Stratospheric CFCl3, CF2Cl2, and N2O height profile measurements at several latitudes

Abstract

The mixing ratios of CFCl3, CF2Cl2, and N2O have been measured as a function of altitude from 6 to 37 km above sea level by using a balloon‐borne grab‐sampling system. The 24 flights were made during the period July 1976 to March 1979 from Wyoming, Panama, Brazil, and Antarctica. These data are reported here both numerically and graphically, the latter being examined for latitudinal and temporal trends. A mean tropopause height for each location and date was used as the reference for the height profiles. The resulting set of CF2Cl2 and N2O profiles show a discernible dependence on latitude; the lapse rate of these mixing ratios is greater for the mid‐latitudes when compared to the equatorial latitudes. The upper tropospheric portion of the CFCl3 and CF2Cl2 data show annual increases of 10.4±3.9 and 10.7±1.9%/yr, respectively, in the northern hemisphere for the middle of the measurement period (end of 1977). Furthermore, the limited number of southern hemispheric data for these constituents are about 8% lower than the northern hemispheric values but have a comparable annual increase. The corresponding N2O data show no interhemispheric differences and the possibility of only a slight increase (less than 2%/yr).