On the use of nonmethane hydrocarbons for the determination of age spectra in the lower stratosphere

On 9 April 2001, while approaching the West Coast of the North American continent, flight 20 of the NASA TRACE P campaign penetrated deeply into a stratospheric intrusion. From measurements aboard that flight we derive vertical profiles of nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) and other short‐lived trace gases in the lower stratosphere using Dichlorofluoromethane, CF 2 Cl 2 , as the altitude scale. All profiles show an exponential decrease, which permits the description of their vertical distribution by a single parameter, the scale height. These scale heights are shown to be related to the respective lifetimes in a unique fashion. Using the approximation of a 1‐D diffusive model with a constant eddy diffusion coefficient, K, and assuming constant lifetimes, we establish an analytical solution for this relation. By fitting this theoretical expression to the experimental data we can estimate K and thus obtain an approximate age spectrum of the form given by Hall and Plumb (1994). A much better fit to the experimental scale heights is obtained, when we allow the lifetimes to be height‐dependent and calculate the theoretical scale heights numerically from a 1‐D model. An optimization also suggests a constant K, but with a value of 0.46 m 2 /s, larger than those obtained from the fit of the analytical solution. The obtained age spectra should be valid for transit times not longer than 300 days.