Link Between Enhanced Arctic Tropospheric BrO Observed By Aura OMI and Meteorological Conditions

Sungyeon Choi1,2, Joanna Joiner3, Ross J Salawitch4, Timothy P Canty5, Nicolas Theys6, Arlindo da SIlva7, Kelly Chance8, Raid M M Suleiman8 and Thomas p Kurosu9, (1)Science Systems and Applications, Inc., Lanham, MD, United States, (2)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (3)NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, United States, (4)University of Maryland College Park, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College Park, MD, United States, (5)University of Maryland, College Park, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, College Park, United States, (6)Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Brussels, Belgium, (7)Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, United States, (8)Atomic and Molecular Physics Division, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, United States, (9)Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States
Abstract:
Bromine radicals (Br + BrO) are important species owing to the ability to destroy ozone catalytically. They may also impact oxidative pathways of many trace gases including dimethylsulfide (DMS) and mercury. Bromine monoxide (BrO) is the most commonly observed bromine radical species. Since it absorbs ultraviolet (UV) radiation, it can be observed using remote sensing technique including Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS). Previous studies have reported rapid enhancements tropospheric BrO (so called “BrO explosion”) connected to near-surface ozone depletion events during springtime in the Arctic. Space-based observation of BrO through Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) is an excellent tool for studying bromine chemistry particularly for the Arctic due to its frequent observations at high latitudes. We derive tropospheric columns BrO by subtracting estimates of stratospheric column BrO from OMI total column BrO and air mass factor (AMF) correction, and analyze the tropospheric columns BrO in conjunction with Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Application (MERRA) meteorological fields provided by NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) in order to investigate a link between BrO explosion and near-surface meteorological factors.
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