U.S. France Cooperative Research: Vertical Profiles of Krypton-85 as an Indicator of Stratosphere-to-Troposphere Exchange Transport

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This award will support collaborative research in atmospheric chemistry between Dr. Mark Kritz, State University of New York at Albany, and Dr. Joseph Sanak, Centre des Faibles Radioactivites, Gif-sur-Yvette, France. The objective of this project is to incorporate Krypton-85 measurements, made by the French research team, into a US program in which vertical profiles of radon, ozone, CO, water vapor and aerosols will be collected over northern California. The observations will be used to document and study episodes of rapid long-range transport of Asian surface-level air, and will aid in the verification of global circulation and chemical transport models. A series of upper tropospheric radon measurements made aboard a C-41 aircraft used in this research revealed systematic, rapid transport of Asian boundary layer air to the upper troposphere near California. These transports could also be a significant factor in the global distribution and budgets of chemically active species and aerosols. The profiles to be acquired in this program will span the altitude range 1-11 km and will be used to document and study trans-Pacific transports in the mid and upper troposphere. Because of its long (10.76 year) half-life, dominance of northern hemisphere sources and low stratospheric abundances, the Krypton-85 measurements will be a valuable adjunct to the research program. In addition, the Kr-85 observations themselves will represent a significant increase in the number of free tropospheric observations of this radionucleide, and will add to our knowledge of its atmospheric distribution and behavior. Since its inception the French laboratory has been among the pioneers in the use of natural radionucleides to study the oceans and atmosphere. This project will benefit from the significant expertise on this topic to be provided by Dr. Sanak and his research team.