TY - JOUR
T1 - Observations of ozone production in a dissipating tropical convective cell during TC4
AU - Morris, G. A.
AU - Thompson, A. M.
AU - Pickering, K. E.
AU - Chen, S.
AU - Bucsela, E. J.
AU - Kucera, P. A.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - From 13 July-9 August 2007, 25 ozonesondes were launched from Las Tablas, Panama as part of the Tropical Composition, Cloud, and Climate Coupling (TC4) mission. On 5 August, a strong convective cell formed in the Gulf of Panama. World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) data indicated 563 flashes (09:00-17:00 UTC) in the Gulf. NO2 data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) show enhancements, suggesting lightning production of NO x. At 15:05 UTC, an ozonesonde ascended into the southern edge of the now dissipating convective cell as it moved west across the Azuero Peninsula. The balloon oscillated from 2.5-5.1 km five times (15:12-17:00 UTC), providing a unique examination of ozone (O3) photochemistry on the edge of a convective cell. Ozone increased at a rate of ∼1.6-4.6 ppbv/hr between the first and last ascent, resulting cell wide in an increase of ∼(2.1-2.5) × 106 moles of O3. This estimate agrees to within a factor of two of our estimates of photochemical lightning O3 production from the WWLLN flashes, from the radar-inferred lightning flash data, and from the OMI NO2 data (∼1.2, ∼1.0, and ∼1.7 × 106 moles, respectively), though all estimates have large uncertainties. Examination of DC-8 in situ and lidar O3 data gathered around the Gulf that day suggests 70-97% of the O3 change occurred in 2.5-5.1 km layer. A photochemical box model initialized with nearby TC4 aircraft trace gas data suggests these O3 production rates are possible with our present understanding of photochemistry.
AB - From 13 July-9 August 2007, 25 ozonesondes were launched from Las Tablas, Panama as part of the Tropical Composition, Cloud, and Climate Coupling (TC4) mission. On 5 August, a strong convective cell formed in the Gulf of Panama. World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) data indicated 563 flashes (09:00-17:00 UTC) in the Gulf. NO2 data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) show enhancements, suggesting lightning production of NO x. At 15:05 UTC, an ozonesonde ascended into the southern edge of the now dissipating convective cell as it moved west across the Azuero Peninsula. The balloon oscillated from 2.5-5.1 km five times (15:12-17:00 UTC), providing a unique examination of ozone (O3) photochemistry on the edge of a convective cell. Ozone increased at a rate of ∼1.6-4.6 ppbv/hr between the first and last ascent, resulting cell wide in an increase of ∼(2.1-2.5) × 106 moles of O3. This estimate agrees to within a factor of two of our estimates of photochemical lightning O3 production from the WWLLN flashes, from the radar-inferred lightning flash data, and from the OMI NO2 data (∼1.2, ∼1.0, and ∼1.7 × 106 moles, respectively), though all estimates have large uncertainties. Examination of DC-8 in situ and lidar O3 data gathered around the Gulf that day suggests 70-97% of the O3 change occurred in 2.5-5.1 km layer. A photochemical box model initialized with nearby TC4 aircraft trace gas data suggests these O3 production rates are possible with our present understanding of photochemistry.
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U2 - 10.5194/acp-10-11189-2010
DO - 10.5194/acp-10-11189-2010
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78649571368
SN - 1680-7316
VL - 10
SP - 11189
EP - 11208
JO - Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
JF - Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
IS - 22
ER -