ALBERT

Description: This paper investigates the effects of solar proton events (SPEs) on the middle atmosphere during the past two solar cycles (1963-1984), by examining changes in the production of odd nitrogen, NO(y), and ozone and using a proton energy degradation scheme to derive ion pair production rates. These calculations show that NO(y) is not substantially changed over a solar cycle by SPEs; significant SPEs last only 1-5 days, tend to occur near solar maximum, and are typically months to years apart, preventing a build up of SPE-produced NO(y). Fractional ozone changes are even smaller than the fractional NO(y) changes and are significant only for the August 1972 SPE. Ozone, like NO(y), returns to its ambient levels on time scales of several months to a year.

Description: A three-dimensional simulation of the evolution of HNO3 has been run for the winter of 1979. Winds and temperatures are taken from a stratospheric data assimilation analysis, and the chemistry is based on Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) observations. The model is compared to LIMS observations to investigate the problem of 'missing' nitric acid chemistry in the winter hemisphere. Both the model and observations support the contention that a nitric acid source is needed outside of the polar vortex and north of the subtropics. Observations suggest that HNO3 is not dynamically controlled in middle latitudes. The model shows that given the time scales of conventional chemistry, dynamical control is expected. Therefore, an error exists in the conventional chemistry or additional processes are needed to bring the model and data into agreement. Since the polar vortex is dynamically isolated from the middle latitudes, and since the highest HNO3 values are observed in October and November, a source associated solely with polar stratospheric clouds cannot explain the deficiencies in the chemistry. The role of heterogeneous processes on background aerosols is reviewed in light of these results.

Description: The success of three-dimensional simulations of stratospheric constituent variability depends critically on the initialization of the constituent fields within the global model. This paper describes a technique for generating global three-dimensional fields from vertical constituent proflies. The technique uses potential vorticity (q) and potential temperature (theta) to map the profiles onto the global domain. The profiles used here are obtained from a two-dimensional model calculation that reproduces the relationship between theta, q, N2O and O3 observed during the Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition. The method is verified by comparison with satellite data, aircraft data, and model simulations.

Description: Comparisons of temperatures from the research analysis STRATAN to radiosonde data, Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) data, and the National Meteorological Center (NMC) analyses are presented for the Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition (AASE). The STRATAN analyses show consistent quality throughout AASE. The comparisons to MMS show that STRATAN more accurately represented low temperatures than NMC. This, coupled with forecast quality, show that STRATAN temperature fields are a valuable tool for diagnosing and forecasting polar stratospheric clouds.

Description: Simulations of the evolution of stratospheric distributions of hydrogen chloride (HCl) and hydrogen fluoride (HF) have been carried out for the period of the Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition (AASE) with a three-dimensional chemistry-transport model. Simulations were performed assuming only homogeneous gas phase chemistry for HF and both homogeneous gas phase and heterogeneous chemistry for HCl. Results show heterogeneous loss of HCl is needed to provide agreement with infrared column measurements. Estimates of the impact of heterogeneous loss on the global HCl distribution are obtained from the model. Reductions of HCl due to heterogeneous loss are calculated to be localized to regions of high vorticity, even after more than a month of integration.

Description: The objective of this research is to use available satellite measurements of temperature and constituent concentrations to test the conceptual picture of stratospheric chemistry and transport. This was originally broken down into two sub-goals: first, to use the constituent data to search for critical tests of our understanding of stratospheric chemistry and second, to examine constituent transport processes emphasizing interactions with chemistry on various time scales. A third important goal which has evolved is to use the available solar backscattered ultraviolet (SBUV) and Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) data from Nimbus 7 to describe the morphology of recent changes in Antarctic and global ozone with emphasis on searching for constraints to theories. The major effort now being pursued relative to the two original goals is our effort as a theoretical team for the Arctic Airborne Stratospheric Expedition (AASE). Our effort for the AASE is based on the 3D transport and chemistry model at Goddard. Our goal is to use this model to place the results from the mission data in a regional and global context. Specifically, we set out to make model runs starting in late December and running through March of 1989, both with and without heterogeneous chemistry. The transport is to be carried out using dynamical fields from a 4D data assimilation model being developed under separate funding from this task. We have successfully carried out a series of single constituent transport experiments. One of the things demonstrated by these runs was the difficulty in obtaining observed low N2O abundances in the vortex without simultaneously obtaining very high ozone values. Because the runs start in late December, this difficulty arises in the attempt to define consistent initial conditions for the 3D model. To accomplish a consistent set of initial conditions, we are using the 2D photochemistry-transport model of Jackman and Douglass and mapping in potential temperature, potential vorticity space as developed by Schoeberl and coworkers.

Description: A state of the art stratospheric analyses using a coupled stratosphere/troposphere data assimilation system is produced. These analyses can be applied to stratospheric studies of all types. Of importance to this effort is the application of the Stratospheric Data Analysis System (STRATAN) to constituent transport and chemistry problems.

Description: In the past two years constituent transport and chemistry experiments have been performed using both simple single constituent models and more complex reservoir species models. Winds for these experiments have been taken from the data assimilation effort, Stratospheric Data Analysis System (STRATAN).