Carbon monoxide in the upper troposphere over the western Pacific between 1993 and 1996

Abstract

Air samples at 8.5-13 km were collected regularly using a commercial airliner between Australia and Japan, and they were measured for CO mixing ratios to obtain time series data from April 1993 to July 1996. When averaged over 12 latitudinal bands between 30°N and 30°S, two overall features emerge from these data. First, CO levels in the upper troposphere decreased in all latitudinal bands. Second, the seasonal cycle showed significant differences between the northern and southern hemispheres. In the southern hemisphere a strong maximum in the CO mixing ratio (up to around 90 ppb) was found in October-November. The most likely source for this enhanced CO is tropical biomass burning. Methane oxidation and transport of industrial CO from the northern hemisphere were estimated as relatively minor sources during the austral spring. Air mass trajectories indicate that an extremely high CO level of ∼130 ppb observed in November 1994 between 10° and 20°S was due to enhanced biomass burning in Southeast Asia and/or northern Australia. On the other hand, air mass trajectories for the 20°-30°S region indicate that CO-rich air from biomass burnings over southern Africa or South America was transported across the South Indian Ocean within ∼1 week by the strong westerly winds around the subtropical jet. Tnus it is concluded that a rapid horizontal transport coupled with deep convection plays an important role in the appearance of the CO spring peak in the upper troposphere over the western South Pacific. Copyright 1998 by the American Geophysical Union.