Summary
The disturbance of the natural distribution of odd nitrogen by emission of nitric oxide from future SST activities was assessed by means of a two-dimensinal model. This model was derived from fission products injected into the stratophere by French and Chinese nuclear tests.
As natural sources for the NO−NO2−HNO3 system oxidation of N2O by O(′D) and cosmic rays were considered while the natural sink is assumed to be due to washout and rainout. For two extreme cases, 500 SST eually distributed on the northern hemisphere north of 25° and 500 SST crusing within a latitude belt 10 degrees wide around 40°N, perturbations were studied for four flight altitudes between 18 km and 24 km. The results show an increase of odd nitrogen by 1 to 15 ppb by volume depending on flight altitude and latitude. In the photochemically important altitude region above 24 km an increase of the SST flight altitude by 2 km approximately doubles the perturbation.
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Fabian, P. The effect of SST on the stratospheric distribution of odd nitrogen. PAGEOPH 112, 901–913 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00881495
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00881495