Abstract
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) play an important role in atmospheric chemistry. High tropospheric NOx concentrations increase ozone (O₃) levels via photochemical cycling of NO to NO₂, whereas low NOx concentrations result in the catalytic destruction of O₃. NO₂ also reacts with OH to control the atmospheric oxidation potential and to form HNO₃, a stable nitrogen source for the biosphere. Lightning is known to produce significant amounts of atmospheric NOx, but quantitative estimates vary considerably. In this study, satellite and ground-based lightning data were used to estimate lightning's contribution to the atmospheric NOx budget. The results suggest that lightning produces a significant portion of NOx in the southeastern U.S. during the summer months. The effects of NOx production by lightning on atmospheric chemistry were also investigated. The estimates of lightning-produced NOx were used in the NCAR three-dimensional chemical-transport model MOZART to simulate the impact on the tropospheric concentrations of NOx and O₃. The results suggest that lightning plays an important role in affecting the concentrations of NOx and other tropospheric oxidants such as O₃ in the upper troposphere.
Bond, Donald William (2001). NO[x] production by lightning in the continental U.S. and its impacts on tropospheric chemistry. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -2001 -THESIS -B63.