Abstract

A chemical ionization mass spectrometer was used to measure BrO and HOBr+Br-2 over the Tropical West Pacific Ocean within the altitude range of 1 to 15km, during the CONvective TRansport of Active Species in the Tropics (CONTRAST) campaign in 2014. Isolated episodes of elevated BrO (up to 6.6pptv... Show moreA chemical ionization mass spectrometer was used to measure BrO and HOBr+Br-2 over the Tropical West Pacific Ocean within the altitude range of 1 to 15km, during the CONvective TRansport of Active Species in the Tropics (CONTRAST) campaign in 2014. Isolated episodes of elevated BrO (up to 6.6pptv) and/or HOBr+Br-2 (up to 7.3pptv) were observed in the tropical free troposphere (TFT) and were associated with biomass burning. However, most of the time we did not observe significant BrO or HOBr+Br-2 in the TFT and the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) above our limits of detection (LOD). The 1min average LOD for BrO ranged from 0.6 to 1.6pptv and for HOBr+Br-2 ranged from 1.3 to 3.5pptv. During one flight, BrO observations from the TTL to the extratropical lowermost stratosphere were used to infer a profile of inorganic bromine (Br-y). Based on this profile, we estimated the product gas injection of bromine species into the stratosphere to be 2pptv. Analysis of Br-y partitioning further indicates that BrO levels are likely very low in the TFT environment and that future studies should target the measurement of HBr or atomic Br. Show less