Darmstadt 2008 – scientific programme
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UP: Fachverband Umweltphysik
UP 1: Atmosphäre und Klima
UP 1.9: Talk
Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 11:00–11:15, 3B
Latitudinal and vertical distribution of ethane retrieved from ground-based solar absorption measurements — •Anna Katinka Petersen1, Thorsten Warneke1, Justus Notholt1, and Otto Schrems2 — 1Institut für Umweltphysik (IUP), Universität Bremen, Bremen — 2Alfred Wegener Institut (AWI), Bremerhaven
Measurements of the global variations of trace gases are important for the understanding of chemical and dynamical processes that control the distribution of these trace gases. Emissions within the tropics, especially from biomass burning, contribute substantially to the global budgets of many important trace gases. Currently large uncertainties in the budgets of many trace gases in the tropics exist, mainly due to a lack of measurements. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been found to be one of the most suitable instruments for the measurements of atmospheric trace gases
We performed solar absorption FTIR measurements onboard the German research vessel Polarstern during five cruises on the Atlantic between 1996 and 2005 and at the tropical site Paramaribo, Suriname (5.8°N, 55.2°W) between September 2004 and November 2006. Here we present volume mixing ratio profiles of ethane (C2H6) and compare our results with space-borne data from the ATMOS instrument and with measurements from balloon sondes. The combination of the FTIR-observations with space-borne measurements is used to study the long-range transport of pollutants from the tropics to mid- and high latitudes.