RAPID: Ozone Loss Over the United States in Summer: Advancing Innovative Climate-Chemistry Research via In Situ Observations of ClO and BrO on Solar Powered Stratospheric Aircraft

这项研究包括部署仪器来研究美国中部夏季的臭氧损失。该仪器将被集成到新一代太阳能平流层飞机上。夏季美国中部上空的臭氧损失可能导致地面暴露在紫外线辐射下的相关增加。最近的观察表明，夏季美国中部地区的某些大气流型和对流风暴与可能导致主要卤素、氢和氮催化循环的臭氧催化损失率放大的条件有关。这些观测首次确定了(A)利用NEXRAD天气雷达网在美国上空对流进入平流层的频率和深度，(B)在与雷达观测相同的坐标系中建立的无机氯随高度的分布，(C)夏季美国上空平流层的高精度、高空间分辨率的温度结构，它解决了温度的空间和结构变化，包括重力波对温度结构的影响，以及(D)导致主要的卤素、氢和氮催化循环的臭氧催化损失率的放大。这些新的观察结果表明，大平原夏季臭氧损失的风险显著增加。

This research includes the deployment of instrumentation to study ozone loss over the central United States in summer. The instrumentation will be integrated onto a new generation of solar powered stratospheric aircraft. Ozone loss over the over the central US in summer could result in an associated increase in exposure to UV radiation at the surface.Recent observations have associated certain atmospheric flow patterns and convective storms over the central U.S. in summer with conditions that may lead to the amplification in the catalytic loss rates of ozone for the dominant halogen, hydrogen, and nitrogen catalytic cycles. These observations define for the first time (a) the frequency and depth of convective penetration of water into the stratosphere over the United States in summer employing the NEXRAD weather radar network, (b) the altitude dependent distribution of inorganic chlorine established in the same coordinate system as the radar observations, (c) the high accuracy, high spatial resolution temperature structure of the stratosphere over the US in summer that resolves spatial and structural variability of temperature, including the impact of gravity waves on the temperature structure, and (d) the resulting amplification in the catalytic loss rates of ozone for the dominant halogen, hydrogen, and nitrogen catalytic cycles. These new observations imply significantly increased risk of ozone loss over the Great Plains in summer.