The possible importance of CSO for the sulfate layer of the stratosphere

Photodissociation of CSO (and possibly CS 2 ) may provide an interesting stratospheric source of SO 2 and further conversion of this SO 2 to H 2 SO 4 may contribute significantly to the non‐volcanic background sulfate layer in the stratosphere. Assuming a tropospheric background volume mixing ratio of 2‐3 × 10 −10 , as indicated by some tropospheric measurements, the input of SO 2 in the stratosphere coming from the decay of CSO is estimated to be 6 × 10 6 ‐ 10 7 molecules cm −2 s −1 . Little is known about the sources and sinks of CSO. It is, therefore, clear that, as a matter of caution, a possible growth of industrial releases of CSO (and CS 2 ) into the atmosphere, e.g., from coal combustion, should be watched carefully with regard to their influence on the stratospheric aerosol layer and the earth's radiation balance.