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Influence of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) on odd nitrogen in the troposphere and lower stratosphereNonmethane hydrocarbon breakdown in the atmosphere produces aldehydes of which a fraction are transferred into peroxyacetyl nitrates (PAN) in the presence of NO and NO2. Since ethane is destroyed photochemically primarily above 1 km, PAN can be introduced into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere without the need to be transported from the boundary layer where most hydrocarbons are destroyed and where PAN may be lost due to thermal decomposition and heterogeneous loss. Mixing ratios of ethane in the lower troposphere increase by a factor of 4-8 from equatorial to northern mid-latitudes. This difference is directly translatable into a PAN latitude gradient. At mid-latitudes the concentration of PAN below 20 km is 0.1 ppb comparable to and in some instances larger than predicted HO2NO2 mixing ratios. Like HO2NO2 and HNO3, PAN serves as a reservoir for odd nitrogen.
Document ID
19830067543
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Aikin, A. C.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Herman, J. R.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Maier, E. J. R.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Mcquillan, C. J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Laboratory for Planetary Atmospheres, Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 11, 2013
Publication Date
September 1, 1983
Publication Information
ISSN: 0032-0633
Subject Category
Environment Pollution
Accession Number
83A48761
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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