Snowpack photochemical production of HONO: A major source of OH in the Arctic boundary layer in springtime

206Citations
Citations of this article
69Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Both snow manipulation experiments and ambient measurements during the Polar Sunrise Experiment 2000 at Alert (Alert2000) indicate intensive photochemical production of nitrous acid (HONO) in the snowpack. This process constitutes a major HONO source for the overlying atmospheric boundary layer in the Arctic during the springtime, and sustained concentrations of HONO high enough that upon photolysis they became the dominant hydroxyl radical (OH) source. This implies a much greater role for OH radicals in Arctic polar sunrise chemistry than previously believed. Although the observations were made in the high Arctic, this finding has a significant implication for the boundary layer atmospheric chemistry in Antarctica during sunlit seasons and in the mid to high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere during the winter and spring seasons when approximately 50% of the land mass may be covered by snow.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Zhou, X., Beine, H. J., Honrath, R. E., Fuentes, J. D., Simpson, W., Shepson, P. B., & Bottenheim, J. W. (2001). Snowpack photochemical production of HONO: A major source of OH in the Arctic boundary layer in springtime. Geophysical Research Letters, 28(21), 4087–4090. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001GL013531

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free