The vertical distribution of stable trace gases at mid‐latitudes

Abstract

Vertical profiles of H 2 , CH 4 , CO, N 2 O, CFCl 3 , and CF 2 Cl 2 resulting from gas chromatographic analysis of air samples collected from altitudes between 1.5 and 35.3 km at a latitude of about 44°N are presented. Ten balloon flights were performed with a neon‐cooled cryogenic air sampler designed to collect large air samples at eight different stratospheric heights. Supplementary tropospheric air samples were taken aboard a chartered aircraft. Vertical profiles from 1978 and 1979 are compared with those derived from fights in 1977.