Abstract
Meteoroids ablate largely in the Earth's ionosphere (at altitudes between 80 and 120 km) and the products are seen mostly as atomic ions1–3. Atomic neutral atoms have also been observed and studied optically, but the data are not extensive for elements other than sodium4,5. The processes responsible for maintaining the equilibrium of metallic atoms and ions in the ionosphere are understood generally6–9. Below 80 km, the metal ions are largely neutralized. The chemistry which occurs during the subsequent transport of the metals to the ground is uncertain; aerosols collected in the lower stratosphere have been reported to contain chlorides and sulphates of metals (some of which occur in meteors)10–12 while aerosols collected in the troposphere have been found to contain many metals among which are meteor metals13–16. It has been suggested that ions of the type Na+ · (H2O)n may be present in the upper stratosphere17, their presence being plausible in view of a meteor sodium model which indicated that large amounts of NaOH (almost 106 cm−3) would be present at 40 km (ref. 18). This latter conclusion was questioned19 in view of thermochemical data which indicated that NaOH, once formed, should be removed quickly by reaction with Cl, ClO and HCl. We consider here reactions of meteor, and other, metals with Cl, ClO and HCl to assess the impact of halocarbons on ozone. Release of 1,000 tonne of sodium (or similar metal) may significantly reduce the harmful effects of halocarbons on ozone for several years.
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Murad, E., Swider, W. & Benson, S. Possible role for metals in stratospheric chlorine chemistry. Nature 289, 273–274 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/289273a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/289273a0
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