Other Names

CH₃CN, Acetonitrile

Definition

Methyl Cyanide (CH₃CN) is a comparatively long-lived minor constituent in the Earth atmosphere.
Its main source in the troposphere is biomass burning. Its primary loss mechanism is reaction with the OH radical, the lifetime with respect to which has been estimated to be approx 20 years at 20 km. The CH3CN data from Microwave Limb Sounding (UARS/MLS) are based on observations of emission from a cluster of rotational lines around 202.3 GHz.

Applications

(1) Atmospheric Chemistry Models	(3) Health and Environment
(2) Air Quality	(4) Climate Change

GES DISC Datasets

Quick Search for 'Methyl Cyanide' with Mirador
Click on the corresponding 'WHOM access' links in the table below to access products containing specific parameter.

Parameter	Units	Platform /Instrument	Data
			Begin Date	End Date	WHOM Access	Doc
Methyl Cyanide (CH3CN) Profiles, mixing ratios at different pressure levels, (Global Gridded, at equal intervals of latitude/or equal intervals of time)	vmr	UARS/MLS	1991-09-18	1999-07-28	UARML3AT	Y
					UARML3AL	Y
		Aura/MLS	2004-08-08	Current	ML2CH3CN.002	Y