Total stratospheric bromine inferred from balloon-borne solar occultation bromine oxide (BrO) measurements using the new TotalBrO instrument

Halogenated organic and inorganic compounds, in particular those containing chlorine, bromine and iodine are known to contribute to the global ozone depletion as well as directly and indirectly to climate forcing. As a result of the Montreal Protocol (1987), the chlorine and bromine loadings of the stratosphere are closely monitored, while the role of iodinated compounds to the stratospheric ozone photochemistry is still uncertain.

To address the questions concerning bromine and iodine compounds, a compact solar occultation instrument (TotalBrO) has been specifically designed to measure BrO, IO (iodine oxide) and other UV/Vis absorbing gases by means of Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) from aboard a stratospheric balloon. The instrument (power consumption < 100 W) comprises of an active camera-based solar tracker (LxWxH ~ 0.40 m x 0.40 m x 0.50 m, weight ~ 12 kg) and a spectrometer unit (LxWxH ~ 0.45 m x 0.40 m x 0.40 m, weight ~ 25 kg). The spectrometer unit houses two grating spectrometers which operate in vacuum and under temperature stabilization by an ice-water bath.

We discuss the performance of the TotalBrO instrument during the first two deployments on stratospheric balloons launched from Kiruna in August, 2021 and from Timmins in August, 2022 within the HEMERA program. Once the balloon gondola was azimuthally stabilized the solar tracker was able to follow the sun with a 1σ precision lower than 0.02° up to solar zenith angles (SZAs) of 95°. The spectral retrieval (of 46 spectra acquired at SZA between 84° and 90°) allowed us to infer the BrO mixing ratio above 32 km altitude. The total bromine in the middle stratosphere is inferred by accounting for the BrO/Br_y partitioning derived from a photochemical model.