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N2O as a dynamical tracer in the Arctic vortexThis paper reports N2O measurements obtained by the Airborne Tunable Laser Absorption Spectrometer from 14 flights of the NASA ER-2 aircraft during the 1989 Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition field campaign. In the altitude range expected for ozone loss, N2O has a long photochemical lifetime, making it an excellent tracer of lower stratospheric air motions. As in the southern hemisphere, the zonal wind speed maximum and large gradients of potential vorticity and N2O identify the vortex edge. The N2O profiles inside the vortex indicate net descent relative to outside the vortex and to the summer polar lower stratosphere. The descent of the N2O profile during the Arctic night relative to the summer profile is comparable to the downward shift in the vertical profile observed in the 1987 Antarctic winter vortex. Winter profiles at the poles are very similar above the 435 K potential temperature surface, but divergent below.
Document ID
19900041450
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Loewenstein, M.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Podolske, J. R.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Chan, K. R.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Strahan, S. E.
(San Jose State University CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 14, 2013
Publication Date
March 1, 1990
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters, Supplement
Volume: 17
ISSN: 0094-8276
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
90A28505
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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