Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Observation Of Stratospheric Ozone Depletion Associated With Delta Ii Rocket Emissions, Martin N. Ross, Darin W. Toohey, W. T. Rawlins, E. C. Richard, K. K. Kelly, A. F. Tuck, M. H. Proffitt, Donald E. Hagen, Alfred R. Hopkins, Philip D. Whitefield, J. R. Benbrook, W. R. Sheldon

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Ozone, chlorine monoxide, methane, and submicron particulate concentrations were measured in the stratospheric plume wake of a Delta II rocket powered by a combination of solid (NH₄ClO₄/Al) and liquid (LOX/kerosene) propulsion systems. We apply a simple kinetics model describing the main features of gas-phase chlorine reactions in solid propellant exhaust plumes to derive the abundance of total reactive chlorine in the plume and estimate the associated cumulative ozone loss. Measured ozone loss during two plume encounters (12 and 39 minutes after launch) exceeded the estimate by about a factor of about two. Insofar as only the …