Hydrogen in the Atmosphere:
Observations above a Forest Canopy in a Polluted Environment




D. H. Barnes, S. C. Wofsy, B. P. Fehlau, and E. W. Gottlieb
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138

J. W. Elkins, G. S. Dutton and P. C. Novelli
Climate Monitoring Diagnostics Laboratory
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Boulder, CO 80305


J. Geophys. Res., submitted July 2001

Abstract

Long-term in situ observations of atmospheric concentrations of molecular hydrogen were monitored over three years (1996-1998) every 24 minutes above Harvard Forest, Massachusetts, in concert with measurements of carbon monoxide and twelve other trace gases. A seasonal cycle with a spring maximum and autumn minimum was observed. The diurnal cycle was characterized by a morning minimum and afternoon maximum, reflecting the combined effects of uptake by soils and boundary height fluctuations. Enhancements of H2 concentrations in pollution events, concurrent with winds from the southwest, were typically 100-200 ppb above the background seasonal cycle. The mean ratio of H2:CO in pollution plumes was 0.403 ± 0.049 ppb/ppb, in agreement with car emission data, indicating that automobiles are the major anthropogenic source of atmospheric hydrogen.