of 50 days, from 10 December 2009 to 28 January 2010. Average (±1�) mixing ratios at 1.0m of NO and NO2, the latter measured for the first time on the East Antarctic Plateau, were 111 (±89) and 98 (±89) pptv, respectively. Atmospheric mixing ratios are on average comparable to those observed previously at South Pole, but in contrast show strong diurnal variability: a minimum around local noon and a maximum in the early evening coincide with the development and collapse of a convective boundary layer. The asymmetric diurnal cycle of NOx concentrations and likely any other chemical tracer with a photolytic surface source is driven by the turbulent diffusivity and height of the atmospheric boundary layer, with the former controlling the magnitude of the vertical flux and the latter the size of the volume into which snow emissions are transported. In particular, the average (±1�) NOx emission flux from 22 December 2009 to 28 January 2010, estimated from atmospheric concentration gradients, was 8.2 (±7.4)×1012 moleculem−2 s−1 belongs to the largest values measured so far in the polar regions and explains the 3-fold increase in mixing ratios in the early evening when the boundary layer becomes very shallow. Dome C is likely not representative for the entire East Antarctic Plateau but illustratesthe need of an accurate description of the boundary layer above snow in atmospheric chemistry models. A simple nitrate photolysis model matches the observed median diurnal NOx flux during the day but has significant low bias during the night. The difference is significant taking into account the total random error in flux observations and model uncertainties due to the variability of NO− 3 concentrations in snow and potential contributions from NO− 2 photolysis. This highlights uncertainties in the parameterization of the photolytic NOx source in natural snowpacks, such as the poorly constrained quantum ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Frey, M.M. Brough, N. France, J. L. Anderson, P.S. Traulle, O. King, M. D. Jones, A.E. Wolff, E.W. Savarino, J. |
author_facet |
Frey, M.M. Brough, N. France, J. L. Anderson, P.S. Traulle, O. King, M. D. Jones, A.E. Wolff, E.W. Savarino, J. |
author_sort |
Frey, M.M. |
title |
The diurnal variability of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2 above the Antarctic Plateau driven by atmospheric stability and snow emissions |
title_short |
The diurnal variability of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2 above the Antarctic Plateau driven by atmospheric stability and snow emissions |
title_full |
The diurnal variability of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2 above the Antarctic Plateau driven by atmospheric stability and snow emissions |
title_fullStr |
The diurnal variability of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2 above the Antarctic Plateau driven by atmospheric stability and snow emissions |
title_full_unstemmed |
The diurnal variability of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2 above the Antarctic Plateau driven by atmospheric stability and snow emissions |
title_sort |
diurnal variability of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (no and no2 above the antarctic plateau driven by atmospheric stability and snow emissions |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/500822/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/500822/1/acp-13-3045-2013.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3045-2013 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic East Antarctica South Pole |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic East Antarctica South Pole |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica South pole South pole |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica South pole South pole |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/500822/1/acp-13-3045-2013.pdf Frey, M.M. orcid:0000-0003-0535-0416 Brough, N. orcid:0000-0002-2316-5292 France, J. L.; Anderson, P.S.; Traulle, O.; King, M. D.; Jones, A.E. orcid:0000-0002-2040-4841 Wolff, E.W.; Savarino, J. 2013 The diurnal variability of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2 above the Antarctic Plateau driven by atmospheric stability and snow emissions. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 13 (6). 3045-3062. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3045-2013 <https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3045-2013> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3045-2013 |
container_title |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
3045 |
op_container_end_page |
3062 |
_version_ |
1766248635277770752 |