Age of air from in situ trace gas measurements: insights from a new technique
<p>The age of air is an important transport diagnostic that can be derived from trace gas measurements and compared to global chemistry climate model output. We describe a new technique to calculate the age of air, measuring transport times from the Earth's surface to any location in the...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2024-11-01
|
| Series: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| Online Access: | https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/24/12425/2024/acp-24-12425-2024.pdf |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846170960773775360 |
|---|---|
| author | E. A. Ray E. A. Ray F. L. Moore F. L. Moore H. Garny H. Garny E. J. Hintsa E. J. Hintsa B. D. Hall G. S. Dutton G. S. Dutton D. Nance D. Nance J. W. Elkins J. W. Elkins S. C. Wofsy J. Pittman B. Daube B. C. Baier J. Li J. Li C. Sweeney |
| author_facet | E. A. Ray E. A. Ray F. L. Moore F. L. Moore H. Garny H. Garny E. J. Hintsa E. J. Hintsa B. D. Hall G. S. Dutton G. S. Dutton D. Nance D. Nance J. W. Elkins J. W. Elkins S. C. Wofsy J. Pittman B. Daube B. C. Baier J. Li J. Li C. Sweeney |
| author_sort | E. A. Ray |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>The age of air is an important transport diagnostic that can be derived from trace gas measurements and compared to global chemistry climate model output. We describe a new technique to calculate the age of air, measuring transport times from the Earth's surface to any location in the atmosphere based on simultaneous in situ measurements of multiple key long-lived trace gases. The primary benefits of this new technique include (1) optimized ages of air consistent with simultaneously measured <span class="inline-formula">SF<sub>6</sub></span> and <span class="inline-formula">CO<sub>2</sub></span>; (2) age of air from the upper troposphere through the stratosphere; (3) estimates of the second moment of age spectra that have not been well constrained from measurements; and (4) flexibility to be used with measurements across multiple instruments, platforms, and decades. We demonstrate the technique on aircraft and balloon measurements from the 1990s, the last period of extensive stratospheric in situ sampling, and several recent missions from the 2020s, and compare the results with previously published and modeled values.</p> |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-492ebc4047ef467b9e947c4343ed6ff6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1680-7316 1680-7324 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| spelling | doaj-art-492ebc4047ef467b9e947c4343ed6ff62024-11-11T09:29:37ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics1680-73161680-73242024-11-0124124251244510.5194/acp-24-12425-2024Age of air from in situ trace gas measurements: insights from a new techniqueE. A. Ray0E. A. Ray1F. L. Moore2F. L. Moore3H. Garny4H. Garny5E. J. Hintsa6E. J. Hintsa7B. D. Hall8G. S. Dutton9G. S. Dutton10D. Nance11D. Nance12J. W. Elkins13J. W. Elkins14S. C. Wofsy15J. Pittman16B. Daube17B. C. Baier18J. Li19J. Li20C. Sweeney21Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USANOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USACooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USANOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USAInstitut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen, GermanyMeteorological Institute, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, GermanyCooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USANOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USANOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USACooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USANOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USACooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USANOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USANOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USAretiredDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USADepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USADepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USANOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USADepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USAInstitute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USANOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA<p>The age of air is an important transport diagnostic that can be derived from trace gas measurements and compared to global chemistry climate model output. We describe a new technique to calculate the age of air, measuring transport times from the Earth's surface to any location in the atmosphere based on simultaneous in situ measurements of multiple key long-lived trace gases. The primary benefits of this new technique include (1) optimized ages of air consistent with simultaneously measured <span class="inline-formula">SF<sub>6</sub></span> and <span class="inline-formula">CO<sub>2</sub></span>; (2) age of air from the upper troposphere through the stratosphere; (3) estimates of the second moment of age spectra that have not been well constrained from measurements; and (4) flexibility to be used with measurements across multiple instruments, platforms, and decades. We demonstrate the technique on aircraft and balloon measurements from the 1990s, the last period of extensive stratospheric in situ sampling, and several recent missions from the 2020s, and compare the results with previously published and modeled values.</p>https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/24/12425/2024/acp-24-12425-2024.pdf |
| spellingShingle | E. A. Ray E. A. Ray F. L. Moore F. L. Moore H. Garny H. Garny E. J. Hintsa E. J. Hintsa B. D. Hall G. S. Dutton G. S. Dutton D. Nance D. Nance J. W. Elkins J. W. Elkins S. C. Wofsy J. Pittman B. Daube B. C. Baier J. Li J. Li C. Sweeney Age of air from in situ trace gas measurements: insights from a new technique Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| title | Age of air from in situ trace gas measurements: insights from a new technique |
| title_full | Age of air from in situ trace gas measurements: insights from a new technique |
| title_fullStr | Age of air from in situ trace gas measurements: insights from a new technique |
| title_full_unstemmed | Age of air from in situ trace gas measurements: insights from a new technique |
| title_short | Age of air from in situ trace gas measurements: insights from a new technique |
| title_sort | age of air from in situ trace gas measurements insights from a new technique |
| url | https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/24/12425/2024/acp-24-12425-2024.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT earay ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT earay ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT flmoore ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT flmoore ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT hgarny ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT hgarny ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT ejhintsa ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT ejhintsa ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT bdhall ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT gsdutton ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT gsdutton ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT dnance ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT dnance ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT jwelkins ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT jwelkins ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT scwofsy ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT jpittman ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT bdaube ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT bcbaier ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT jli ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT jli ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique AT csweeney ageofairfrominsitutracegasmeasurementsinsightsfromanewtechnique |