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Science 27 August 1993:
Vol. 261. no. 5125, pp. 1134 - 1136
DOI: 10.1126/science.261.5125.1134
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Articles

The Seasonal Evolution of Reactive Chlorine in the Northern Hemisphere Stratosphere

D. W. Toohey 1, L. M. Avallone 1, L. R. Lait 2, P. A. Newman 2, M. R. Schoeberl 2, D. W. Fahey 3, E. L. Woodbridge 3, and J. G. Anderson 4

1 Department of Geosciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92717
2 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771
3 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Aeronomy Laboratory, Boulder, CO 80303
4 Department of Chemistry and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138

In situ measurements of chlorine monoxide (ClO) at mid- and high northern latitudes are reported for the period October 1991 to February 1992. As early as mid-December and throughout the winter, significant enhancements of this ozone-destroying radical were observed within the polar vortex shortly after temperatures dropped below 195 k. Decreases in ClO observed in February were consistent with the rapid formation of chlorine nitrate (ClONO2) by recombination of ClO with nitrogen dioxide (NO2) released photochemically from nitric acid (HNO3). Outside the vortex, ClO abundances were higher than in previous years as a result of NOx suppression by heterogeneous reactions on sulfate aerosols enhanced by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo.

Submitted on March 1, 1993
Accepted on July 13, 1993


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Probing Stratospheric Ozone.
J. M. Rodriguez (1993)
Science 261, 1128-1129
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Chlorine Chemistry on Polar Stratospheric Cloud Particles in the Arctic Winter.
C. R. Webster, R. D. May, D. W. Toohey, L. M. Avallone, J. G. Anderson, P. Newman, L. Lait, M. R. Schoeberl, J. W. Elkins, and K. R. Chan (1993)
Science 261, 1130-1134
   Abstract »    PDF »
Stratospheric Meteorological Conditions in the Arctic Polar Vortex, 1991 to 1992.
P. Newman, L. R. Lait, M. Schoeberl, E. R. Nash, K. Kelly, D. W. Fahey, R. Nagatani, D. Toohey, L. Avallone, and J. Anderson (1993)
Science 261, 1143-1146
   Abstract »    PDF »
Chemical Loss of Ozone in the Arctic Polar Vortex in the Winter of 1991-1992.
R. J. Salawitch, S. C. Wofsy, E. W. Gottlieb, L. R. Lait, P. A. Newman, M. R. Schoeberl, M. Loewenstein, J. R. Podolske, S. E. Strahan, M. H. Proffitt, et al. (1993)
Science 261, 1146-1149
   Abstract »    PDF »
Ozone Loss Inside the Northern Polar Vortex During the 1991-1992 Winter.
M. H. Proffitt, K. Aikin, J. J. Margitan, M. Loewenstein, J. R. Podolske, A. Weaver, K. R. Chan, H. Fast, and J. W. Elkins (1993)
Science 261, 1150-1154
   Abstract »    PDF »


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