Ozone Measurements in the Mesosphere and Stratosphere During Two Significant Geophysical Events

Abstract

Measurements of ozone have been performed in the mesosphere and stratosphere by means of a chemiluminescent, self-pumping parachute-sonde released from a rocket developed by Goddard Space Flight Center. Two ozone flights were performed in the arctic winter at Pt. Barrow, Alaska (71N), in January 1969, during a seasonal transition in the upper atmosphere. The change in the measured profiles was consistent with the model of a simple oxygen atmosphere in chemical equilibrium, if the supply of atomic oxygen is assumed to be constant. A diurnal measurement was performed in March 1970 at Wallops Island, Va. The ozone concentration measured below 30 km was in good agreement with data from simultaneously flown balloonsondes. The data were also in general agreement with contemporary moist-atmosphere models and other empirical data above thew altitudes. The nighttime mixing ratio between 60 and 67 km was approximately twice that measured during the day. The altitude resolution of the experiment is about 1 km, the precision 10%, and the absolute accuracy approximately 20%.