Measurements of mid-stratospheric formaldehyde from the Odin/SMR instrument

• Measurements of mid-stratospheric formaldehyde (H2CO) have been obtained from the limb-viewing sub-millimeter radiometer (SMR) instrument aboard the Odin satellite. The analysis is based upon the only weak (808 -> 707) rotational transition line Of H2CO that can be measured by Odin/SMR at 576.7083150GHz in the band dedicated to the measurement of carbon monoxide (CO). The signal-to-noise ratio is increased by averaging about 1000 spectra within 2-km width vertical layers in the stratosphere over periods from I to 7 days and within 3 latitude bands: Southern Hemisphere (90 degrees S-45 degrees S), tropics (30 degrees S-30 degrees N), and Northern Hemisphere (45 degrees N-90 degrees N). The faint H2CO line can then be retrieved using the standard scientific ground-segment developed for the Odin/SMR measurements. The mid-stratospheric H2CO shows maxima in the tropics for every period considered (January 2006, February 2005, March 2005, and September 2005). The spring-time extra-tropical mid-strato spheric H2CO is more intense than the fall-time extra-tropical amounts. The simulations from the three-dimensional chemical- transport model Reprobus satisfactorily show these general features. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

remote

inversion

CLO

HETERODYNE MEASUREMENTS

radiative transfer

formaldehyde

CHLORINE MONOXIDE

SUBMILLIMETER

stratosphere

spectroscopy

MILLIMETER

satellite

RADIOMETER

MODEL

sensing

PERFORMANCE

SATELLITE

OZONE

Publikations- och innehållstyp

art (ämneskategori)

ref (ämneskategori)