Thursday, 9 February 2006, 3:00 pm, Room: EN 6085A
New Instruments for Measuring Ozone in the Antarctic Troposphere and their Application to Understanding Spring Time Boundary Layer Ozone Depletion Events
Lars Kalnajs
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics
University of Colorado at Boulder
Abstract: Springtime depletions of boundary layer ozone are a frequent occurrence in the coastal regions of the Arctic and Antarctic. In the Arctic, depletions have been observed and studied in depth for at least two decades, however there have been very few investigations of these events in the Antarctic. We have developed a new fast response UV ozone analyzer and have applied it to measuring ozone fluxes over the Antarctic snow pack. We have observed fluxes of ozone into the snow pack, suggesting that it is a site for heterogeneous, halogen catalyzed, ozone destruction. In addition, we have made measurements of snow and frost flower ionic composition, which have shed new light on the source of halogens in polar snow and the mechanisms for ozone destruction. Finally, preliminary results from the testing of a new semiconductor based ozone instrument in Antarctica show great promise for future uses of this technology in remote and harsh environments.