One process for the destruction of ozone in the lower arctic troposphere appears to be the reaction between gaseous bromine and ozone, producing filterable bromine aerosols whose abundance exceeds that expected from the sea salt in the atmosphere. Similar excess bromine aerosols is observed in the lower arctic stratosphere, implying that gaseous bromine may be responsible for ozone destruction there as well. In the Spring of 1989, the aircraft component of the Arctic Radiation and Chemistry Experiment collected particulate aerosol samples in profiles form near the surface to the stratosphere. These samples will be examined with a high resolution analytical electron microscope to determine individual particle morphology and composition. The system is able to provide quantitative analyses for elements from Carbon to Uranium (atomic number range of 6 to 92). Concurrently, bulk aerosol samples will be collected and analyzed for elemental composition using x-ray fluorescence techniques. It will then be possible to determine whether the excess bromine in the boundary layer aerosol is of natural or anthropogenic origin, whether it reacts with ozone to produce a bromide aerosol, and whether the excess filterable bromine aerosol observed in the lower stratosphere may also be the product of a bromine gas-ozone destruction reaction.
