Experimental Studies of the Distribution of Minor Constituents and Dynamic Processes in the Atmosphere

Abstract

Minor constituents play an important role in atmospheric chemistry and serve as tracers in transport and mixing studies in tropospheric-stratospheric exchange processes. Measurements of trace gases are essential to an understanding of the mechanisms by which minor constituents originating in the troposphere, both naturally occurring and anthropogenic, reach the stratosphere. Many of these gases are sources of species directly involved in the chemistry of ozone depletion in the stratosphere and ozone generation in the troposphere. Some contribute to the warming of the atmosphere. Data on tracer distributions are important in the development of models for predicting photochemical effects in the stratosphere and troposphere. Data on atmospheric dynamics are important for the development of models for predicting the transport of photochemical species and for characterizing the nature of stratospheric motions