Machta believes that most of the N2O is evolved through denitrification of increasingly used nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture, although he also men tions the importance of combustion sources. He and Dutton are concerned about these and other types of contri butions of N2O from human activity that one day could alter the balance between production and destruction of stratospheric ozone. On the other hand, Weiss feels that combustion sources are more responsible for the recent increase in N2O. A 60-story balloon Perhaps one way to attempt to re solve some—though by no means all—of the uncertainties concerning what is occurring chemically in the stratospheric ozone layer is to take actual samples several times daily, if possible. To achieve this objective, James Anderson of the Center for Earth and Planetary Physics at Har vard University planned to suspend a balloon about 45 km above the surface of the earth (ES& T, Vol. 15, No. 4, p. 377). Instruments on a platform sus pended below the 60-story balloon would be reeled down and up 20 km by means of a specially designed winch
and very light cable. These instruments would sample monatomic oxygen, ozone, chlorine oxide (CIO), and the HO2 radical (also a suspected threat to ozone), and would then be retracted into the platform. Reeling down and up could be done as often as 10 times a day. A large amount of data could be acquired with a single set of instru ments, and telemetered to earth. An derson's project was (and still is) funded by NASA. Apparently, there has been some delay in getting this experiment off the ground. Last March, Anderson told ES& Τ that the first launch would be scheduled for this month. The object will be to determine whether an in strument cluster can indeed be low ered—in this case, to 50 000 ft below the balloon's platform—and then reeled up. The first flight will not carry a full array of instruments. "If we are successful this June, we will then move quickly on to the next step, which is to determine whether there is a chemical link between ozone and chlorine in the stratosphere," Anderson said. If Anderson's experiment succeeds, perhaps scientists predicting ozone reduction (or no such reduction) may be able to acquire the refined data that
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could improve their understanding of chemical processes in the stratospheric ozone layer. Others do not believe that the balloon experiment will yield enough data suitable for gaining such knowledge and eventually developing useful predictive models. Perhaps, given the conditions of temperature, pressure, and radiation one finds in the stratosphere, the data that Anderson might acquire will furnish a grab bag of surprises to keep the experts at the drawing board for a much longer time than they had hoped. —Julian Josephson Additional reading National Research Council Report. "Causes and Effects of Stratospheric Ozone Reduction: An Update"; National Academy Press: Wash ington, 1982. Komhyr, W. D. et al. " F i l and FI2 Abun dances, Trends, and Residence Times De termined from 1977-1981 Measurements at NOAA/GMCC Baseline Stations," pre sented at the 183rd National Meeting, ACS, Las Vegas, 1982. Komhyr, W. D. et al. "1960s Ozone Increase Followed by a Decrease in Ozone over North America During the 1970s," presented at the 183rd National Meeting, ACS, Las Vegas, 1982. Wuebbles, D. et al. "Effect of Coupled An thropogenic Perturbations on Stratospheric Ozone," UCRL No. 86870, presented at the 183rd National Meeting, ACS, Las Vegas, 1982.
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CIRCLE 8 ON READER SERVICE CARD Environ. Sci. Technol., Vol. 16, No. 6, 1982
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