Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net 1680-7367 1680-7375 2 6 2002 10.5194/acpd-2-2075-2002 http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/2/2075/2002/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/2/2075/2002/acpd-2-2075-2002.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/2/2075/2002/acpd-2-2075-2002.pdf 2075 2094 2002-11-13 Strategies for measuring canonical tracer relationships in the stratosphere O. Morgenstern J. A. Pyle Centre for Atmospheric Science, Chemistry Department, University, Cambridge, UK present address: Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie, Hamburg, Germany A high-resolution simulation of stratospheric long-lived trace gases is subsampled in ways resembling various commonly used measurement platforms. The resulting measurements are analyzed with respect to whether they allow an accurate determination of stratospheric tracer relationships, as a prerequisite for a quantification of mixing processes from them. By varying the simulated locations, frequencies, and, in the case of satellite data, accuracies of the measurements we determine minimal requirements that the measurements need to satisfy in order to be suitable for a derivation of tracer relationships.