Tropospheric chemistry over the lower Great Plains of the United States. 2. Trace gas profiles and distributions

Convective clouds and thunderstorms redistribute air pollutants vertically, and by altering the chemistry and radiative balance of the upper troposphere, these local actions can have global consequences. To study these effects, measurements of trace gases ozone, O₃, carbon monoxide, CO, and odd nitrogen were made aboard the NCAR Sabreliner on 18 flights over the southern Great Plains during June 1985. To demonstrate chemical changes induced by vertical motions in the atmosphere and to facilitate comparison with computer model calculations, these data were categorized according to synoptic flow patterns. Part 1 of this two-part paper details the alternating pulses of polar and maritime air masses that dominate the veritcal mixing in this region. In this paper, trace gas measurements are presented as altitude profiles (0-12km) with statistical distributions of mixing ratios for each species in each flow pattern. -from Authors