Doubled CO2 Effects on NO(y) in a Coupled 2D Model

Changes in temperature and ozone have been the main focus of studies of the stratospheric impact of doubled CO2. Increased CO2 is expected to cool the stratosphere, which will result in increases in stratospheric ozone through temperature dependent loss rates. Less attention has been paid to changes in minor constituents which affect the O3 balance and which may provide additional feedbacks. Stratospheric NO(y) fields calculated using the GSFC 2D interactive chemistry-radiation-dynamics model show significant sensitivity to the model CO2. Modeled upper stratospheric NO(y) decreases by about 15% in response to CO2 doubling, mainly due to the temperature decrease calculated to result from increased cooling. The abundance of atomic nitrogen, N, increases because the rate of the strongly temperature dependent reaction N + O2 yields NO + O decreases at lower temperatures. Increased N leads to an increase in the loss of NO(y) which is controlled by the reaction N + NO yields N2 + O. The NO(y) reduction is shown to be sensitive to the NO photolysis rate. The decrease in the O3 loss rate due to the NO(y) changes is significant when compared to the decrease in the O3 loss rate due to the temperature changes.