Observed distributions of nitrogen oxides in the remote free troposphere from the Nasa Global Tropospheric Experiment Programs

作者：J. D. Bradshaw, Douglas D. Davis, G. Grodzinsky, S. Smyth, Reginald E. Newell, S. T. Sandholm, S. Liu · 发表于：Reviews of Geophysics · 年份：2000 · DOI：10.1029/1999rg900015 · 被引用次数：115 · 研究领域：Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols、Atmospheric Ozone and Climate、Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics

Reactive oxides of nitrogen are critical catalysts that can limit the formation rates of tropospheric oxidants. As a result, they control the efficiency with which the troposphere cleanses itself of the many natural and artificial compounds that would otherwise reach toxic levels. They play a pivotal role in the troposphere's capacity to generate O 3 via photochemical processes. Even at concentrations of a few parts per trillion by volume, as are typically seen in the remote tropical Pacific and Arctic/Antarctic regions, reactive nitrogen oxides lead to ozone formation at rates estimated to be several times larger than the influx of ozone from the stratosphere. Reflecting its multilevel importance in our evolving chemical environment, significant effort has been expended toward defining the factors that control the global distribution of reactive nitrogen oxides. Developing this understanding, however, has not been a simple task. The chemical reactivities that are inherently associated with these compounds allow them to undergo transformations on timescales that range from minutes to months. In addition, a wide variety of sources exist for this family. Some of these are near the Earth's surface (e.g., by‐products of emissions from fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning, and nitrification/denitrification of soils), whereas others are within the troposphere itself (i.e., lightning, emissions from subsonic aircraft, stratospheric intrusions, and the oxidation of reduced nitroge...