A Study of the High Latitude Nitrogen Oxide Reservoir

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The springtime arctic troposphere has been shown to be a major reservoir of many anthropogenically derived pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons. Based on the available data, it is estimated that the arctic troposphere contains roughly 10% of the global tropospheric burden of NOy during spring. Additionally, tropospheric ozone concentrations are known to be increasing at about 1-2% per year during spring and summer at high latitudes. The springtime measurements of NO at Borrow, Alaska suggest that photochemical activity and ozone production is possible during the late spring period when NOy and non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC's) are still high, temperatures are warming, and solar intensity is increasing. In this study, the PI will further develop and validate instrumental capabilities for making measurements of the nitrogen oxide species at low ambient mixing ratios. Once validated, he will focus on gaining an improved understanding of the temporal distribution of NO, NO2 and NOy at Barrow during the spring-summer transition period. These measurements, along with J(NO2) and O3, can then be used to calculate the O3 production rates and to evaluate the change in NOy speciation as a function of temperature and solar intensity.