ISSN:
1573-0662
Keywords:
Nitrogen oxides
;
surface layer
;
eddy flux
;
surface fluxes
;
turbulence exchange
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Geosciences
Notes:
Abstract The chemical reactivity of NO and NO2 is so rapid that their fluxes and concentrations can be considerably modified from that expected for conserved variables in the atmospheric surface layer, even as low as a meter above the surface. Fitzjarrald and Lenschow (1983) have calculated flux and mean concentration profiles for NO, NO2 and O3 in the surface layer using numerical techniques. However, their solutions do not approach the photostationary state at large heights. Here we solve a simpler set of equations analytically (i.e. we assume a constant O3 concentration and neutral hydrodynamic stability), and are able to show how the flux profiles behave at large heights assuming that the concentrations approach their photostationary values. We find, for example, that at large heights the ratio of the flux of NO to that of NO2 is equal to the ratio of their concentrations. These results are relevant to estimating surface fluxes of NO and NO2, and are most applicable to nonurban environments where NO and NO2 concentrations are usually much less than O3 concentration.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00114108
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