Vertical Column Abundances and Seasonal Cycle of Acetylene, C2H 2, above the Jungfraujoch Station, Derived from IR Solar Observations

Abstract. Monthly mean total vertical column abundances of acetylene have been determined from series of infrared solar spectra recorded at the Jungfraujoch station, Switzerland, between June 1986 and April 1991. The data have been obtained by nonlinear least-squares fittings of the Vs band RI9 transition of C2H2 at 776.0818 cm-I. The average of 22 monthly mean total vertical columns of C2H 2 retrieved during that time interval of almost 5 years was found to be equal to (1.81 ±O.I2)x lOtS moleclcm 2 • which corresponds to an average mixing ratio of (0.22 ±0.013) ppbv (parts per billion by volume) in a troposphere extending from the altitude of the station (3.58 km), up to 10.5 km. Despite the large variability found from year to year, a least-squares sine fit to the data reveals a seasonal varia-tion with an amplitude of about ±4() % of the mean; the maximum occurs during mid-winter and the minimum in the summer. The present results are compared critically with similar in-situ data found in the literature. A sinusoidal fit to all such free troposphere measurements made in-situ between 30 · N and 60 · N indicates good agreement in shape and phase with the seasonal variation derived above the Jungfraujoch, but their average column abundance, 2.3 x 1015 molee/cm 2, is about 30 % higher; this difference is explained on the basis of non-upwelling meteorological conditions generally prevailing during ground-based remote solar observations. Key words: Acetylene, atmospheric composition, solar observations. 1