Stratospheric NO and NO₂ abundances from ATMOS Solar‐Occultation Measurements

Abstract

Using results from a time‐dependent photochemical model to calculate the diurnal variation of NO and NO 2 , we have corrected Atmospheric Trace MOlecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) solar‐occultation retrievals of the NO and NO 2 abundances at 90° solar zenith angle. Neglecting to adjust for the rapid variation of these gases across the terminator results in potential errors in retrieved profiles of ∼20% for NO 2 and greater than 100% for NO at altitudes below 25 km. Sensitivity analysis indicates that knowledge of the local O 3 and temperature profiles, rather than zonal mean or climatological conditions of these quantities, is required to obtain reliable retrievals of NO and NO 2 in the lower stratosphere. Extremely inaccurate O 3 or temperature values at 20 km can result in 50% errors in retrieved NO or NO 2 . Mixing ratios of NO in the mid‐latitude, lower stratosphere measured by ATMOS during the November 1994 ATLAS‐3 mission compare favorably with in situ ER‐2 observations, providing strong corroboration of the reliability of the adjusted space‐borne measurements.