Virgil G. Kunde

Publications (2)0 Total impact

• Article: Nighttime reactive nitrogen measurements from stratospheric infrared thermal emission observations

  Mian M. Abbas, Virgil G. Kunde, J. C. Brasunas, J. R. Herman, Steven T. Massie
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  ABSTRACT: IR thermal emission spectra of the earth's atmosphere in the 700-2000/cm region were obtained with a cryogenically cooled high-resolution interferometer spectrometer on a balloon flight from Palestine, Texas, on September 15-16, 1986. The observations exhibit spectral features of a number of stratospheric constituents, including important species of the reactive nitrogen family. An analysis of the observed data for simultaneously measured vertical distributions of O3, H2O, N2O, NO2, N2O5, HNO3, and ClONO2 is presented. These measurements permit the first direct determination of the nighttime total reactive nitrogen concentrations, and the partitioning of the important elements of the NO(x) family. Comparisons of the total reactive nitrogen budget are made with the measurements by the ATMOS experiment and with the predictions of one-dimensional and two-dimensional photochemical models.
  07/1991;
• Article: Infrared spectroscopy of the lower stratosphere with a balloon-borne cryogenic Fourier spectrometer

  Virgil G. Kunde, J. C. Brasunas, B. J. Conrath, R. A. Hanel, J. R. Herman
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  ABSTRACT: The IR limb emission of the lower stratosphere has been measured using a balloon-borne liquid nitrogen-cooled Michelson interferometer with liquid helium-cooled Si:Ga detectors. Portions of the thermal emission spectrum have been recorded between 650 and 2000/cm with an unapodized spectral resolution of 0.03/cm. This is the highest spectral resolution limb emission thus far obtained. A preliminary description is given of these data along with a discussion of the significant features. Species identified to date include CO2, O3, CFCl3, CF2Cl2, H2O, CH4, HNO3, N2O, NO2, and ClONO2. A tentative identification is made for NO, representing the first direct spectroscopic detection of NO in emission.
  03/1987;