Photochemistry of Halogens in the Marine Atmosphere

Diatomic halogen molecules diffusing into the marine atmosphere are photodissociated to atoms in daylight more rapidly than they undergo other fates. The geochemistry of ‘gaseous halogens’ is considered in terms of photolysis rates and the secondary reactions of the atoms produced. Diatomic halogens could be photolyzed predominantly by day and adsorbed on aerosol by night without yielding diurnal variations in currently measurable variables. Halogen atoms in the marine atmosphere react with ozone more rapidly than with other marine tropospheric constituents, this reaction yielding haloxy radicals that are also reactive.