An Intercomparison of Tropospheric OH Measurements at Fritz Peak Observatory, Colorado.

The hydroxyl radical (OH) controls the lifetimes and therefore the concentrations of many important chemical species in Earth's lower atmosphere including several greenhouse and ozone-depleting species. Two completely different measurement techniques were used in an informal intercomparison to determine tropospheric OH concentrations at Fritz Peak concentrations by chemical analysis; the other used spectroscopic absorption on a long path. The intercomparison showed that ambient OH concentrations can now be measured with sufficient sensitivity to provide a test for photochemical models, with the derived OH concentrations agreeing well under both polluted and clean atmospheric conditions. Concentrations of OH on all days were significantly lower than model predictions, perhaps indicating the presence of an unknown scavenger. The change in OH concentration from early morning to noon on a clear day was found to be only a factor of 2.

Interference effects in reticon photodiode array detectors.

A detector system incorporating the Reticon RL1024S photodiode array has been constructed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Aeronomy Laboratory as part of a double spectrograph to be used to study the Earth's atmosphere from ground-based and aircraft-based platforms. To determine accurately the abundances of atmospheric trace gases, this new system must be able to measure spectral absorptions as small as 0.02%. The detector, manufactured by EG&G Reticon, exhibits superior signal-to-noise characteristics at the light levels characteristic of scattered skylights, but interference in the passivating layer (a thin layer of SiO(2) that is deposited during the manufacture to protect the silicon active area from water vapor) causes major problems in achieving the required precision. The mechanism of the problems and the solution we have implemented are described in detail.

Observations of the Nighttime Abundance of OClO in the Winter Stratosphere Above Thule, Greenland.

Observations at Thule, Greenland, that made use of direct light from the moon on 2,3, 4,5, and 7 February 1988 revealed nighttime chlorine dioxide (OClO) abundances that were less than those obtained in Antarctica by about a factor of 5, but that exceeded model predictions based on homogeneous (gas-phase) photochemistry by about a factor of 10. The observed time scale for the formation of OClO after sunset strongly supports the current understanding of the diurnal chemistry of OClO. These data suggest that heterogeneous (surface) reactions due to polar stratospheric clouds can occur in the Arctic, providing a mechanism for possible Arctic ozone depletion.

Observations of Stratospheric NO2 and O3 at Thule, Greenland.

Scattered sunlight and direct light from the moon was used in two wavelength ranges to measure the total column abundances of stratospheric ozone(O(3)) and nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) at Thule, Greenland (76.5 degrees N), during the period from 29 January to 16 February 1988. The observed O(3) column varied between about 325 and 400 Dobson units, and the lower values were observed when the center of the Arctic polar vortex was closest to Thule. This gradient probably indicates that O(3) levels decrease due to dynamical processes near the center of the Arctic vortex and should be considered in attempts to derive trends in O(3) levels. The observed NO(2) levels were also lowest in the center of the Arctic vortex and were sometimes as low as 5 x 10(14) molecules per square centimeter, which is even less than comparable values measured during Antarctic spring, suggesting that significant heterogeneous photochemistry takes place during the Arctic winter as it does in the Antarctic.

Absolute S- and P-plane polarization efficiencies for high frequency holographic gratings in the VUV.

High frequency plane gratings (3500 and 3600 gr/mm) have been holographically ruled and blazed for the VUV spectral region. All gratings were coated with 70 nm Al + 25 nm MgF(2). Absolute unpolarized and S-and P-plane polarization efficiencies have been measured for the first and second orders in the 120- to 450 -nm spectral region at 18.5 and 30 degrees angles of deviation. For deep grooves, anomalous features are more pronounced for the P-plane polarization efficiency than for the S-plane polarization efficiency. Holographic gratings can be tailored to produce high polarization or low polarization in the VUV. For comparison, efficiencies and polarization of the best conventional high frequency gratings were also determined. Measurements show that scattered light is significantly lower for holographic gratings in the VUV when compared with the conventional gratings.

Comprehensive analysis of gratings for ultraviolet space instrumentation.

Comprehensive measurements in the vacuum uv range of 1200-3000 A of efficiency, polarization, and scattering of classically ruled and photoresist gratings are reported. The results show that the art of ruling gratings for vacuum uv use has reached a high level of sophistication and that careful analysis of grating properties can lead to useful improvement of the ruling art.

Compact far ultraviolet emission source with rich spectral emission 1150-3100 A.

A new compact far uv emission source suitable for laboratory or space applications is described. The source is small, rugged, lightweight, spectrally rich, and bright in the 1150-3200-A region. It has met rigid spacecraft environmental tests and also is a very useful transfer standard for absolute sensitivity calibrations of spectrometric instruments.