Other Names
ClO
Definition
Chlorine monoxide (ClO), a major ozone-destroying radical, is a higly reactive gas species.
The ClO is produced in the reaction of Cl atoms with ozone. ClO increases in the Antarctic and Arctic polar winter sratospheric regions when polar sstratosphere clouds are formed in the cold stratosphere and then decreases as the temperature rises. Cl atoms are result of the reaction of HCl and ClONO2, the by products of the UV destruction of man-made CFC's. The conversion back of ClO to Cl without reforming O3 results in chlorine-catalyzed ozone loss in the stratosphere. ClO increase causes massive ozone depletion in the polar winters. Since radicals are not consumed in the catalytic cycles, the small concentration of radicals can destroy large amounts of ozone.
Applications
| (1) Atmospheric Chemistry Models | (3) Polar Atmospheric Processes |
| (2) Monitoring of Ozone Layer | (4) Tropospheric-Stratospheric Exchanges |
GES DISC Datasets
Atmos Composition
