Data · dataset · 2026
Isotopic ordering in atmospheric O2 as a tracer of ozone photochemistry and the tropical atmosphere
Listed in National Center for Atmospheric Research
The distribution of isotopes within O-2 molecules can be rapidly altered when they react with atomic oxygen.
Description
This mechanism is globally important: while other contributions to the global budget of O-2 impart isotopic signatures, the O(P-3)+O-2 reaction resets all such signatures in the atmosphere on subdecadal timescales. Consequently, the isotopic distribution within O-2 is determined by O-3 photochemistry and the circulation patterns that control where that photochemistry occurs.
The variability of isotopic ordering in O-2 has not been established, however. We present new measurements of (OO)-O-18-O-18 in air (reported as (36) values) from the surface to 33km altitude. They confirm the basic features of the clumped-isotope budget of O-2: Stratospheric air has higher (36) values than tropospheric air (i.e., more (OO)-O-18-O-18), reflecting colder temperatures and fast photochemical cycling of O-3.
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Lower (36) values in the troposphere arise from photochemistry at warmer temperatures balanced by the influx of high-(36) air from the stratosphere. These observations agree with predictions derived from the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model, which provides additional insight. We find a link between tropical circulation patterns and regions where (36) values are reset in the troposphere.
The dynamics of these regions influences lapse rates, vertical and horizontal patterns of O-2 reordering, and thus the isotopic distribution toward which O-2 is driven in the troposphere. Temporal variations in (36) values at the surface should therefore reflect changes in tropospheric temperatures, photochemistry, and circulation. Our results suggest that the tropospheric O-3 burden has remained within a 10% range since 1978.
Links
Get the data
- Publisher page n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7nc62zg ↗
documentation · download · from data ucar edu
Where it is published
- data.ucar.edu /dataset/isotopic-ordering-in-atmospheric-o2-as-a-tracer-of-ozo… ↗
National Center for Atmospheric Research dataset page
landing page · from data ucar edu
Catalogue records · 1
- CKAN API data.ucar.edu/api/3/action/package_show?id=94de2920-9cfc-4457-a4d4-c139df4e3… ↗
metadata API · from data ucar edu
Topics
- From keywords
- Earth & Environmental Science · Ocean & Atmospheric Science
Provenance · 1 source records, 7 field assertions
| Source | Key | Last seen | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Center for Atmospheric Research | 94de2920-9cfc-4457-a4d4-c139df4e3adc | 11 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Field | Assertion | Extractor | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:ocean-atmospheric | mapping · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| created_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| description | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | /notes |
| publication_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| title | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | /title |
| updated_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 |