Stratospheric HF column abundances above Kitt Peak (31.9°N latitude):: trends from 1977 to 2001 and correlations with stratospheric HCl columns

Time series of stratospheric hydrogen fluoride (HF) column abundances have been derived from infrared solar absorption spectra recorded for 195 days between May 1977 and June 2001 at a spectral resolution of typically 0.01 cm(-1). The measurements were made at the US National Solar Observatory facility on Kitt Peak, Arizona, USA (31.9degreesN, 111.6degreesW, 2.09 km altitude) and have been analyzed with the SFIT2 algorithm, which is based on a semi-empirical application of the optimal estimation method. The measurements show a continuous buildup of the stratospheric HF column over the 24-yr period superimposed on short-term variations and a seasonal cycle with spring maxima and autumn minima. The measured stratospheric HF columns increased by a factor of 4.7, from 2.03 x 10(14) molecule cm(-2) in May 1977 to 9.49 x 10(14) molecule cm(-2) in June 2001. A best fit with a model that assumes an exponential increase in the stratospheric HF column with time superimposed on a sinusoidal seasonal cycle yields an average rate of stratospheric HF column increase of (4.30 +/- 0.15% yr(-1)), 1 sigma. The rate of increase is nearly a factor of two less than that derived previously from 1977 to 1990 Kitt Peak total columns, which indicates a significant slowdown in the increase rate during the 1990s, consistent with the trends from recent near-global lower mesospheric satellite remote and surface in situ measurements. Day-to-day stratospheric HIT columns are highly correlated with the same day stratospheric HCl columns as a result of common transport of lower and higher latitude air to above the station. Extrapolation of the linear relation between the two sets of stratospheric columns indicates a background HCl column of 1 x 10(15) molecule cm(-2) for zero HF, consistent with a previous estimate from 1977 to 1990 HF and HCl Kitt Peak total column measurements and a 1973 HCl measurement above the station. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.