Evidence for heterogeneous chlorine activation in the tropical UTLS

2011

Airborne in-situ observations of ClO in the tropics were made during the TROCCINOX (Aracatuba, Brazil, February 2005) and SCOUT-O<sub>3</sub> (Darwin, Australia, November/December 2005) field campaigns. While during most flights significant amounts of ClO (≈10–20 parts per trillion, ppt) were present only in aged stratospheric air, instances of enhanced ClO mixing ratios of up to 40 ppt – significantly exceeding those expected from gas phase chemistry – were observed in air masses of a more tropospheric character. Most of these observations are associated with low temperatures or with the presence of cirrus clouds (often both), suggesting that cirrus ice particles and/or liquid …