Vertical distribution of NO₂ in the stratosphere as determined from balloon measurements of solar spectra in the 4500Å region

Abstract

The stratospheric NO 2 mixing ratio profile in the 20‐40 km altitude range is derived from balloon‐borne observations of the solar spectrum in the visible region. By comparisons of high sun and low sun spectra at float altitude (∼40 km), a number of NO 2 features are identified. The resulting NO 2 profile shows a gradual increase above 20 km to a peak value of 13 ppb(v) near 35 km, followed by a gradual decrease to 10.5 ppb(v) at 40 km.