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AGU: Journal of Geophysical Research, Atmospheres

 

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  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Cloud physics and chemistry
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Constituent sources and sinks
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere—composition and chemistry
Abstract
Cited By (19)
 

Abstract

Airborne measurements of NOx, tracer species, and small particles during the European Lightning Nitrogen Oxides Experiment

H. Huntrieser

Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Oberpfaffenhofen, Wessling, Germany

C. Feigl

Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Oberpfaffenhofen, Wessling, Germany

H. Schlager

Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Oberpfaffenhofen, Wessling, Germany

F. Schröder

Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Oberpfaffenhofen, Wessling, Germany

C. Gerbig

Institut für Chemie und Dynamik der Geosphäre, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany

P. van Velthoven

Section of Atmospheric Composition, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, Netherlands

F. Flatøy

Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Kjeller, Norway

C. Théry

Atmospheric Environment Research Section, Environnement Atmosphérique et Givrage du Département Mesures Physiques, Office National d'Etudes et de Recherche Aérospatiales, Chatillon, France

A. Petzold

Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Oberpfaffenhofen, Wessling, Germany

H. Höller

Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Oberpfaffenhofen, Wessling, Germany

U. Schumann

Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Oberpfaffenhofen, Wessling, Germany

Airborne in situ measurements of NO, NO2, NOy, CO, CO2, O3, J(NO2), and CN were performed in European thunderstorms during the field experiment EULINOX in July 1998. The measurements in the upper troposphere show enhanced NOx (= NO + NO2) concentrations within thunderstorms and their outflow at horizontal scales from 300 m to several 100 km. The maximum NO mixing ratio measured inside a thundercloud close to lightning (the aircraft was also hit by a small lightning strike) was 25 ppbv. A regional NOx enhancement of 0.5 ppbv over central Europe could be traced back to a thunderstorm event starting ∼24 hours earlier over Spain. The fractions of NOx in thunderclouds which are produced by lightning and convectively transported from the polluted boundary layer are determined by using CO2 and CO as tracers for boundary layer air. The analyses show that on average about 70% of the NOx increase measured in the anvil region was found to result from production by lightning and about 30% from NOx in the boundary layer. Thunderstorms are also strong sources of small particles. The peak CN concentrations measured within thunderstorm outflows (>30,000 particles STP cm−3) were distinctly higher than in the polluted boundary layer. The amount of NOx produced per thunderstorm and NO produced per lightning flash was estimated. The results imply that the annual mean NOx budget in the upper troposphere over Europe is dominated by aircraft emissions (0.1 TgN yr−1) in comparison to lightning production (∼0.03 TgN yr−1). On the global scale, NOx produced by lightning (mean 3 TgN yr−1) prevails over aircraft-produced NOx (0.6 TgN yr−1).

Published 4 June 2002.

Citation: Huntrieser, H., et al. (2002), Airborne measurements of NOx, tracer species, and small particles during the European Lightning Nitrogen Oxides Experiment, J. Geophys. Res., 107(D11), 4113, doi:10.1029/2000JD000209.

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