A simple model for Junge’s relationship between concentration fluctuations and residence times for tropospheric trace gases

Abstract

A simple model is advanced to explain Junge’s empirical result relating the residence times oftrace gases in the troposphere to a coefficient of deviation of their concentrations. It is shownthat Junge’s result can be derived from a peculiar definition for the concentration variations inspace, based only on the spatial variation of the mean concentration. Nevertheless, forsufficiently uniform sources and sinks of the gases, the result can be used to estimatetropospheric residence-times of gases, if account is taken for the interval sampled.