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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology

Old Dominion University

2013

Absorption cross sections

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Ace-Fts Observations Of Acetonitrile In The Lower Stratosphere, J. J. Harrison, P. F. Bernath Jan 2013

Ace-Fts Observations Of Acetonitrile In The Lower Stratosphere, J. J. Harrison, P. F. Bernath

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

This work reports the first infrared satellite remote-sensing measurements of acetonitrile (CH3CN) in the Earth's atmosphere using solar occultation measurements made by the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE-FTS) between 2004 and 2011. The retrieval scheme uses new quantitative laboratory spectroscopic measurements of acetonitrile (Harrison and Bernath, 2012). Although individual ACE-FTS profile measurements are dominated by measurement noise, median profiles in 10 degrees latitude bins show a steady decline in volume mixing ratio from similar to 150 ppt (parts per trillion) at 11.5 km to < 40 ppt at 25.5-29.5 km. These new measurements agree well with the scant available air-and balloon-borne data in the lower stratosphere. An acetonitrile stratospheric lifetime of 73 ± 20 yr has been determined.


Stratospheric Loss And Atmospheric Lifetimes Of Cfc-11 And Cfc-12 Derived From Satellite Observations, K. Minschwaner, L. Hoffmann, A. Brown, M. Riese, R. Müller, P. F. Bernath Jan 2013

Stratospheric Loss And Atmospheric Lifetimes Of Cfc-11 And Cfc-12 Derived From Satellite Observations, K. Minschwaner, L. Hoffmann, A. Brown, M. Riese, R. Müller, P. F. Bernath

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The lifetimes of CFC-11 and CFC-12 have been evaluated using global observations of their stratospheric distributions from satellite-based instruments over the time period from 1992 to 2010. The chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) datasets are from the Cryogen Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES), the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA-1 and CRISTA-2), the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS), and the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE). Stratospheric loss rates were calculated using an ultraviolet radiative transfer code with updated cross section and solar irradiance data. Mean steady-state lifetimes based on these observations are 44.7 (36-58) yr for CFC-11 and 106.6 …