GROUND-BASED OBSERVATION OF STRATOSPHERIC NITROGEN DIOXIDE BY DIFFERENTIAL OPTICAL ABSORPTION METHOD

The study of effects of solar activity on the physical and chemical process in the middle atmosphere is an important part in solar-terrestrial physics. In the photochemical process of the stratosphere, atmospheric nitrogen dioxide plays an important role because it controls the ozone balance directly through the following pair of catalytic reaction, especially in the altitute region 20-40 km, where the catalytic cycle constitutes 60-70% of total loss rate for odd oxygen 1. It is therefore of fundamental importance to determine nitrogen dioxide concentration and its variation with time in the stratosphere.