Airborne measurements of organic bromine compounds in the Pacific tropical tropopause layer.

Very short-lived brominated substances (VSLBr) are an important source of stratospheric bromine, an effective ozone destruction catalyst. However, the accurate estimation of the organic and inorganic partitioning of bromine and the input to the stratosphere remains uncertain. Here, we report near-tropopause measurements of organic brominated substances found over the tropical Pacific during the NASA Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment campaigns. We combine aircraft observations and a chemistry-climate model to quantify the total bromine loading injected to the stratosphere. Surprisingly, despite differences in vertical transport between the Eastern and Western Pacific, VSLBr (organic + inorganic) contribute approximately similar amounts of bromine [∼6 (4-9) parts per trillion] [corrected] to the stratospheric input at the tropical tropopause. These levels of bromine cause substantial ozone depletion in the lower stratosphere, and any increases in future abundances (e.g., as a result of aquaculture) will lead to larger depletions.

Unexpected variations in the triple oxygen isotope composition of stratospheric carbon dioxide.

We report observations of stratospheric CO2 that reveal surprisingly large anomalous enrichments in (17)O that vary systematically with latitude, altitude, and season. The triple isotope slopes reached 1.95 ± 0.05(1σ) in the middle stratosphere and 2.22 ± 0.07 in the Arctic vortex versus 1.71 ± 0.03 from previous observations and a remarkable factor of 4 larger than the mass-dependent value of 0.52. Kinetics modeling of laboratory measurements of photochemical ozone-CO2 isotope exchange demonstrates that non-mass-dependent isotope effects in ozone formation alone quantitatively account for the (17)O anomaly in CO2 in the laboratory, resolving long-standing discrepancies between models and laboratory measurements. Model sensitivities to hypothetical mass-dependent isotope effects in reactions involving O3, O((1)D), or CO2 and to an empirically derived temperature dependence of the anomalous kinetic isotope effects in ozone formation then provide a conceptual framework for understanding the differences in the isotopic composition and the triple isotope slopes between the laboratory and the stratosphere and between different regions of the stratosphere. This understanding in turn provides a firmer foundation for the diverse biogeochemical and paleoclimate applications of (17)O anomalies in tropospheric CO2, O2, mineral sulfates, and fossil bones and teeth, which all derive from stratospheric CO2.

Large and unexpected enrichment in stratospheric 16O13C18O and its meridional variation.

The stratospheric CO(2) oxygen isotope budget is thought to be governed primarily by the O((1)D)+CO(2) isotope exchange reaction. However, there is increasing evidence that other important physical processes may be occurring that standard isotopic tools have been unable to identify. Measuring the distribution of the exceedingly rare CO(2) isotopologue (16)O(13)C(18)O, in concert with (18)O and (17)O abundances, provides sensitivities to these additional processes and, thus, is a valuable test of current models. We identify a large and unexpected meridional variation in stratospheric (16)O(13)C(18)O, observed as proportions in the polar vortex that are higher than in any naturally derived CO(2) sample to date. We show, through photochemical experiments, that lower (16)O(13)C(18)O proportions observed in the midlatitudes are determined primarily by the O((1)D)+CO(2) isotope exchange reaction, which promotes a stochastic isotopologue distribution. In contrast, higher (16)O(13)C(18)O proportions in the polar vortex show correlations with long-lived stratospheric tracer and bulk isotope abundances opposite to those observed at midlatitudes and, thus, opposite to those easily explained by O((1)D)+CO(2). We believe the most plausible explanation for this meridional variation is either an unrecognized isotopic fractionation associated with the mesospheric photochemistry of CO(2) or temperature-dependent isotopic exchange on polar stratospheric clouds. Unraveling the ultimate source of stratospheric (16)O(13)C(18)O enrichments may impose additional isotopic constraints on biosphere-atmosphere carbon exchange, biosphere productivity, and their respective responses to climate change.