The seasonal cycle of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) in the European Arctic

Abstract

Measurements of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) over a 3-yr period at the Zeppelin mountain near Ny-Alesund, Svalbard show a distinct annual cycle with a spring maximum of about 400 pmolmol-1, and a summer minimum of 80pmolmol-1. In this paper the measurement technique is shown together with a detailed error discussion. PAN at this high latitude location is co-transported with ozone. Thermal decomposition of PAN in the high Arctic troposphere may occur mostly during summer. During spring it is too small for PAN to have a sizeable local effect on the observed spring time ozone maximum. Copyright (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.