Abstract

Investigation of chemical and physical processes driving the composition of the polar stratosphere and being responsible for the formation of the ozone hole over the Antarctic continent each spring is a major topic of stratospheric research. In particular in the Arctic region knowledge of the distribution of primary reservoir and reactive species is rather poor. While several publications appeared on column amount measurements from ground and from aircrafts, no vertical distributions have been reported till now on some key reservoir molecules like ClONO₂, HCl and N₂O₅. Imbedded in the European Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Experiment (EASOE) the balloon-borne version of MIPAS (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding) had two flights near the northern polar circle in January and March 1992. This report gives an overview on the large amount of information recorded and focusses on the analysis of vertical profiles of ClONO₂ and HNO₃.

© 1993 Optical Society of America