ESR project 2: MIF in atmospheric CO and the CO+OH reaction
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric research Utrecht (IMAU), Utrecht University (UU), The Netherlands
supervisor, T. Röckmann, IMAU
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co-supervisor M. S. Johnson, CCAR
The reaction of CO with OH produces a MIF signal in the remaining CO that is directly related to
OH (Röckmann et al. 1998b). OH is the main oxidizing reagent of the atmosphere and the MIF signature
contains information about the atmosphere's oxidative state. Indeed, the laboratory data explain the
observed size and seasonality of the 17O anomaly of CO in the atmosphere (Röckmann et al. 1998b;
Röckmann et al. 2002). However, the two studies available to date (from network participants IMAU
and CCAR) are not in complete agreement. IMAU and CCAR will investigate the anomalous isotope effect
in this reaction and its dependence on temperature and pressure in detail. This project is closely
related to ESR project 6, where CCAR will study the production of anomalous CO from ozonolysis of u
nsaturated compounds (Röckmann et al. 1998a), because ESR project 2 includes measurements on the
17O anomaly in atmospheric CO in regions where we expect a large contribution from ozonolysis. Finally,
in collaboration with the LGGE group, we will attempt to reconstruct the 17O anomaly of CO in the past
from ice core air. This could be a unique measure of changes in the oxidative state of the atmosphere
in the past.