Satellite observations of the global distribution of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) from ACE

A near global distribution of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the mid- to upper troposphere and low to mid-stratosphere was obtained by the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) satellite. The data show that hydrogen peroxide exhibits both a seasonal and diurnal cycle with high variability in the upper troposphere. ACE data also show the influence of photochemistry on sunrise and sunset hydrogen peroxide distributions. The tropospheric hydrogen peroxide distribution was compared with output from the three-dimensional chemical transport model GEOS-Chem. The GEOS-Chem model is in good general agreement with ACE for hydrogen peroxide, capturing the main features observed including the diurnal and seasonal variation; however volume mixing ratios (VMRs) for the model are consistently greater than those of ACE.

► Near global distribution of hydrogen peroxide. ► Retrievals obtained by the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) satellite. ► Hydrogen peroxide exhibits both a seasonal and diurnal cycle.