09 In what molecules is _stratospheric_ chlorine found?
Description
This article is from the Ozone Depletion: Stratospheric Chlorine and Bromine FAQ, by Robert Parson rparson@spot.colorado.edu with numerous contributions by others.
09 In what molecules is _stratospheric_ chlorine found?
The halocarbons described above are all found in the stratosphere,
and in the lower stratosphere they are the dominant form of chlorine.
At higher altitudes inorganic chlorine is abundant, most of it in
the form of HCl or of _chlorine nitrate_, ClONO2. These are called
"chlorine reservoirs"; they do not themselves react with ozone, but
they generate a small amount of chlorine-containing radicals - Cl,
ClO, ClO2, and related species, referred to collecively as the
"ClOx family" - which do. An increase in the concentration of
chlorine reservoirs leads to an increase in the concentration of
the ozone-destroying radicals.
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