Design and characterization of the balloon-borne Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS-B2)

MIPAS-B2 is a balloon-borne limb-emission sounder for atmospheric research. The heart of the instrument is a Fourier spectrometer that covers the mid-infrared spectral range (4-14 microns) and operates at cryogenic temperatures. Essential for this application is the sophisticated line-of-sight stabilization system, which is based on an inertial navigation system and is supplemented with an additional star reference system. The major scientific benefit of the instrument is the simultaneous detection of complete trace gas families in the stratosphere without restrictions concerning the time of day and viewing directions. The specifications, the design considerations, the actual realization of the instrument, and the results of characterization measurements that have been performed are described.

Absolute nu(2) Line Intensities of HOCl by Simultaneous Measurements in the Infrared with a Tunable Diode Laser and Far-Infrared Region Using a Fourier Transform Spectrometer

We have measured absolute line intensities in the nu(2) fundamental band at 1238 cm(-1) of both isotopomers of hypochlorous acid, HOCl. To obtain the partial pressure of the species in the sample mixture, unavailable through direct measurement since HOCl exists only in equilibrium with H(2)O and Cl(2)O and may decay by secondary reactions, we relied on known absolute line intensities in the pure rotational far-infrared (FIR) spectrum determined from Stark effect measurements. We have thus recorded simultaneously the FIR pure rotation spectrum of HOCl using a Bruker IFS120HR interferometer and the spectrum of a few vibration-rotation lines in the infrared (IR) nu(2) band using a tunable diode laser spectrometer. The absolute intensities of these IR lines thus determined allowed us to "calibrate" the intensities of vibration-rotation lines in the whole nu(2) band, measured previously using Fourier transform spectroscopy. The treatment of the data took into account the blackbody emission contribution in the FIR and the evolution of the HOCl amount during the recording of the spectra. The latter was found to be almost constant over hours after conditioning of the cell. The square of the nu(2) band vibrational transition dipole moment was determined to be 0.013947(23) D(2) and 0.013870(51) D(2) for HO(35)Cl and HO(37)Cl, respectively, that is, 29 to 73% lower than previous measurements. A linear Herman-Wallis factor was also determined for both isotopomers. Finally, the line intensities were least-squares fitted using a model that takes into account a weak resonance between the (010) and (002) levels. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

Arctic ozone loss due to denitrification

Measurements from the winter of 1994-95 indicating removal of total reactive nitrogen from the Arctic stratosphere by particle sedimentation were used to constrain a microphysical model. The model suggests that denitrification is caused predominantly by nitric acid trihydrate particles in small number densities. The denitrification is shown to increase Arctic ozone loss substantially. Sensitivity studies indicate that the Arctic stratosphere is currently at a threshold of denitrification. This implies that future stratospheric cooling, induced by an increase in the anthropogenic carbon dioxide burden, is likely to enhance denitrification and to delay until late in the next century the return of Arctic stratospheric ozone to preindustrial values.