Injection of iodine to the stratosphere

ALFONSO SAIZ-LOPEZ; BAIDAR, S.; CARLOS A CUEVAS; KOENING, T.K.; RAFAEL PEDRO FERNÁNDEZ; DIX, BARBARA; DOUGLAS E. KINNISON; JEAN-FRANCOISE LAMARQUE; XAVIER RODRIGUEZ-LLOEVERAS; CAMPOS, T.L.; RAINER VOLKAMER

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS

AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION

Año: 2015 vol. 42 p. 1 - 8

0094-8276

We report a new estimation of the injection of iodine into the stratosphere based on novel daytime (solar zenith angle < 45°) aircraft observations in the tropical tropopause layer and a global atmospheric model with the most recent knowledge about iodine photochemistry. The results indicate that significant levels of total reactive iodine (0.25-0.7 parts per trillion by volume), between 2 and 5 times larger than the accepted upper limits, can be injected into the stratosphere via tropical convective outflow. At these iodine levels, modeled iodine catalytic cycles account for up to 30% of the contemporary ozone loss in the tropical lower stratosphere and can exert a stratospheric ozone depletion potential equivalent to, or even larger than, that of very short-lived bromocarbons. Therefore, we suggest that iodine sources and chemistry need to be considered in assessments of the historical and future evolution of the stratospheric ozone layer.