Non-photochemical processes of ozone formation and destruction in the lower atmosphere

The results of an analysis of ozonometric data obtained in the period 1959-1973 in the Moscow area are discussed. The influence of hydrometeors, humidity, ambient temperature, and the character of the underlying surface on the efficiency of nonphotochemical sources of ozone in the lower atmosphere was studied. Maximum concentrations were observed in spring-summer, minimum ones in fall-winter. The regular diurnal ozone variations having their maxima about noon and minima at night were about half as great in the city as in the suburban area. Ozone concentrations were found to fall nearly to zero in droplet fogs and drizzle. The process of ozone formation and destruction was studied by measuring the vertical ozone profile on a 500-m high TV tower during the time of the seasonal and daily ozone minimum in the presence of rain. Growth of ozone concentration over a three hour period was possibly due to the freeing of the ozone dissolved in shower droplets when the temperature of the droplets increased.