Atmospheric data vertical profile

The monthly mean ozone from the Dobson time series (1957-1986) of Vigna di Valle (50 km apart from Rome) and from TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) satellite data (1979-1991) version 6 are assumed as climatological frames of reference for Rome and Ispra, respectively. Aerosol optical depths at 550 nm are estimated by means of sunphotometry. Data from the two meteorological stations of Rome and Milan airports are used to describe the atmospheric conditions. Standard vertical profiles of pressure, temperature, relative humidity and ozone density are selected. 

Rather meagre and contradictory are data on vertical profiles of the StA distribution in the atmosphere. This problem requires thorough investigation. The following heights have been proposed [28] for the top (Ztop) and bottom (Zbot) levels of smoke clouds urban fires Zbot = 1 km, Ztop = 7 km accidental forest fires Zbot = 1 km, Ztop = 5 km vast post-nuclear fires (a 10% contribution from urban fires) ... 

Figure 8 Vertical profiles of dissolved lead in the central North Atlantic (34° 15 N, 66° 17 W data from Schaule and Patterson, 1983), the central North Pacific (32°41 N, 145°W data from Schaule and Patterson, 1981), and the central South Pacific (20°S, 160°W source Regal and Patterson, 1983). Estimates of the atmospheric input at the time of sampling and in ancient times prior to the large anthropogenic lead input are also shown (Flegal and...

Solar Radiation. Of all the factors which collectively determine the amount and spectral distribution of the radiation entering a surface layer of the atmosphere, the best established appear to be the spectral irradiance outside the atmosphere and the attenuation by molecular scattering. The absorption coefficients of ozone are well established, but no easy method exists for determining the amount of ozone in a vertical profile of the atmosphere at a given time. The measurement of the particulate content of the atmosphere and its correlation with atmospheric transmission is a field in which much remains to be accomplished. Surprisingly few data exist on the spectral distribution of sky radiation and its variation with solar elevation and atmospheric conditions. The effect of clouds is of secondary importance, as intense smog generally occurs under a clear sky. 

Earth (5.1 x 10 8 cm2), a rounded-off value of 1700 x 1061 can be calculated for the whole of the troposphere, while the global atmospheric NzO burden is equal to 2000 x 1061. The data of Rasmussen and Pierotti (1978) lead to a somewhat higher total quantity in the troposphere. However, on the basis of several recent vertical profile measurements, Ehhalt et al. (1977) give a global tropospheric nitrous oxide mass of 1660 x 106 t which is in excellent agreement with Schutz s estimate. 

The programme provided a first comprehensive insight into the long distance transport of air pollutants on a continental scale. In the course of the OECD study several unknowns were identified which should be taken into account in other research projects. They relate to emission fiata, precipitation data, atmospheric dispersion and deposition processes, atmospheric chemistry, vertical processes, vertical profile measurements by aircraft sampling and the improvement of sampling equipment used in aircrafts. 

Knowledge of the temperature profile is essential for an understanding of the dynamical, thermodynamical, and chemical processes occurring in an atmosphere. In addition, the atmospheric temperature must first be obtained before information on gas or particle composition can be extracted from thermal emission measurements. More effort has been devoted to the retrieval of temperature profiles than any other atmospheric parameter and, as a consequence, this problem is better understood than other inverse radiative transfer problems. Study of this subject also provides a convenient means of illustrating some of the basic concepts of vertical profile reconstruction from remotely sensed data. 

The retrieval method has been used extensively for temperature profile retrieval in both the terrestrial and other planetary atmospheres. Examples of profiles obtained by this technique for Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are shown in Fig. 8.2.2. Also included is a Titan profile obtained from radio occultation data. The profiles for Earth and Mars were derived from measurements obtained with the Fourier transform spectrometers carried on Nimbus 3, 4, and Mariner 9, respectively. In both cases data from the 15 ptm. CO2 absorption band were used. The profiles for the outer planets were obtained by inversion of measurements from the Voyager Fourier transform spectrometers. For Jupiter and Saturn, data from the S(0) and S(l) collision-induced H2 lines between 200 and 600 cm were used, along with measurements from the CH4 V4-band centered near 1300 cm . Because of the extremely low temperatures encountered on Uranus and Neptune, adequate signal-to-noise ratio for the retrieval of vertical thermal stmctures was obtained... 

The limb-tangent solar absorption method has been used to obtain profiles of trace gases in the Earth s stratosphere. An example of an investigation using this approach is the Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) Michelson interferometer carried on the Shuttle-bome Spacelab 3 in 1985. A large number of atmospheric transmission spectra were acquired in the 600 to 4700 cm spectral region (Earmer Raper, 1986 Farmer Norton, 1989). Vertical profiles of various trace gases have been obtained from these data (Park et al., 1986). 

As mentioned above, recent attempts to identify the level of atmospheric climate change have been confined to analyses of comparatively long data series on SAT, though smaller volumes of data on changes in sea ice cover extent, vertical temperature profile (radiosonde data), and results of satellite microwave sensing have also been considered (Christy et ai, 1998). However, numerical modeling results show... 

Figure 16.10 (A) Nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations and isotopic composition for water samples collected at Station ALOHA. [Left] Depth profile of N2O showing a distinct mid-depth maximum of 60 nM coincident with the dissolved oxygen minimum. [Center] N isotope composition of N2O. [Right] 0 isotope composition of N2O. Data from Dore et al. (1998) and B. Popp and J. Dore (unpublished). (B) N2O saturation state, expressed as a percentage of air saturation, for the upper portion of the water column at Station ALOHA during the period September 1992— September 1994. The vertical dashed line indicates equilibrium (100% saturation) with atmospheric N2O. With the exception of one measured value on cruise HOT-45, all determinations indicate significant N2O saturation relative to the atmosphere which implies both a local source and a net ocean-to-air gas flux.From Dore and Karl (1996a).

Fig. 3-7. Vertical distribution of nitrogen oxides and nitric acid in the stratosphere. Left Nitric oxide in the sunlit atmosphere the fields enclose data obtained with the chemiluminescence technique (Horvath and Mason, 1978 Roy et at, 1980 Ridley and Schiff, 1981 Ridley and Hastie, 1981) horizontal lines represent measurements by infrared optical techniques (Drummond and Jarnot, 1978 Roscoe etal., 1981 Loewenstein etal., 1978a,b). Center Nitrogen dioxide as observed by optical measurement techniques, day (d) and night (n) points indicate data from Murcray et al. (1974), Goldman et al. (1978), Blatherwick et at (1980) horizontal bars are from Drummond and Jarnot (1978) and Roscoe et al. (1981). The N205 profile was obtained by Toon et al. (1986) at sunrise. Right Nitric acid observed by in situ filter sampling (open points) (Lazrus and Gandrud, 1974) and by infrared spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy (solid points) (Fontanella et at, 1975 Harries et al., 1976 Evans et al., 1978 Arnold et al., 1980 Murcray et al. as quoted by Hudson, 1982 Fischer et at, 1985). The envelope gives the error range.

CFCs, and Kr were studied in a sandy, unconfined aquifer on the Delmarva Peninsula in the eastern USA by Ekwurzel et al. (1994). H and H+ He depth-profiles show peak-shaped curves that correspond to the time series of H concentration precipitation, smoothed by dispersion (Fig. 18a). The peak occuring at a depth of about 8m below the water table therefore most likely reflects the H peak in precipitation that occurred in 1963 (Fig. 6). The H- He ages show a linear increase with depth, reaching a maximum of about 32 years. The H- He ages are also supported by CFC-11, CFC-12, and Kr tracer data (Fig. 18b). The latter tracers are used here as dyes and their concentrations are converted into residence times by using the known history of the atmospheric concentrations and their solubility in water. From the vertical H- He age profile at well nest 4 at the Delmarva site, the vertical flow velocity can be... 

Some typical examples of vertical concentration profiles for O3 are shown in Figure 28.25 the data shown were measured after the volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991. For comparison, aerosol back-scatter data are included as well. A link between the amount of aerosol particles and the concentration of O3 in the lower stratosphere seems to be evident, when comparing the concentration values at heights below 20 km with fewer aerosol particles in the atmosphere the concentration of O3 is lower once more (for details of a long-term study of this hnk over the period 1988 to 2002, see Park et al. (2006)). 

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