Potential for photochemical ozone formation in the troposphere over the North Atlantic as derived from aircraft observations during ACSOE

In this paper, ozone (O3), water vapor (H2O), carbon monoxide (CO), and peroxide concentrations and photolysis rates measured in the troposphere over the North Atlantic during two Atmospheric Chemistry Studies in the Oceanic Environment (ACSOE) aircraft field campaigns are used to calculate the concentration of nitric oxide (NO) required for net photochemical O3 production (nPO3) to be positive (NOcomp). NOcomp tended to show a decrease with altitude, although it was sometimes found to be low in the marine boundary layer (MBL) where H2O concentrations were high and O3 concentrations were low. nPO3 was calculated for the spring when NO data were available and was found to be mostly negative and generally increased from about -0.5 to -0.2 ppbv hr-1 in the MBL to +0.04 ppbv hr-1 at about 7–8 km altitude. The results suggest that much of the lower and middle troposphere over the eastern North Atlantic during spring is in a state of slow net photochemical O3 destruction. However, in the upper troposphere, the system changes to one of net photochemical production, which results from the drier environment and higher NO concentrations. Furthermore, examples of net O3 production were also observed in the lower and middle troposphere associated with either in situ sources of NO or long-range transport of pollution. The paper also illustrates the sensitivity of this O3 production/loss state to H2O and NO concentrations, photolysis rates, and temperatures.