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The concentration of molecular H2 and CH4 in the stratosphere

  • Observational Results on Other Trace Substances
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Abstract

Stratospheric profiles of CH4 and H2 over eastern Texas have been derived up to 31 km altitude from air samples collected aboard a balloon and analyzed by gas chromatography. For H2, contamination during flight and measurement presented a problem which has been resolved only recently. The earlier profiles require corrections which are rather large for the highest altitudes.

The three profiles indicate an increase of the H2 concentration in the lower stratosphere from about 0.5 p.p.m. per volume at the tropopause to about 0.8 p.p.m. at around 27 km altitude. Above that altitude the H2 concentration decreases again. An air sample collected between 44 and 62 km by a rocket-borne cryogenic sampler had an H2 concentration of 0.4 p.p.m.

The five CH4 profiles showed a decrease in CH4 concentration with altitude generally with a steeper gradient directly above the tropopause and a weaker gradient at higher altitudes reaching 0.9 p.p.m. at 30 km altitude. The CH4 concentration in the rocket sample was 0.25 p.p.m., in good agreement with the gradient obtained from the balloon samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for Atmospheric Research, 80302, Boulder, Colorado, USA

    L. E. Heidt

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  1. D. H. Ehhalt
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  2. L. E. Heidt
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The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

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Ehhalt, D.H., Heidt, L.E. The concentration of molecular H2 and CH4 in the stratosphere. PAGEOPH 106, 1352–1360 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00881090

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