UC Irvine

The thermodynamic properties of several water‐soluble gases are reviewed to determine the likely effect of the atmospheric water cycle on their vertical profiles. We find that gaseous HCl, HNO3, and HBr are sufficiently soluble in water to suggest that their vertical profiles in the troposphere have a similar shape to that of water vapor. Thus we predict that HCl, HNO3, and HBr exhibit a steep negative gradient with altitude roughly equal to the altitude gradient of water vapor. Therefore, ground‐based sources of inorganic chlorine, odd nitrogen, and inorganic bromine compounds are not likely to directly affect the stratosphere in the mean. Calculations also show that while SO2 and NH3 are significantly affected by the atmospheric water cycle, their abundances may not decrease with altitude as rapidly as does water vapor. Copyright 1974 by the American Geophysical Union.