Sensitivity of stratospheric Br_y to uncertainties in very short lived substance emissions and atmospheric transport

Abstract. We evaluate the sensitivity of Br_y entering the stratosphere with a simplified model that allows calculations over a wide parameter range for parameters that are currently poorly quantified. The model examines the transport process uncertainties in the source concentrations and lifetimes, in the convective parameterization and in the inorganic bromine washout process due to dehydration. Source concentrations at the surface and lifetimes were found to have a slight effect on the resultant Br_y (1 ppt), however this was highly dependent upon, with increasing significance, the BL component of convectively delivered air. Efficiency of convective delivery of boundary layer (BL) air to the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) along with washout at the CPT were found to substantially affect Br_y at 400 K – altering the delivered Br_y by 3.3 ppt and 2.9 ppt, respectively. We find that the results critically depend on free tropospheric bromine source gas concentrations due to dilution of convective updrafts, and the processes that control free tropospheric bromine source gas concentrations require further attention.