Spectrometer measurements of ozone and nitrogen dioxide from Arrival Heights, South Pole Station, Halley Base and Campbell Island

The measurement of trace gas species in the stratosphere was monitored. Ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) interact to have an important effect on the radiation balance in the stratosphere. The spatial and temporal variation in these gases, whose quantities in the stratosphere are controlled by photochemistry and by horizontal and vertical transport processes, was measured. A spectrometer was installed at Arrival Heights, the South Pole Station and Halley Base in a collaborative agreement (1985). The spectrometer measurements are made in the UV, visible and infrared regions of the spectrum. The stratospheric gases (O3 and NO2) are quantified by their absorption signature, using scattered sunlight as a light source. The interplay between dynamics and chemistry has been identified and the photochemical behaviour of oxides of nitrogen as a function of season were quantified. The instruments were services and replaced at various intervals. The spectrometer at the South Pole Station was removed in autumn of 1990. Another spectrometer was installed at Campbell Island in the spring of 1990. The measurements show the removal of active nitrogen to the stable reservoir species.