Oxides of nitrogen deposited into the lower stratosphere by supersonic aircraft can affect ozone. The effect can be estimated using two-dimensional chemistry-transport models in which the transport of the deposited material is simulated by zonal-mean advection and eddy transport. In these assessment studies, the localized three-dimensional injection is usually introduced into the model simply by specifying the zonal average of the actual three-dimensional sources as input to the model.

In the presence of substantial stratospheric wave activity, this procedure may be inaccurate as the emissions will rapidly be transported away from the initial locations through short-term processes not incorporated in two-dimensional transport parametrizations. Here we use a potential vorticity/potential temperature mapping technique to determine the effective zonally averaged sources appropriate for input to a two-dimensional model. Using projected source scenarios for NOy emissions and a two-dimensional chemistry transport model, we conclude that this effect has little impact on projections of ozone depletion. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1995.