Articles | Volume 12, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6079-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6079-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
A new laser-based and ultra-portable gas sensor for indoor and outdoor formaldehyde (HCHO) monitoring
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University,
Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Norton T. Allen
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences,
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Thomas F. Hanisco
Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Glenn M. Wolfe
Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, University of Maryland
Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA
Jason M. St. Clair
Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, University of Maryland
Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA
Frank N. Keutsch
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University,
Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences,
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University,
Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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Trace gases emitted to or formed within the atmosphere may be chemically or physically removed from the atmosphere. One trace gas, the hydroxyl radical (OH), is responsible for initiating the chemical removal of many trace gases, including some greenhouse gases. Despite its importance, scientists have not been able to adequately measure OH. In this opinion piece, we discuss promising new methods to indirectly constrain OH using satellite data of trace gases that control the abundance of OH.
Brandon Bottorff, Michelle M. Lew, Youngjun Woo, Pamela Rickly, Matthew D. Rollings, Benjamin Deming, Daniel C. Anderson, Ezra Wood, Hariprasad D. Alwe, Dylan B. Millet, Andrew Weinheimer, Geoff Tyndall, John Ortega, Sebastien Dusanter, Thierry Leonardis, James Flynn, Matt Erickson, Sergio Alvarez, Jean C. Rivera-Rios, Joshua D. Shutter, Frank Keutsch, Detlev Helmig, Wei Wang, Hannah M. Allen, Johnathan H. Slade, Paul B. Shepson, Steven Bertman, and Philip S. Stevens
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Eleni Dovrou, Kelvin H. Bates, Jean C. Rivera-Rios, Joshua L. Cox, Joshua D. Shutter, and Frank N. Keutsch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8999–9008, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8999-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8999-2021, 2021
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We examined the mechanism and products of oxidation of dissolved sulfur dioxide with the main isomers of isoprene hydroxyl hydroperoxides, via laboratory and model analysis. Two chemical mechanism pathways are proposed and the results provide an improved understanding of the broader atmospheric chemistry and role of multifunctional organic hydroperoxides, which should be the dominant VOC oxidation products under low-NO conditions, highlighting their significant contribution to sulfate formation.
Zhaojin An, Rujing Yin, Xinyan Zhao, Xiaoxiao Li, Yuyang Li, Yi Yuan, Junchen Guo, Yiqi Zhao, Xue Li, Dandan Li, Yaowei Li, Dongbin Wang, Chao Yan, Kebin He, Douglas R. Worsnop, Frank N. Keutsch, and Jingkun Jiang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13793–13810, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13793-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13793-2024, 2024
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Online Vocus-PTR measurements show the compositions and seasonal variations in organic vapors in urban Beijing. With enhanced sensitivity and mass resolution, various species at a level of sub-parts per trillion (ppt) and organics with multiple oxygens (≥ 3) were observed. The fast photooxidation process in summer leads to an increase in both concentration and proportion of organics with multiple oxygens, while, in other seasons, the variations in them could be influenced by mixed sources.
Bryan N. Duncan, Daniel C. Anderson, Arlene M. Fiore, Joanna Joiner, Nickolay A. Krotkov, Can Li, Dylan B. Millet, Julie M. Nicely, Luke D. Oman, Jason M. St. Clair, Joshua D. Shutter, Amir H. Souri, Sarah A. Strode, Brad Weir, Glenn M. Wolfe, Helen M. Worden, and Qindan Zhu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13001–13023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13001-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13001-2024, 2024
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Trace gases emitted to or formed within the atmosphere may be chemically or physically removed from the atmosphere. One trace gas, the hydroxyl radical (OH), is responsible for initiating the chemical removal of many trace gases, including some greenhouse gases. Despite its importance, scientists have not been able to adequately measure OH. In this opinion piece, we discuss promising new methods to indirectly constrain OH using satellite data of trace gases that control the abundance of OH.
T. Nash Skipper, Emma L. D'Ambro, Forwood C. Wiser, V. Faye McNeill, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Barron H. Henderson, Ivan R. Piletic, Colleen B. Baublitz, Jesse O. Bash, Andrew R. Whitehill, Lukas C. Valin, Asher P. Mouat, Jennifer Kaiser, Glenn M. Wolfe, Jason M. St. Clair, Thomas F. Hanisco, Alan Fried, Bryan K. Place, and Havala O.T. Pye
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12903–12924, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12903-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12903-2024, 2024
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We develop the Community Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Multiphase Mechanism (CRACMM) version 2 to improve predictions of formaldehyde in ambient air compared to satellite-, aircraft-, and ground-based observations. With the updated chemistry, we estimate the cancer risk from inhalation exposure to ambient formaldehyde across the contiguous USA and predict that 40 % of this risk is controllable through reductions in anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen oxides and reactive organic carbon.
Sandro Vattioni, Rahel Weber, Aryeh Feinberg, Andrea Stenke, John A. Dykema, Beiping Luo, Georgios A. Kelesidis, Christian A. Bruun, Timofei Sukhodolov, Frank N. Keutsch, Thomas Peter, and Gabriel Chiodo
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 7767–7793, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7767-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7767-2024, 2024
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We quantified impacts and efficiency of stratospheric solar climate intervention via solid particle injection. Microphysical interactions of solid particles with the sulfur cycle were interactively coupled to the heterogeneous chemistry scheme and the radiative transfer code of an aerosol–chemistry–climate model. Compared to injection of SO2 we only find a stronger cooling efficiency for solid particles when normalizing to the aerosol load but not when normalizing to the injection rate.
Steven A. Bailey, Reem A. Hannun, Andrew K. Swanson, and Thomas F. Hanisco
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5903–5910, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5903-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5903-2024, 2024
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Amir H. Souri, Gonzalo González Abad, Glenn M. Wolfe, Tijl Verhoelst, Corinne Vigouroux, Gaia Pinardi, Steven Compernolle, Bavo Langerock, Bryan N. Duncan, and Matthew S. Johnson
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Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-114, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-114, 2024
Revised manuscript under review for AMT
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Andrea E. Gordon, Cameron R. Homeyer, Jessica B. Smith, Rei Ueyama, Jonathan M. Dean-Day, Elliot L. Atlas, Kate Smith, Jasna V. Pittman, David S. Sayres, David M. Wilmouth, Apoorva Pandey, Jason M. St. Clair, Thomas F. Hanisco, Jennifer Hare, Reem A. Hannun, Steven Wofsy, Bruce C. Daube, and Stephen Donnelly
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7591–7608, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7591-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7591-2024, 2024
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In situ airborne observations of ongoing tropopause-overshooting convection and an above-anvil cirrus plume from the 31 May 2022 flight of the Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere (DCOTSS) field campaign are examined. Upper troposphere and lower stratosphere composition changes are evaluated along with possible contributing dynamical and physical processes. Measurements reveal multiple changes in air mass composition and stratospheric hydration throughout the flight.
Jin Liao, Glenn M. Wolfe, Alex E. Kotsakis, Julie M. Nicely, Jason M. St. Clair, Thomas F. Hanisco, Gonzalo Gonzalez Abad, Caroline R. Nowlan, Zolal Ayazpour, Isabelle De Smedt, Eric C. Apel, and Rebecca S. Hornbrook
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-72, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-72, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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Validation of satellite HCHO over the remote marine regions is relatively few and modeled HCHO in these regions is usually added as a global satellite HCHO background. This paper intercompares three satellite HCHO retrievals and validates them against in situ observations from the NASA ATom mission. All retrievals are correlated with ATom integrated columns over remote oceans, with OMI SAO (v004) showing the best agreement. A persistent low bias is found in all retrievals at high latitudes.
Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Matthew M. Coggon, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Hannah Allen, Eric C. Apel, Megan M. Bela, Donald R. Blake, Ilann Bourgeois, Steven S. Brown, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Jason M. St. Clair, James H. Crawford, John D. Crounse, Douglas A. Day, Joshua P. DiGangi, Glenn S. Diskin, Alan Fried, Jessica B. Gilman, Hongyu Guo, Johnathan W. Hair, Hannah S. Halliday, Thomas F. Hanisco, Reem Hannun, Alan Hills, L. Gregory Huey, Jose L. Jimenez, Joseph M. Katich, Aaron Lamplugh, Young Ro Lee, Jin Liao, Jakob Lindaas, Stuart A. McKeen, Tomas Mikoviny, Benjamin A. Nault, J. Andrew Neuman, John B. Nowak, Demetrios Pagonis, Jeff Peischl, Anne E. Perring, Felix Piel, Pamela S. Rickly, Michael A. Robinson, Andrew W. Rollins, Thomas B. Ryerson, Melinda K. Schueneman, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Joshua P. Schwarz, Kanako Sekimoto, Vanessa Selimovic, Taylor Shingler, David J. Tanner, Laura Tomsche, Krystal T. Vasquez, Patrick R. Veres, Rebecca Washenfelder, Petter Weibring, Paul O. Wennberg, Armin Wisthaler, Glenn M. Wolfe, Caroline C. Womack, Lu Xu, Katherine Ball, Robert J. Yokelson, and Carsten Warneke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 929–956, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-929-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-929-2024, 2024
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This study reports emissions of gases and particles from wildfires. These emissions are related to chemical proxies that can be measured by satellite and incorporated into models to improve predictions of wildfire impacts on air quality and climate.
Yaowei Li, Corey Pedersen, John Dykema, Jean-Paul Vernier, Sandro Vattioni, Amit Kumar Pandit, Andrea Stenke, Elizabeth Asher, Troy Thornberry, Michael A. Todt, Thao Paul Bui, Jonathan Dean-Day, and Frank N. Keutsch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15351–15364, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15351-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15351-2023, 2023
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In 2021, the eruption of La Soufrière released sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, resulting in a spread of volcanic aerosol over the Northern Hemisphere. We conducted extensive aircraft and balloon-borne measurements after that, revealing enhanced particle concentration and altered size distribution due to the eruption. The eruption's impact on ozone depletion was minimal, contributing ~0.6 %, and its global radiative forcing effect was modest, mainly affecting tropical and midlatitude areas.
Brandon Bottorff, Michelle M. Lew, Youngjun Woo, Pamela Rickly, Matthew D. Rollings, Benjamin Deming, Daniel C. Anderson, Ezra Wood, Hariprasad D. Alwe, Dylan B. Millet, Andrew Weinheimer, Geoff Tyndall, John Ortega, Sebastien Dusanter, Thierry Leonardis, James Flynn, Matt Erickson, Sergio Alvarez, Jean C. Rivera-Rios, Joshua D. Shutter, Frank Keutsch, Detlev Helmig, Wei Wang, Hannah M. Allen, Johnathan H. Slade, Paul B. Shepson, Steven Bertman, and Philip S. Stevens
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10287–10311, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10287-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10287-2023, 2023
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The hydroxyl (OH), hydroperoxy (HO2), and organic peroxy (RO2) radicals play important roles in atmospheric chemistry and have significant air quality implications. Here, we compare measurements of OH, HO2, and total peroxy radicals (XO2) made in a remote forest in Michigan, USA, to predictions from a series of chemical models. Lower measured radical concentrations suggest that the models may be missing an important radical sink and overestimating the rate of ozone production in this forest.
Vigneshkumar Balamurugan, Jia Chen, Adrian Wenzel, and Frank N. Keutsch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10267–10285, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10267-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10267-2023, 2023
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In this study, machine learning models are employed to model NO2 and O3 concentrations. We employed a wide range of sources of data, including meteorological and column satellite measurements, to model NO2 and O3 concentrations. The spatial and temporal variability, and their drivers, were investigated. Notably, the machine learning model established the relationship between NOx and O3. Despite the fact that metropolitan regions are NO2 hotspots, rural areas have high O3 concentrations.
Serin Kim, Daewon Kim, Hyunkee Hong, Lim-Seok Chang, Hanlim Lee, Deok-Rae Kim, Donghee Kim, Jeong-Ah Yu, Dongwon Lee, Ukkyo Jeong, Chang-Kuen Song, Sang-Woo Kim, Sang Seo Park, Jhoon Kim, Thomas F. Hanisco, Junsung Park, Wonei Choi, and Kwangyul Lee
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3959–3972, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3959-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3959-2023, 2023
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A first evaluation of the Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) NO2 was carried out via comparison with the NO2 data obtained from the ground-based Pandora direct-sun measurements at four sites in Seosan, Republic of Korea. Comparisons between GEMS NO2 and Pandora NO2 were performed according to GEMS cloud fraction. GEMS NO2 showed good agreement with that of Pandora NO2 under less cloudy conditions.
Emma L. Yates, Laura T. Iraci, Susan S. Kulawik, Ju-Mee Ryoo, Josette E. Marrero, Caroline L. Parworth, Jason M. St. Clair, Thomas F. Hanisco, Thao Paul V. Bui, Cecilia S. Chang, and Jonathan M. Dean-Day
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2375–2389, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2375-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2375-2023, 2023
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The Alpha Jet Atmospheric eXperiment (AJAX) flew scientific flights between 2011 and 2018 providing measurements of carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, formaldehyde, water vapor and meteorological parameters over California and Nevada, USA. AJAX was a multi-year, multi-objective, multi-instrument program with a variety of sampling strategies resulting in an extensive dataset of interest to a wide variety of users. AJAX measurements have been published at https://asdc.larc.nasa.gov/project/AJAX.
Amir H. Souri, Matthew S. Johnson, Glenn M. Wolfe, James H. Crawford, Alan Fried, Armin Wisthaler, William H. Brune, Donald R. Blake, Andrew J. Weinheimer, Tijl Verhoelst, Steven Compernolle, Gaia Pinardi, Corinne Vigouroux, Bavo Langerock, Sungyeon Choi, Lok Lamsal, Lei Zhu, Shuai Sun, Ronald C. Cohen, Kyung-Eun Min, Changmin Cho, Sajeev Philip, Xiong Liu, and Kelly Chance
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1963–1986, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1963-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1963-2023, 2023
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We have rigorously characterized different sources of error in satellite-based HCHO / NO2 tropospheric columns, a widely used metric for diagnosing near-surface ozone sensitivity. Specifically, the errors were categorized/quantified into (i) an inherent chemistry error, (ii) the decoupled relationship between columns and the near-surface concentration, (iii) the spatial representativeness error of ground satellite pixels, and (iv) the satellite retrieval errors.
Hao Guo, Clare M. Flynn, Michael J. Prather, Sarah A. Strode, Stephen D. Steenrod, Louisa Emmons, Forrest Lacey, Jean-Francois Lamarque, Arlene M. Fiore, Gus Correa, Lee T. Murray, Glenn M. Wolfe, Jason M. St. Clair, Michelle Kim, John Crounse, Glenn Diskin, Joshua DiGangi, Bruce C. Daube, Roisin Commane, Kathryn McKain, Jeff Peischl, Thomas B. Ryerson, Chelsea Thompson, Thomas F. Hanisco, Donald Blake, Nicola J. Blake, Eric C. Apel, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, James W. Elkins, Eric J. Hintsa, Fred L. Moore, and Steven C. Wofsy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 99–117, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-99-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-99-2023, 2023
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We have prepared a unique and unusual result from the recent ATom aircraft mission: a measurement-based derivation of the production and loss rates of ozone and methane over the ocean basins. These are the key products of chemistry models used in assessments but have thus far lacked observational metrics. It also shows the scales of variability of atmospheric chemical rates and provides a major challenge to the atmospheric models.
Qing Ye, Matthew B. Goss, Jordan E. Krechmer, Francesca Majluf, Alexander Zaytsev, Yaowei Li, Joseph R. Roscioli, Manjula Canagaratna, Frank N. Keutsch, Colette L. Heald, and Jesse H. Kroll
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 16003–16015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-16003-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-16003-2022, 2022
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The atmospheric oxidation of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is a major natural source of sulfate particles in the atmosphere. However, its mechanism is poorly constrained. In our work, laboratory measurements and mechanistic modeling were conducted to comprehensively investigate DMS oxidation products and key reaction rates. We find that the peroxy radical (RO2) has a controlling effect on product distribution and aerosol yield, with the isomerization of RO2 leading to the suppression of aerosol yield.
Pamela S. Rickly, Hongyu Guo, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Jose L. Jimenez, Glenn M. Wolfe, Ryan Bennett, Ilann Bourgeois, John D. Crounse, Jack E. Dibb, Joshua P. DiGangi, Glenn S. Diskin, Maximilian Dollner, Emily M. Gargulinski, Samuel R. Hall, Hannah S. Halliday, Thomas F. Hanisco, Reem A. Hannun, Jin Liao, Richard Moore, Benjamin A. Nault, John B. Nowak, Jeff Peischl, Claire E. Robinson, Thomas Ryerson, Kevin J. Sanchez, Manuel Schöberl, Amber J. Soja, Jason M. St. Clair, Kenneth L. Thornhill, Kirk Ullmann, Paul O. Wennberg, Bernadett Weinzierl, Elizabeth B. Wiggins, Edward L. Winstead, and Andrew W. Rollins
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15603–15620, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15603-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15603-2022, 2022
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Biomass burning sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission factors range from 0.27–1.1 g kg-1 C. Biomass burning SO2 can quickly form sulfate and organosulfur, but these pathways are dependent on liquid water content and pH. Hydroxymethanesulfonate (HMS) appears to be directly emitted from some fire sources but is not the sole contributor to the organosulfur signal. It is shown that HMS and organosulfur chemistry may be an important S(IV) reservoir with the fate dependent on the surrounding conditions.
Ilann Bourgeois, Jeff Peischl, J. Andrew Neuman, Steven S. Brown, Hannah M. Allen, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Matthew M. Coggon, Joshua P. DiGangi, Glenn S. Diskin, Jessica B. Gilman, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Hongyu Guo, Hannah A. Halliday, Thomas F. Hanisco, Christopher D. Holmes, L. Gregory Huey, Jose L. Jimenez, Aaron D. Lamplugh, Young Ro Lee, Jakob Lindaas, Richard H. Moore, Benjamin A. Nault, John B. Nowak, Demetrios Pagonis, Pamela S. Rickly, Michael A. Robinson, Andrew W. Rollins, Vanessa Selimovic, Jason M. St. Clair, David Tanner, Krystal T. Vasquez, Patrick R. Veres, Carsten Warneke, Paul O. Wennberg, Rebecca A. Washenfelder, Elizabeth B. Wiggins, Caroline C. Womack, Lu Xu, Kyle J. Zarzana, and Thomas B. Ryerson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4901–4930, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4901-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4901-2022, 2022
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Understanding fire emission impacts on the atmosphere is key to effective air quality management and requires accurate measurements. We present a comparison of airborne measurements of key atmospheric species in ambient air and in fire smoke. We show that most instruments performed within instrument uncertainties. In some cases, further work is needed to fully characterize instrument performance. Comparing independent measurements using different techniques is important to assess their accuracy.
Tianlang Zhao, Jingqiu Mao, William R. Simpson, Isabelle De Smedt, Lei Zhu, Thomas F. Hanisco, Glenn M. Wolfe, Jason M. St. Clair, Gonzalo González Abad, Caroline R. Nowlan, Barbara Barletta, Simone Meinardi, Donald R. Blake, Eric C. Apel, and Rebecca S. Hornbrook
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7163–7178, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7163-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7163-2022, 2022
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Monitoring formaldehyde (HCHO) can help us understand Arctic vegetation change. Here, we compare satellite data and model and show that Alaska summertime HCHO is largely dominated by a background from methane oxidation during mild wildfire years and is dominated by wildfire (largely from direct emission of fire) during strong fire years. Consequently, it is challenging to use satellite HCHO to study vegetation change in the Arctic region.
Vigneshkumar Balamurugan, Jia Chen, Zhen Qu, Xiao Bi, and Frank N. Keutsch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7105–7129, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7105-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7105-2022, 2022
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In this study, we investigated the response of secondary pollutants to changes in precursor emissions, focusing on the formation of secondary PM, during the COVID-19 lockdown period. We show that, due to the decrease in primary NOx emissions, atmospheric oxidizing capacity is increased. The nighttime increase in ozone, caused by less NO titration, results in higher NO3 radicals, which contribute significantly to the formation of PM nitrates. O3 should be limited in order to control PM pollution.
Glenn M. Wolfe, Thomas F. Hanisco, Heather L. Arkinson, Donald R. Blake, Armin Wisthaler, Tomas Mikoviny, Thomas B. Ryerson, Ilana Pollack, Jeff Peischl, Paul O. Wennberg, John D. Crounse, Jason M. St. Clair, Alex Teng, L. Gregory Huey, Xiaoxi Liu, Alan Fried, Petter Weibring, Dirk Richter, James Walega, Samuel R. Hall, Kirk Ullmann, Jose L. Jimenez, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, T. Paul Bui, Glenn Diskin, James R. Podolske, Glen Sachse, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 4253–4275, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4253-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4253-2022, 2022
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Smoke plumes are chemically complex. This work combines airborne observations of smoke plume composition with a photochemical model to probe the production of ozone and the fate of reactive gases in the outflow of a large wildfire. Model–measurement comparisons illustrate how uncertain emissions and chemical processes propagate into simulated chemical evolution. Results provide insight into how this system responds to perturbations, which can help guide future observation and modeling efforts.
Jin Liao, Glenn M. Wolfe, Reem A. Hannun, Jason M. St. Clair, Thomas F. Hanisco, Jessica B. Gilman, Aaron Lamplugh, Vanessa Selimovic, Glenn S. Diskin, John B. Nowak, Hannah S. Halliday, Joshua P. DiGangi, Samuel R. Hall, Kirk Ullmann, Christopher D. Holmes, Charles H. Fite, Anxhelo Agastra, Thomas B. Ryerson, Jeff Peischl, Ilann Bourgeois, Carsten Warneke, Matthew M. Coggon, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Kanako Sekimoto, Alan Fried, Dirk Richter, Petter Weibring, Eric C. Apel, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Steven S. Brown, Caroline C. Womack, Michael A. Robinson, Rebecca A. Washenfelder, Patrick R. Veres, and J. Andrew Neuman
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 18319–18331, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18319-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18319-2021, 2021
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Formaldehyde (HCHO) is an important oxidant precursor and affects the formation of O3 and other secondary pollutants in wildfire plumes. We disentangle the processes controlling HCHO evolution from wildfire plumes sampled by NASA DC-8 during FIREX-AQ. We find that OH abundance rather than normalized OH reactivity is the main driver of fire-to-fire variability in HCHO secondary production and estimate an effective HCHO yield per volatile organic compound molecule oxidized in wildfire plumes.
Dandan Wei, Hariprasad D. Alwe, Dylan B. Millet, Brandon Bottorff, Michelle Lew, Philip S. Stevens, Joshua D. Shutter, Joshua L. Cox, Frank N. Keutsch, Qianwen Shi, Sarah C. Kavassalis, Jennifer G. Murphy, Krystal T. Vasquez, Hannah M. Allen, Eric Praske, John D. Crounse, Paul O. Wennberg, Paul B. Shepson, Alexander A. T. Bui, Henry W. Wallace, Robert J. Griffin, Nathaniel W. May, Megan Connor, Jonathan H. Slade, Kerri A. Pratt, Ezra C. Wood, Mathew Rollings, Benjamin L. Deming, Daniel C. Anderson, and Allison L. Steiner
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 6309–6329, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-6309-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-6309-2021, 2021
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Over the past decade, understanding of isoprene oxidation has improved, and proper representation of isoprene oxidation and isoprene-derived SOA (iSOA) formation in canopy–chemistry models is now recognized to be important for an accurate understanding of forest–atmosphere exchange. The updated FORCAsT version 2.0 improves the estimation of some isoprene oxidation products and is one of the few canopy models currently capable of simulating SOA formation from monoterpenes and isoprene.
Hao Guo, Clare M. Flynn, Michael J. Prather, Sarah A. Strode, Stephen D. Steenrod, Louisa Emmons, Forrest Lacey, Jean-Francois Lamarque, Arlene M. Fiore, Gus Correa, Lee T. Murray, Glenn M. Wolfe, Jason M. St. Clair, Michelle Kim, John Crounse, Glenn Diskin, Joshua DiGangi, Bruce C. Daube, Roisin Commane, Kathryn McKain, Jeff Peischl, Thomas B. Ryerson, Chelsea Thompson, Thomas F. Hanisco, Donald Blake, Nicola J. Blake, Eric C. Apel, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, James W. Elkins, Eric J. Hintsa, Fred L. Moore, and Steven Wofsy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 13729–13746, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13729-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13729-2021, 2021
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The NASA Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) mission built a climatology of the chemical composition of tropospheric air parcels throughout the middle of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The level of detail allows us to reconstruct the photochemical budgets of O3 and CH4 over these vast, remote regions. We find that most of the chemical heterogeneity is captured at the resolution used in current global chemistry models and that the majority of reactivity occurs in the
hottest20 % of parcels.
Benjamin A. Nault, Duseong S. Jo, Brian C. McDonald, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Douglas A. Day, Weiwei Hu, Jason C. Schroder, James Allan, Donald R. Blake, Manjula R. Canagaratna, Hugh Coe, Matthew M. Coggon, Peter F. DeCarlo, Glenn S. Diskin, Rachel Dunmore, Frank Flocke, Alan Fried, Jessica B. Gilman, Georgios Gkatzelis, Jacqui F. Hamilton, Thomas F. Hanisco, Patrick L. Hayes, Daven K. Henze, Alma Hodzic, James Hopkins, Min Hu, L. Greggory Huey, B. Thomas Jobson, William C. Kuster, Alastair Lewis, Meng Li, Jin Liao, M. Omar Nawaz, Ilana B. Pollack, Jeffrey Peischl, Bernhard Rappenglück, Claire E. Reeves, Dirk Richter, James M. Roberts, Thomas B. Ryerson, Min Shao, Jacob M. Sommers, James Walega, Carsten Warneke, Petter Weibring, Glenn M. Wolfe, Dominique E. Young, Bin Yuan, Qiang Zhang, Joost A. de Gouw, and Jose L. Jimenez
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11201–11224, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11201-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11201-2021, 2021
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Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is an important aspect of poor air quality for urban regions around the world, where a large fraction of the population lives. However, there is still large uncertainty in predicting SOA in urban regions. Here, we used data from 11 urban campaigns and show that the variability in SOA production in these regions is predictable and is explained by key emissions. These results are used to estimate the premature mortality associated with SOA in urban regions.
Eleni Dovrou, Kelvin H. Bates, Jean C. Rivera-Rios, Joshua L. Cox, Joshua D. Shutter, and Frank N. Keutsch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8999–9008, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8999-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8999-2021, 2021
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We examined the mechanism and products of oxidation of dissolved sulfur dioxide with the main isomers of isoprene hydroxyl hydroperoxides, via laboratory and model analysis. Two chemical mechanism pathways are proposed and the results provide an improved understanding of the broader atmospheric chemistry and role of multifunctional organic hydroperoxides, which should be the dominant VOC oxidation products under low-NO conditions, highlighting their significant contribution to sulfate formation.
Jack C. Hensley, Adam W. Birdsall, Gregory Valtierra, Joshua L. Cox, and Frank N. Keutsch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8809–8821, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8809-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8809-2021, 2021
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We measured reactions of butenedial, an atmospheric dicarbonyl, in aqueous mixtures that mimic the conditions of aerosol particles. Major reaction products and rates were determined to assess their atmospheric relevance and to compare against other well-studied dicarbonyls. We suggest that the structure of the carbon backbone, not just the dominant functional group, plays a major role in dicarbonyl reactivity, influencing the fate and ability of dicarbonyls to produce brown carbon.
Jordan Wilkerson, David S. Sayres, Jessica B. Smith, Norton Allen, Marco Rivero, Mike Greenberg, Terry Martin, and James G. Anderson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3597–3613, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3597-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3597-2021, 2021
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The ozone layer in the stratosphere protects life from harmful UV light, but chlorine-based pollution threatens to damage it. We developed an instrument that couples a laser with highly reflective mirrors and advanced electronics to measure an important residue of this pollution: hydrogen chloride. Our instrument has an improved, more modern layout that we successfully tested in flight. This paves the way for future, advanced techniques that seek to evaluate the health of Earth’s ozone layer.
Daniel C. Anderson, Bryan N. Duncan, Arlene M. Fiore, Colleen B. Baublitz, Melanie B. Follette-Cook, Julie M. Nicely, and Glenn M. Wolfe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6481–6508, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6481-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6481-2021, 2021
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We demonstrate that large-scale climate features are the primary driver of year-to-year variability in simulated values of the hydroxyl radical, the primary atmospheric oxidant, over 1980–2018. The El Niño–Southern Oscillation is the dominant mode of hydroxyl variability, resulting in large-scale global decreases in OH during El Niño events. Other climate modes, such as the Australian monsoon and the North Atlantic Oscillation, have impacts of similar magnitude but on on more localized scales.
Alexander Zaytsev, Martin Breitenlechner, Anna Novelli, Hendrik Fuchs, Daniel A. Knopf, Jesse H. Kroll, and Frank N. Keutsch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2501–2513, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2501-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2501-2021, 2021
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We have developed an online method for speciated measurements of organic peroxy radicals and stabilized Criegee intermediates using chemical derivatization combined with chemical ionization mass spectrometry. Chemical derivatization prevents secondary radical reactions and eliminates potential interferences. Comparison between our measurements and results from numeric modeling shows that the method can be used for the quantification of a wide range of atmospheric radicals and intermediates.
Reem A. Hannun, Andrew K. Swanson, Steven A. Bailey, Thomas F. Hanisco, T. Paul Bui, Ilann Bourgeois, Jeff Peischl, and Thomas B. Ryerson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6877–6887, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6877-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6877-2020, 2020
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We have developed a cavity-enhanced absorption instrument to measure ozone in the atmosphere. The detection technique enables highly sensitive measurements in fast averaging times. The compact, robust instrument is suitable for operation in varied field environments, including aboard research aircraft. We have successfully flown the instrument and demonstrated its performance capabilities with measurements of ozone deposition rates over the coastal Pacific Ocean.
Lei Zhu, Gonzalo González Abad, Caroline R. Nowlan, Christopher Chan Miller, Kelly Chance, Eric C. Apel, Joshua P. DiGangi, Alan Fried, Thomas F. Hanisco, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Lu Hu, Jennifer Kaiser, Frank N. Keutsch, Wade Permar, Jason M. St. Clair, and Glenn M. Wolfe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12329–12345, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12329-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12329-2020, 2020
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We develop a validation platform for satellite HCHO retrievals using in situ observations from 12 aircraft campaigns. The platform offers an alternative way to quickly assess systematic biases in HCHO satellite products over large domains and long periods, facilitating optimization of retrieval settings and the minimization of retrieval biases. Application to the NASA operational HCHO product indicates that relative biases range from −44.5 % to +112.1 % depending on locations and seasons.
Katherine R. Travis, Colette L. Heald, Hannah M. Allen, Eric C. Apel, Stephen R. Arnold, Donald R. Blake, William H. Brune, Xin Chen, Róisín Commane, John D. Crounse, Bruce C. Daube, Glenn S. Diskin, James W. Elkins, Mathew J. Evans, Samuel R. Hall, Eric J. Hintsa, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Prasad S. Kasibhatla, Michelle J. Kim, Gan Luo, Kathryn McKain, Dylan B. Millet, Fred L. Moore, Jeffrey Peischl, Thomas B. Ryerson, Tomás Sherwen, Alexander B. Thames, Kirk Ullmann, Xuan Wang, Paul O. Wennberg, Glenn M. Wolfe, and Fangqun Yu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 7753–7781, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7753-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7753-2020, 2020
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Atmospheric models overestimate the rate of removal of trace gases by the hydroxyl radical (OH). This is a concern for studies of the climate and air quality impacts of human activities. Here, we evaluate the performance of a commonly used model of atmospheric chemistry against data from the NASA Atmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom) over the remote oceans where models have received little validation. The model is generally successful, suggesting that biases in OH may be a concern over land.
Alexander B. Thames, William H. Brune, David O. Miller, Hannah M. Allen, Eric C. Apel, Donald R. Blake, T. Paul Bui, Roisin Commane, John D. Crounse, Bruce C. Daube, Glenn S. Diskin, Joshua P. DiGangi, James W. Elkins, Samuel R. Hall, Thomas F. Hanisco, Reem A. Hannun, Eric Hintsa, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Michelle J. Kim, Kathryn McKain, Fred L. Moore, Julie M. Nicely, Jeffrey Peischl, Thomas B. Ryerson, Jason M. St. Clair, Colm Sweeney, Alex Teng, Chelsea R. Thompson, Kirk Ullmann, Paul O. Wennberg, and Glenn M. Wolfe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 4013–4029, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4013-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4013-2020, 2020
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Oceans and the atmosphere exchange volatile gases that react with the hydroxyl radical (OH). During a NASA airborne study, measurements of the total frequency of OH reactions, called the OH reactivity, were made in the marine boundary layer of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The measured OH reactivity often exceeded the OH reactivity calculated from measured chemical species. This missing OH reactivity appears to be from unmeasured volatile organic compounds coming out of the ocean.
Rebecca H. Schwantes, Louisa K. Emmons, John J. Orlando, Mary C. Barth, Geoffrey S. Tyndall, Samuel R. Hall, Kirk Ullmann, Jason M. St. Clair, Donald R. Blake, Armin Wisthaler, and Thao Paul V. Bui
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3739–3776, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3739-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3739-2020, 2020
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Ozone is a greenhouse gas and air pollutant that is harmful to human health and plants. During the summer in the southeastern US, many regional and global models are biased high for surface ozone compared to observations. Here adding more complex and updated chemistry for isoprene and terpenes, which are biogenic hydrocarbons emitted from trees and vegetation, into an earth system model greatly reduces the simulated surface ozone bias compared to aircraft and monitoring station data.
Julie M. Nicely, Bryan N. Duncan, Thomas F. Hanisco, Glenn M. Wolfe, Ross J. Salawitch, Makoto Deushi, Amund S. Haslerud, Patrick Jöckel, Béatrice Josse, Douglas E. Kinnison, Andrew Klekociuk, Michael E. Manyin, Virginie Marécal, Olaf Morgenstern, Lee T. Murray, Gunnar Myhre, Luke D. Oman, Giovanni Pitari, Andrea Pozzer, Ilaria Quaglia, Laura E. Revell, Eugene Rozanov, Andrea Stenke, Kane Stone, Susan Strahan, Simone Tilmes, Holger Tost, Daniel M. Westervelt, and Guang Zeng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 1341–1361, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1341-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1341-2020, 2020
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Differences in methane lifetime among global models are large and poorly understood. We use a neural network method and simulations from the Chemistry Climate Model Initiative to quantify the factors influencing methane lifetime spread among models and variations over time. UV photolysis, tropospheric ozone, and nitrogen oxides drive large model differences, while the same factors plus specific humidity contribute to a decreasing trend in methane lifetime between 1980 and 2015.
Abigail R. Koss, Manjula R. Canagaratna, Alexander Zaytsev, Jordan E. Krechmer, Martin Breitenlechner, Kevin J. Nihill, Christopher Y. Lim, James C. Rowe, Joseph R. Roscioli, Frank N. Keutsch, and Jesse H. Kroll
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 1021–1041, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1021-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1021-2020, 2020
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Oxidation chemistry of organic compounds in the atmosphere produces a diverse spectrum of products. This diversity is difficult to represent in air quality and climate models, and in laboratory experiments it results in large and complex datasets. This work evaluates several methods to simplify the chemistry of oxidation systems in environmental chambers, including positive matrix factorization, hierarchical clustering analysis, and gamma kinetics parameterization.
Alexander Zaytsev, Abigail R. Koss, Martin Breitenlechner, Jordan E. Krechmer, Kevin J. Nihill, Christopher Y. Lim, James C. Rowe, Joshua L. Cox, Joshua Moss, Joseph R. Roscioli, Manjula R. Canagaratna, Douglas R. Worsnop, Jesse H. Kroll, and Frank N. Keutsch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15117–15129, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15117-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15117-2019, 2019
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Aromatic hydrocarbons contribute significantly to the production of tropospheric ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Here later-generation low-volatility oxygenated products from toluene and 1,2,4-TMB oxidation by OH are detected in the gas and particle phases. We show that these products, previously identified as highly oxygenated molecules (HOMs), are formed in more than one pathway with differing numbers of reaction steps with OH. They also make up a significant fraction of SOA.
Rupert Holzinger, W. Joe F. Acton, William J. Bloss, Martin Breitenlechner, Leigh R. Crilley, Sébastien Dusanter, Marc Gonin, Valerie Gros, Frank N. Keutsch, Astrid Kiendler-Scharr, Louisa J. Kramer, Jordan E. Krechmer, Baptiste Languille, Nadine Locoge, Felipe Lopez-Hilfiker, Dušan Materić, Sergi Moreno, Eiko Nemitz, Lauriane L. J. Quéléver, Roland Sarda Esteve, Stéphane Sauvage, Simon Schallhart, Roberto Sommariva, Ralf Tillmann, Sergej Wedel, David R. Worton, Kangming Xu, and Alexander Zaytsev
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6193–6208, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6193-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6193-2019, 2019
Adam W. Birdsall, Jack C. Hensley, Paige S. Kotowitz, Andrew J. Huisman, and Frank N. Keutsch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 14195–14209, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-14195-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-14195-2019, 2019
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We have measured the evaporation rates of butenedial, a four-carbon dialdehyde produced in the atmosphere, from individual levitated particles. Effective vapor pressures and Henry's law constants, which characterize the compound's gas-particle partitioning behavior, were determined. The important role of hydration reactions was observed under both dry and humid conditions, as well as a salting-out effect in the presence of sodium chloride or sodium sulfate.
Eleni Dovrou, Christopher Y. Lim, Manjula R. Canagaratna, Jesse H. Kroll, Douglas R. Worsnop, and Frank N. Keutsch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5303–5315, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5303-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5303-2019, 2019
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Measurement techniques commonly used to analyze particulate matter composition can result in the possible misidentification of sulfur-containing species, especially for the case of sulfate and hydroxymethanesulfonate (HMS). The efficiency and limitations of these techniques, along with a method that enables further studies of the contribution of sulfur-containing species, S(IV) versus S(VI), to particulate matter under low-light atmospheric conditions, are described in this work.
Jason M. St. Clair, Andrew K. Swanson, Steven A. Bailey, and Thomas F. Hanisco
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 4581–4590, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4581-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4581-2019, 2019
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NASA Compact Airborne Formadehyde Experiment (CAFE) is a nonresonant laser-induced fluorescence instrument for airborne in situ measurement of formaldehyde (HCHO). The instrument is described here with highlighted improvements from the predecessor instrument, COmpact Formaldehyde FluorescencE Experiment (COFFEE).
Alexander Zaytsev, Martin Breitenlechner, Abigail R. Koss, Christopher Y. Lim, James C. Rowe, Jesse H. Kroll, and Frank N. Keutsch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1861–1870, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1861-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1861-2019, 2019
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We present the development of a chemical ionization mass spectrometer which can be operated with either ammonium (NH4+) or hydronium (H3O+) as the reagent ion. We describe a mass spectrometric voltage scanning procedure based on collision-induced dissociation that allows us to determine the stability of detected ammonium–organic ions and hence constrain the sensitivity of the instrument to a wide range of organic compounds that cannot be calibrated directly.
Jin Liao, Thomas F. Hanisco, Glenn M. Wolfe, Jason St. Clair, Jose L. Jimenez, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Benjamin A. Nault, Alan Fried, Eloise A. Marais, Gonzalo Gonzalez Abad, Kelly Chance, Hiren T. Jethva, Thomas B. Ryerson, Carsten Warneke, and Armin Wisthaler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2765–2785, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2765-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2765-2019, 2019
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Organic aerosol (OA) intimately links natural and anthropogenic emissions with air quality and climate. Direct OA measurements from space are currently not possible. This paper describes a new method to estimate OA by combining satellite HCHO and in situ OA and HCHO. The OA estimate is validated with the ground network. This new method has a potential for mapping observation-based global OA estimate.
Azimeh Zare, Paul S. Romer, Tran Nguyen, Frank N. Keutsch, Kate Skog, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 15419–15436, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15419-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15419-2018, 2018
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Organic nitrates play an important role in concentrations and distribution of NOx, ozone and aerosol as the most important air pollutants. We develop a state-of-the-science detailed chemical mechanism representing individual organic nitrates, which is appropriate to use in air quality models and results in a more accurate simulation of atmospheric chemistry. Using this mechanism we explore production and removal processes of organic nitrates in a rural environment that are poorly constrained.
William H. Brune, Xinrong Ren, Li Zhang, Jingqiu Mao, David O. Miller, Bruce E. Anderson, Donald R. Blake, Ronald C. Cohen, Glenn S. Diskin, Samuel R. Hall, Thomas F. Hanisco, L. Gregory Huey, Benjamin A. Nault, Jeff Peischl, Ilana Pollack, Thomas B. Ryerson, Taylor Shingler, Armin Sorooshian, Kirk Ullmann, Armin Wisthaler, and Paul J. Wooldridge
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 14493–14510, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14493-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14493-2018, 2018
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Thunderstorms pull in polluted air from near the ground, transport it up through clouds containing lightning, and deposit it at altitudes where airplanes fly. The resulting chemical mixture in this air reacts to form ozone and particles, which affect climate. In this study, aircraft observations of the reactive gases responsible for this chemistry generally agree with modeled values, even in ice clouds. Thus, atmospheric oxidation chemistry appears to be mostly understood for this environment.
Hendrik Fuchs, Sascha Albrecht, Ismail–Hakki Acir, Birger Bohn, Martin Breitenlechner, Hans-Peter Dorn, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Andreas Hofzumahaus, Frank Holland, Martin Kaminski, Frank N. Keutsch, Anna Novelli, David Reimer, Franz Rohrer, Ralf Tillmann, Luc Vereecken, Robert Wegener, Alexander Zaytsev, Astrid Kiendler-Scharr, and Andreas Wahner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 8001–8016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8001-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8001-2018, 2018
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The photooxidation of methyl vinyl ketone MVK, one of the most important products of isoprene that is emitted by plants, was investigated in the atmospheric simulation chamber SAPHIR for conditions found in forested areas. The comparison of measured trace gas time series with model calculations shows a gap in the understanding of radical chemistry in the MVK oxidation scheme. The possibility of unimolecular isomerization reactions were investigated by means of quantum-chemical calculations.
Shouming Zhou, Jean C. Rivera-Rios, Frank N. Keutsch, and Jonathan P. D. Abbatt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3081–3089, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3081-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3081-2018, 2018
Jennifer Kaiser, Daniel J. Jacob, Lei Zhu, Katherine R. Travis, Jenny A. Fisher, Gonzalo González Abad, Lin Zhang, Xuesong Zhang, Alan Fried, John D. Crounse, Jason M. St. Clair, and Armin Wisthaler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5483–5497, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5483-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5483-2018, 2018
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Isoprene emissions from vegetation have a large effect on atmospheric chemistry and air quality. Here we use the adjoint of GEOS-Chem in an inversion of OMI formaldehyde observations to produce top-down estimates of isoprene emissions in the southeast US during the summer of 2013. We find that MEGAN v2.1 is biased high on average by 40 %. Our downward correction of isoprene emissions leads to a small reduction in modeled surface O3 and decreases the contribution of isoprene to organic aerosol.
Glenn M. Wolfe, S. Randy Kawa, Thomas F. Hanisco, Reem A. Hannun, Paul A. Newman, Andrew Swanson, Steve Bailey, John Barrick, K. Lee Thornhill, Glenn Diskin, Josh DiGangi, John B. Nowak, Carl Sorenson, Geoffrey Bland, James K. Yungel, and Craig A. Swenson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1757–1776, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1757-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1757-2018, 2018
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We describe a new NASA airborne system for directly observing the surface–atmosphere exchange of greenhouse gases and energy over regional scales. Such measurements are needed benchmark model and satellite products and can improve process-level understanding of greenhouse gas sources and sinks over forest, croplands, wetlands, urban areas, and other ecosystems.
Jingyi Li, Jingqiu Mao, Arlene M. Fiore, Ronald C. Cohen, John D. Crounse, Alex P. Teng, Paul O. Wennberg, Ben H. Lee, Felipe D. Lopez-Hilfiker, Joel A. Thornton, Jeff Peischl, Ilana B. Pollack, Thomas B. Ryerson, Patrick Veres, James M. Roberts, J. Andrew Neuman, John B. Nowak, Glenn M. Wolfe, Thomas F. Hanisco, Alan Fried, Hanwant B. Singh, Jack Dibb, Fabien Paulot, and Larry W. Horowitz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 2341–2361, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2341-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2341-2018, 2018
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We present the first comprehensive model evaluation of summertime reactive oxidized nitrogen using a high-resolution chemistry–climate model with up-to-date isoprene oxidation chemistry, along with a series of observations from aircraft campaigns and ground measurement networks from 2004 to 2013 over the Southeast US. We investigate the impact of NOx emission reductions on changes in reactive nitrogen speciation and export efficiency as well as ozone in the past and future decade.
Adam W. Birdsall, Ulrich K. Krieger, and Frank N. Keutsch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 33–47, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-33-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-33-2018, 2018
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We have developed a laboratory system that provides mass spectra of individual particles, roughly 20 microns in diameter, after they have been levitated in an electric field. Measured evaporation of polyethylene glycol particles was found to agree with a kinetic model. The system can be used to study fundamental chemical and physical processes involving particles that are difficult to isolate and study with other techniques, and hence improve our understanding of atmospheric particles.
Theodore K. Koenig, Rainer Volkamer, Sunil Baidar, Barbara Dix, Siyuan Wang, Daniel C. Anderson, Ross J. Salawitch, Pamela A. Wales, Carlos A. Cuevas, Rafael P. Fernandez, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Mathew J. Evans, Tomás Sherwen, Daniel J. Jacob, Johan Schmidt, Douglas Kinnison, Jean-François Lamarque, Eric C. Apel, James C. Bresch, Teresa Campos, Frank M. Flocke, Samuel R. Hall, Shawn B. Honomichl, Rebecca Hornbrook, Jørgen B. Jensen, Richard Lueb, Denise D. Montzka, Laura L. Pan, J. Michael Reeves, Sue M. Schauffler, Kirk Ullmann, Andrew J. Weinheimer, Elliot L. Atlas, Valeria Donets, Maria A. Navarro, Daniel Riemer, Nicola J. Blake, Dexian Chen, L. Gregory Huey, David J. Tanner, Thomas F. Hanisco, and Glenn M. Wolfe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 15245–15270, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-15245-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-15245-2017, 2017
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Tropospheric inorganic bromine (BrO and Bry) shows a C-shaped profile over the tropical western Pacific Ocean, and supports previous speculation that marine convection is a source for inorganic bromine from sea salt to the upper troposphere. The Bry profile in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) is complex, suggesting that the total Bry budget in the TTL is not closed without considering aerosol bromide. The implications for atmospheric composition and bromine sources are discussed.
Jason M. St. Clair, Andrew K. Swanson, Steven A. Bailey, Glenn M. Wolfe, Josette E. Marrero, Laura T. Iraci, John G. Hagopian, and Thomas F. Hanisco
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4833–4844, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4833-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4833-2017, 2017
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Formaldehyde is an abundant, photochemically influential trace species in the Earth’s atmosphere. We present a new instrument for measuring atmospheric formaldehyde using a laser-based measurement technique that is more compact and lower cost than previous laser-based formaldehyde instruments. The instrument is part of the Alpha Jet Atmospheric eXperiment (AJAX) payload at the NASA Ames Research Center and has collected data on 27 flights between December 2015 and March 2017.
Abigail Koss, Bin Yuan, Carsten Warneke, Jessica B. Gilman, Brian M. Lerner, Patrick R. Veres, Jeff Peischl, Scott Eilerman, Rob Wild, Steven S. Brown, Chelsea R. Thompson, Thomas Ryerson, Thomas Hanisco, Glenn M. Wolfe, Jason M. St. Clair, Mitchell Thayer, Frank N. Keutsch, Shane Murphy, and Joost de Gouw
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 2941–2968, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2941-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2941-2017, 2017
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Oil and gas extraction activity can cause air quality issues through emission of reactive chemicals. VOCs related to extraction operations in the United States were measured by PTR-ToF-MS from aircraft during the SONGNEX campaign in March–April 2015. The detailed analysis in this work provides a guide to interpreting PTR-ToF measurements in oil- and gas-producing regions, and it includes fundamental observations of VOC speciation and mixing ratios.
Christopher Chan Miller, Daniel J. Jacob, Eloise A. Marais, Karen Yu, Katherine R. Travis, Patrick S. Kim, Jenny A. Fisher, Lei Zhu, Glenn M. Wolfe, Thomas F. Hanisco, Frank N. Keutsch, Jennifer Kaiser, Kyung-Eun Min, Steven S. Brown, Rebecca A. Washenfelder, Gonzalo González Abad, and Kelly Chance
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 8725–8738, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8725-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8725-2017, 2017
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The use of satellite glyoxal observations for estimating isoprene emissions has been limited by knowledge of the glyoxal yield from isoprene. We use SENEX aircraft observations over the southeast US to evaluate glyoxal yields from isoprene in a 3-D atmospheric model. The SENEX observations support a pathway for glyoxal formation in pristine regions that we propose here, which may have implications for improving isoprene emissions estimates from upcoming high-resolution geostationary satellites.
Anne-Kathrin Bernhammer, Martin Breitenlechner, Frank N. Keutsch, and Armin Hansel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 4053–4062, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-4053-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-4053-2017, 2017
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Isoprene is the predominant non-methane compound emitted by the biosphere. In the atmosphere oxidation by OH under low NOx produces isoprene hydroxy hydroperoxides (ISOPOOHs). This work has found an effective conversion of ISOPOOHs to volatile carbonyls on metal environmental simulation chamber walls. Likely catalyzed decomposition reactions also occur for other hydroxyl hydroperoxides on metal surfaces.
Anusha P. S. Hettiyadura, Thilina Jayarathne, Karsten Baumann, Allen H. Goldstein, Joost A. de Gouw, Abigail Koss, Frank N. Keutsch, Kate Skog, and Elizabeth A. Stone
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1343–1359, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1343-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1343-2017, 2017
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Organosulfates are components of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed in the presence of sulfate. Herein, their abundance, identity, and potential to form as sampling artifacts were studied in Centreville, AL, USA. The 10 most abundant signals accounted for 58–78 % of the total, with at least 20–200 other species accounting for the remainder. These major species were largely associated with biogenic gases, like isoprene and monoterpenes, and are proposed targets for future standard development.
Emma L. D'Ambro, Ben H. Lee, Jiumeng Liu, John E. Shilling, Cassandra J. Gaston, Felipe D. Lopez-Hilfiker, Siegfried Schobesberger, Rahul A. Zaveri, Claudia Mohr, Anna Lutz, Zhenfa Zhang, Avram Gold, Jason D. Surratt, Jean C. Rivera-Rios, Frank N. Keutsch, and Joel A. Thornton
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 159–174, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-159-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-159-2017, 2017
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We studied the formation and properties of secondary organic aerosol produced from isoprene. We find that a significant fraction (~50 %) of the mass is composed of low-volatility, highly oxidized compounds such as C5H12O6. A significant fraction of the remainder appears to be in the form of oligomeric material. Adding NOx maintained or decreased SOA yields while increasing the fraction of low-volatility material, possibly due to oligomers.
Katherine R. Travis, Daniel J. Jacob, Jenny A. Fisher, Patrick S. Kim, Eloise A. Marais, Lei Zhu, Karen Yu, Christopher C. Miller, Robert M. Yantosca, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Anne M. Thompson, Paul O. Wennberg, John D. Crounse, Jason M. St. Clair, Ronald C. Cohen, Joshua L. Laughner, Jack E. Dibb, Samuel R. Hall, Kirk Ullmann, Glenn M. Wolfe, Illana B. Pollack, Jeff Peischl, Jonathan A. Neuman, and Xianliang Zhou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 13561–13577, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13561-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13561-2016, 2016
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Ground-level ozone pollution in the Southeast US involves complex chemistry driven by anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and biogenic emissions of isoprene. We find that US NOx emissions are overestimated nationally by as much as 50 % and that reducing model emissions by this amount results in good agreement with SEAC4RS aircraft measurements in August and September 2013. Observations of nitrate wet deposition fluxes and satellite NO2 columns further support this result.
Lei Zhu, Daniel J. Jacob, Patrick S. Kim, Jenny A. Fisher, Karen Yu, Katherine R. Travis, Loretta J. Mickley, Robert M. Yantosca, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Isabelle De Smedt, Gonzalo González Abad, Kelly Chance, Can Li, Richard Ferrare, Alan Fried, Johnathan W. Hair, Thomas F. Hanisco, Dirk Richter, Amy Jo Scarino, James Walega, Petter Weibring, and Glenn M. Wolfe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 13477–13490, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13477-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13477-2016, 2016
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HCHO column data are widely used as a proxy for VOCs emissions, but validation of the data has been extremely limited. We use accurate aircraft observations to validate and intercompare 6 HCHO retrievals with GEOS-Chem as the intercomparison platform. Retrievals are interconsistent in spatial variability over the SE US and in daily variability, but are biased low by 20–51 %. Our work supports the use of HCHO column as a quantitative proxy for isoprene emission after correction of the low bias.
Andrew W. Rollins, Troy D. Thornberry, Steven J. Ciciora, Richard J. McLaughlin, Laurel A. Watts, Thomas F. Hanisco, Esther Baumann, Fabrizio R. Giorgetta, Thaopaul V. Bui, David W. Fahey, and Ru-Shan Gao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 4601–4613, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-4601-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-4601-2016, 2016
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In situ measurements of SO2 in the tropical UT–LS have been scarce, in part due to limitations of existing instrumentation. Here we present a new laser-induced fluorescence instrument capable of measuring SO2 in the UT–LS region at single part-per-trillion (ppt) mixing ratios and demonstrate it on the NASA WB-57F aircraft up to 19.7 km altitude.
Jason M. St. Clair, Jean C. Rivera-Rios, John D. Crounse, Eric Praske, Michelle J. Kim, Glenn M. Wolfe, Frank N. Keutsch, Paul O. Wennberg, and Thomas F. Hanisco
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 4561–4568, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-4561-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-4561-2016, 2016
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Global isoprene emissions are the largest source of atmospheric non-methane hydrocarbons. Lab results show that ISOPOOH, a low-NOx isoprene oxidation product, can decompose on instrument surfaces to form high-NOx isoprene oxidation products, causing misinterpretation of oxidation conditions. This study investigated the potential formaldehyde artifact from ISOPOOH for the NASA ISAF instrument, and found that it does not significantly affect the accuracy of the ISAF field measurements.
J. Kaiser, K. M. Skog, K. Baumann, S. B. Bertman, S. B. Brown, W. H. Brune, J. D. Crounse, J. A. de Gouw, E. S. Edgerton, P. A. Feiner, A. H. Goldstein, A. Koss, P. K. Misztal, T. B. Nguyen, K. F. Olson, J. M. St. Clair, A. P. Teng, S. Toma, P. O. Wennberg, R. J. Wild, L. Zhang, and F. N. Keutsch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9349–9359, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9349-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9349-2016, 2016
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OH reactivity can be used to assess the amount of reactive carbon in an air mass. “Missing” reactivity is commonly found in forested environments and is attributed to either direct emissions of unmeasured volatile organic compounds or to unmeasured/underpredicted oxidation products. Using a box model and measurements from the 2013 SOAS campaign, we find only small discrepancies in measured and calculated reactivity. Our results suggest the discrepancies stem from unmeasured direct emissions.
Carsten Warneke, Michael Trainer, Joost A. de Gouw, David D. Parrish, David W. Fahey, A. R. Ravishankara, Ann M. Middlebrook, Charles A. Brock, James M. Roberts, Steven S. Brown, Jonathan A. Neuman, Brian M. Lerner, Daniel Lack, Daniel Law, Gerhard Hübler, Iliana Pollack, Steven Sjostedt, Thomas B. Ryerson, Jessica B. Gilman, Jin Liao, John Holloway, Jeff Peischl, John B. Nowak, Kenneth C. Aikin, Kyung-Eun Min, Rebecca A. Washenfelder, Martin G. Graus, Mathew Richardson, Milos Z. Markovic, Nick L. Wagner, André Welti, Patrick R. Veres, Peter Edwards, Joshua P. Schwarz, Timothy Gordon, William P. Dube, Stuart A. McKeen, Jerome Brioude, Ravan Ahmadov, Aikaterini Bougiatioti, Jack J. Lin, Athanasios Nenes, Glenn M. Wolfe, Thomas F. Hanisco, Ben H. Lee, Felipe D. Lopez-Hilfiker, Joel A. Thornton, Frank N. Keutsch, Jennifer Kaiser, Jingqiu Mao, and Courtney D. Hatch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 3063–3093, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3063-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3063-2016, 2016
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In this paper we describe the experimental approach, the science goals and early results of the NOAA SENEX campaign, which was focused on studying the interactions between biogenic and anthropogenic emissions to form secondary pollutants.
During SENEX, the NOAA WP-3D aircraft conducted 20 research flights between 27 May and 10 July 2013 based out of Smyrna, TN. The SENEX flights included day- and nighttime flights in the Southeast as well as flights over areas with intense shale gas extraction.
Amy P. Sullivan, Natasha Hodas, Barbara J. Turpin, Kate Skog, Frank N. Keutsch, Stefania Gilardoni, Marco Paglione, Matteo Rinaldi, Stefano Decesari, Maria Cristina Facchini, Laurent Poulain, Hartmut Herrmann, Alfred Wiedensohler, Eiko Nemitz, Marsailidh M. Twigg, and Jeffrey L. Collett Jr.
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 8095–8108, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8095-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8095-2016, 2016
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This paper presents the results from our measurements and approach for the investigation of aqueous secondary organic aerosol (aqSOA) formation in the ambient atmosphere. When local aqSOA formation was observed, a correlation of water-soluble organic carbon with organic aerosol, aerosol liquid water, relative humidity, and aerosol nitrate was found. Key factors of local aqSOA production include air mass stagnation, formation of local nitrate overnight, and significant amounts of ammonia.
Luping Su, Edward G. Patton, Jordi Vilà-Guerau de Arellano, Alex B. Guenther, Lisa Kaser, Bin Yuan, Fulizi Xiong, Paul B. Shepson, Li Zhang, David O. Miller, William H. Brune, Karsten Baumann, Eric Edgerton, Andrew Weinheimer, Pawel K. Misztal, Jeong-Hoo Park, Allen H. Goldstein, Kate M. Skog, Frank N. Keutsch, and John E. Mak
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 7725–7741, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7725-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7725-2016, 2016
Jenny A. Fisher, Daniel J. Jacob, Katherine R. Travis, Patrick S. Kim, Eloise A. Marais, Christopher Chan Miller, Karen Yu, Lei Zhu, Robert M. Yantosca, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Jingqiu Mao, Paul O. Wennberg, John D. Crounse, Alex P. Teng, Tran B. Nguyen, Jason M. St. Clair, Ronald C. Cohen, Paul Romer, Benjamin A. Nault, Paul J. Wooldridge, Jose L. Jimenez, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Douglas A. Day, Weiwei Hu, Paul B. Shepson, Fulizi Xiong, Donald R. Blake, Allen H. Goldstein, Pawel K. Misztal, Thomas F. Hanisco, Glenn M. Wolfe, Thomas B. Ryerson, Armin Wisthaler, and Tomas Mikoviny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5969–5991, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5969-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5969-2016, 2016
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We use new airborne and ground-based observations from two summer 2013 campaigns in the southeastern US, interpreted with a chemical transport model, to understand the impact of isoprene and monoterpene chemistry on the atmospheric NOx budget via production of organic nitrates (RONO2). We find that a diversity of species contribute to observed RONO2. Our work implies that the NOx sink to RONO2 production is only sensitive to NOx emissions in regions where they are already low.
Markus Müller, Bruce E. Anderson, Andreas J. Beyersdorf, James H. Crawford, Glenn S. Diskin, Philipp Eichler, Alan Fried, Frank N. Keutsch, Tomas Mikoviny, Kenneth L. Thornhill, James G. Walega, Andrew J. Weinheimer, Melissa Yang, Robert J. Yokelson, and Armin Wisthaler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3813–3824, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3813-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3813-2016, 2016
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Atmospheric emissions from small forest fires and their impact on regional air quality are still poorly characterized. We used an instrumented NASA P-3B aircraft to study emissions from a small forest understory fire in Georgia (USA) and to investigate chemical transformations in the fire plume in the 1 h downwind region. A state-of-the-art chemical model was able to accurately simulate key chemical processes in the aging plume.
G. M. Wolfe, J. Kaiser, T. F. Hanisco, F. N. Keutsch, J. A. de Gouw, J. B. Gilman, M. Graus, C. D. Hatch, J. Holloway, L. W. Horowitz, B. H. Lee, B. M. Lerner, F. Lopez-Hilifiker, J. Mao, M. R. Marvin, J. Peischl, I. B. Pollack, J. M. Roberts, T. B. Ryerson, J. A. Thornton, P. R. Veres, and C. Warneke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 2597–2610, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2597-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2597-2016, 2016
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This study uses airborne trace gas observations acquired over the southeast US to examine how both natural (isoprene) and anthropogenic (NOx) emissions influence the production of formaldehyde (HCHO). We find a 3-fold increase in HCHO yield between rural and polluted environments. State-of-the-science chemical mechanisms are generally able to reproduce this behavior. These results add confidence to global hydrocarbon emission inventories constrained by spaceborne HCHO observations.
E. A. Marais, D. J. Jacob, J. L. Jimenez, P. Campuzano-Jost, D. A. Day, W. Hu, J. Krechmer, L. Zhu, P. S. Kim, C. C. Miller, J. A. Fisher, K. Travis, K. Yu, T. F. Hanisco, G. M. Wolfe, H. L. Arkinson, H. O. T. Pye, K. D. Froyd, J. Liao, and V. F. McNeill
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 1603–1618, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1603-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1603-2016, 2016
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Isoprene secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is a dominant aerosol component in the southeast US, but models routinely underestimate isoprene SOA with traditional schemes based on chamber studies operated under conditions not representative of isoprene-emitting forests. We develop a new irreversible uptake mechanism to reproduce isoprene SOA yields (3.3 %) and composition, and find a factor of 2 co-benefit of SO2 emission controls on reducing sulfate and organic aerosol in the southeast US.
W. W. Hu, P. Campuzano-Jost, B. B. Palm, D. A. Day, A. M. Ortega, P. L. Hayes, J. E. Krechmer, Q. Chen, M. Kuwata, Y. J. Liu, S. S. de Sá, K. McKinney, S. T. Martin, M. Hu, S. H. Budisulistiorini, M. Riva, J. D. Surratt, J. M. St. Clair, G. Isaacman-Van Wertz, L. D. Yee, A. H. Goldstein, S. Carbone, J. Brito, P. Artaxo, J. A. de Gouw, A. Koss, A. Wisthaler, T. Mikoviny, T. Karl, L. Kaser, W. Jud, A. Hansel, K. S. Docherty, M. L. Alexander, N. H. Robinson, H. Coe, J. D. Allan, M. R. Canagaratna, F. Paulot, and J. L. Jimenez
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 11807–11833, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11807-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11807-2015, 2015
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This work summarized all the studies reporting isoprene epoxydiols-derived secondary organic aerosol (IEPOX-SOA) measured globally by aerosol mass spectrometer and compare them with modeled gas-phase IEPOX, with results suggestive of the importance of IEPOX-SOA for regional and global OA budgets. A real-time tracer of IEPOX-SOA is thoroughly evaluated for the first time by combing multiple field and chamber studies. A quick and easy empirical method on IEPOX-SOA estimation is also presented.
P. S. Kim, D. J. Jacob, J. A. Fisher, K. Travis, K. Yu, L. Zhu, R. M. Yantosca, M. P. Sulprizio, J. L. Jimenez, P. Campuzano-Jost, K. D. Froyd, J. Liao, J. W. Hair, M. A. Fenn, C. F. Butler, N. L. Wagner, T. D. Gordon, A. Welti, P. O. Wennberg, J. D. Crounse, J. M. St. Clair, A. P. Teng, D. B. Millet, J. P. Schwarz, M. Z. Markovic, and A. E. Perring
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 10411–10433, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10411-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10411-2015, 2015
J. Kaiser, G. M. Wolfe, K. E. Min, S. S. Brown, C. C. Miller, D. J. Jacob, J. A. deGouw, M. Graus, T. F. Hanisco, J. Holloway, J. Peischl, I. B. Pollack, T. B. Ryerson, C. Warneke, R. A. Washenfelder, and F. N. Keutsch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 7571–7583, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7571-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7571-2015, 2015
S. Kim, S.-Y. Kim, M. Lee, H. Shim, G. M. Wolfe, A. B. Guenther, A. He, Y. Hong, and J. Han
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 4357–4371, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-4357-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-4357-2015, 2015
A. P. Teng, J. D. Crounse, L. Lee, J. M. St. Clair, R. C. Cohen, and P. O. Wennberg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 4297–4316, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-4297-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-4297-2015, 2015
R. Thalman, M. T. Baeza-Romero, S. M. Ball, E. Borrás, M. J. S. Daniels, I. C. A. Goodall, S. B. Henry, T. Karl, F. N. Keutsch, S. Kim, J. Mak, P. S. Monks, A. Muñoz, J. Orlando, S. Peppe, A. R. Rickard, M. Ródenas, P. Sánchez, R. Seco, L. Su, G. Tyndall, M. Vázquez, T. Vera, E. Waxman, and R. Volkamer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1835–1862, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1835-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1835-2015, 2015
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Measurements of α-dicarbonyl compounds, like glyoxal (CHOCHO) and methyl glyoxal (CH3C(O)CHO), are informative about the rate of hydrocarbon oxidation, oxidative capacity, and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation in the atmosphere. We have compared nine instruments and seven techniques to measure α-dicarbonyl, using simulation chamber facilities in the US and Europe. We assess our understanding of calibration, precision, accuracy and detection limits, as well as possible sampling biases.
J. Kaiser, G. M. Wolfe, B. Bohn, S. Broch, H. Fuchs, L. N. Ganzeveld, S. Gomm, R. Häseler, A. Hofzumahaus, F. Holland, J. Jäger, X. Li, I. Lohse, K. Lu, A. S. H. Prévôt, F. Rohrer, R. Wegener, R. Wolf, T. F. Mentel, A. Kiendler-Scharr, A. Wahner, and F. N. Keutsch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 1289–1298, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1289-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1289-2015, 2015
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Using measurements acquired from a Zeppelin airship during the PEGASOS 2012 campaign, we show that VOC oxidation alone cannot account for the formaldehyde concentrations observed in the morning over rural Italy. Vertical profiles suggest a ground-level source of HCHO. Incorporating this additional HCHO source into a photochemical model increases calculated O3 production by as much as 12%.
M. Cazorla, G. M. Wolfe, S. A. Bailey, A. K. Swanson, H. L. Arkinson, and T. F. Hanisco
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 541–552, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-541-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-541-2015, 2015
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We present a description of a new instrument designed to detect formaldehyde (HCHO) in situ on airborne platforms. The instrument combines state-of-the art laser technology with single-photon counting detection to provide unmatched performance in a small autonomous package. The development of this In Situ Airbornes Formaldehyde (ISAF) instrument provides a significant new capability for NASA’s high altitude aircraft that requires little space and provides ultra-sensitive detection.
T. B. Nguyen, J. D. Crounse, R. H. Schwantes, A. P. Teng, K. H. Bates, X. Zhang, J. M. St. Clair, W. H. Brune, G. S. Tyndall, F. N. Keutsch, J. H. Seinfeld, and P. O. Wennberg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 13531–13549, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13531-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13531-2014, 2014
J. Ortega, A. Turnipseed, A. B. Guenther, T. G. Karl, D. A. Day, D. Gochis, J. A. Huffman, A. J. Prenni, E. J. T. Levin, S. M. Kreidenweis, P. J. DeMott, Y. Tobo, E. G. Patton, A. Hodzic, Y. Y. Cui, P. C. Harley, R. S. Hornbrook, E. C. Apel, R. K. Monson, A. S. D. Eller, J. P. Greenberg, M. C. Barth, P. Campuzano-Jost, B. B. Palm, J. L. Jimenez, A. C. Aiken, M. K. Dubey, C. Geron, J. Offenberg, M. G. Ryan, P. J. Fornwalt, S. C. Pryor, F. N. Keutsch, J. P. DiGangi, A. W. H. Chan, A. H. Goldstein, G. M. Wolfe, S. Kim, L. Kaser, R. Schnitzhofer, A. Hansel, C. A. Cantrell, R. L. Mauldin, and J. N. Smith
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 6345–6367, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6345-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6345-2014, 2014
J. Kaiser, X. Li, R. Tillmann, I. Acir, F. Holland, F. Rohrer, R. Wegener, and F. N. Keutsch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1571–1580, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1571-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1571-2014, 2014
D. R. Gentner, T. B. Ford, A. Guha, K. Boulanger, J. Brioude, W. M. Angevine, J. A. de Gouw, C. Warneke, J. B. Gilman, T. B. Ryerson, J. Peischl, S. Meinardi, D. R. Blake, E. Atlas, W. A. Lonneman, T. E. Kleindienst, M. R. Beaver, J. M. St. Clair, P. O. Wennberg, T. C. VandenBoer, M. Z. Markovic, J. G. Murphy, R. A. Harley, and A. H. Goldstein
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4955–4978, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4955-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4955-2014, 2014
G. M. Wolfe, C. Cantrell, S. Kim, R. L. Mauldin III, T. Karl, P. Harley, A. Turnipseed, W. Zheng, F. Flocke, E. C. Apel, R. S. Hornbrook, S. R. Hall, K. Ullmann, S. B. Henry, J. P. DiGangi, E. S. Boyle, L. Kaser, R. Schnitzhofer, A. Hansel, M. Graus, Y. Nakashima, Y. Kajii, A. Guenther, and F. N. Keutsch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4715–4732, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4715-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4715-2014, 2014
J. M. St. Clair, K. M. Spencer, M. R. Beaver, J. D. Crounse, F. Paulot, and P. O. Wennberg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4251–4262, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4251-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4251-2014, 2014
T. P. Riedel, G. M. Wolfe, K. T. Danas, J. B. Gilman, W. C. Kuster, D. M. Bon, A. Vlasenko, S.-M. Li, E. J. Williams, B. M. Lerner, P. R. Veres, J. M. Roberts, J. S. Holloway, B. Lefer, S. S. Brown, and J. A. Thornton
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3789–3800, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3789-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3789-2014, 2014
S. E. Pusede, D. R. Gentner, P. J. Wooldridge, E. C. Browne, A. W. Rollins, K.-E. Min, A. R. Russell, J. Thomas, L. Zhang, W. H. Brune, S. B. Henry, J. P. DiGangi, F. N. Keutsch, S. A. Harrold, J. A. Thornton, M. R. Beaver, J. M. St. Clair, P. O. Wennberg, J. Sanders, X. Ren, T. C. VandenBoer, M. Z. Markovic, A. Guha, R. Weber, A. H. Goldstein, and R. C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3373–3395, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3373-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3373-2014, 2014
L. Kaser, T. Karl, A. Guenther, M. Graus, R. Schnitzhofer, A. Turnipseed, L. Fischer, P. Harley, M. Madronich, D. Gochis, F. N. Keutsch, and A. Hansel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11935–11947, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11935-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11935-2013, 2013
S. Kundu, T. A. Quraishi, G. Yu, C. Suarez, F. N. Keutsch, and E. A. Stone
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 4865–4875, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4865-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4865-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Technique: Laboratory Measurement | Topic: Validation and Intercomparisons
Calibration of hydroxyacetonitrile (HOCH2CN) and methyl isocyanate (CH3NCO) isomers using I− chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS)
A nitrate ion chemical-ionization atmospheric-pressure-interface time-of-flight mass spectrometer (NO3− ToFCIMS) sensitivity study
Two new 222Rn emanation sources – a comparison study
A traceable and continuous flow calibration method for gaseous elemental mercury at low ambient concentrations
Measurements of atmospheric C10–C15 biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) with sorbent tubes
Results of a long-term international comparison of greenhouse gas and isotope measurements at the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Observatory in Alert, Nunavut, Canada
Colorimetric derivatization of ambient ammonia (NH3) for detection by long-path absorption photometry
Comparison of temperature-dependent calibration methods of an instrument to measure OH and HO2 radicals using laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy
Controlled-release testing of the static chamber methodology for direct measurements of methane emissions
Development of an International System of Units (SI)-traceable transmission curve reference material to improve the quantitation and comparability of proton-transfer-reaction mass-spectrometry measurements
Reactive uptake coefficients for multiphase reactions determined by a dynamic chamber system
Influence of CO2 adsorption on cylinders and fractionation of CO2 and air during the preparation of a standard mixture
Detection of nitrous acid in the atmospheric simulation chamber SAPHIR using open-path incoherent broadband cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy and extractive long-path absorption photometry
Behavior of KCl sorbent traps and KCl trapping solutions used for atmospheric mercury speciation: stability and specificity
Intercomparison of O2 ∕ N2 ratio scales among AIST, NIES, TU, and SIO based on a round-robin exercise using gravimetric standard mixtures
Characterisation of gas reference materials for underpinning atmospheric measurements of stable isotopes of nitrous oxide
An indirect-calibration method for non-target quantification of trace gases applied to a time series of fourth-generation synthetic halocarbons at the Taunus Observatory (Germany)
Revision of the World Meteorological Organization Global Atmosphere Watch (WMO/GAW) CO2 calibration scale
Comparability of calibration strategies for measuring mercury concentrations in gas emission sources and the atmosphere
Characterizing water vapour concentration dependence of commercial cavity ring-down spectrometers for continuous on-site atmospheric water vapour isotope measurements in the tropics
Implementation of an incoherent broadband cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy technique in an atmospheric simulation chamber for in situ NO3 monitoring: characterization and validation for kinetic studies
A portable, robust, stable, and tunable calibration source for gas-phase nitrous acid (HONO)
Optimisation of a thermal desorption–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method for the analysis of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and diterpenes
SIFT-MS optimization for atmospheric trace gas measurements at varying humidity
N2O isotopocule measurements using laser spectroscopy: analyzer characterization and intercomparison
An intercomparison of CH3O2 measurements by fluorescence assay by gas expansion and cavity ring-down spectroscopy within HIRAC (Highly Instrumented Reactor for Atmospheric Chemistry)
Photoacoustic measurement with infrared band-pass filters significantly overestimates NH3 emissions from cattle houses due to volatile organic compound (VOC) interferences
Isotopic characterization of nitrogen oxides (NOx), nitrous acid (HONO), and nitrate (pNO3−) from laboratory biomass burning during FIREX
Negligible influence of livestock contaminants and sampling system on ammonia measurements with cavity ring-down spectroscopy
Preparation of primary standard mixtures for atmospheric oxygen measurements with less than 1 µmol mol−1 uncertainty for oxygen molar fractions
The interference of tetrachloromethane in the measurement of benzene in the air by a gas chromatography–photoionisation detector (GC-PID)
Evaluation of cation exchange membrane performance under exposure to high Hg0 and HgBr2 concentrations
Gravimetrically prepared carbon dioxide standards in support of atmospheric research
The importance of cylinder passivation for preparation and long-term stability of multicomponent monoterpene primary reference materials
Dynamic–gravimetric preparation of metrologically traceable primary calibration standards for halogenated greenhouse gases
The water vapour self-continuum absorption in the infrared atmospheric windows: new laser measurements near 3.3 and 2.0 µm
Interlaboratory comparison of δ13C and δD measurements of atmospheric CH4 for combined use of data sets from different laboratories
Absolute, pressure-dependent validation of a calibration-free, airborne laser hygrometer transfer standard (SEALDH-II) from 5 to 1200 ppmv using a metrological humidity generator
An intercomparison of HO2 measurements by fluorescence assay by gas expansion and cavity ring-down spectroscopy within HIRAC (Highly Instrumented Reactor for Atmospheric Chemistry)
Abundances of isotopologues and calibration of CO2 greenhouse gas measurements
Intercomparison of two cavity ring-down spectroscopy analyzers for atmospheric 13CO2 ∕ 12CO2 measurement
Development and evaluation of a suite of isotope reference gases for methane in air
MIPAS database: new HNO3 line parameters at 7.6 µm validated with MIPAS satellite measurements
Challenges associated with the sampling and analysis of organosulfur compounds in air using real-time PTR-ToF-MS and offline GC-FID
Twin-cuvette measurement technique for investigation of dry deposition of O3 and PAN to plant leaves under controlled humidity conditions
Gas adsorption and desorption effects on cylinders and their importance for long-term gas records
HOx radical chemistry in oxidation flow reactors with low-pressure mercury lamps systematically examined by modeling
ACTRIS non-methane hydrocarbon intercomparison experiment in Europe to support WMO GAW and EMEP observation networks
A method for stable carbon isotope ratio and concentration measurements of ambient aromatic hydrocarbons
Instrument intercomparison of glyoxal, methyl glyoxal and NO2 under simulated atmospheric conditions
Zachary Finewax, Aparajeo Chattopadhyay, J. Andrew Neuman, James M. Roberts, and James B. Burkholder
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6865–6873, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6865-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6865-2024, 2024
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This work provides a comprehensive sensitivity calibration of a chemical ionization instrument commonly used in field measurements for the measurement of the toxic isomers methyl isocyanate and hydroxyacetonitrile that are found in the atmosphere. The results from this work have demonstrated that the hydroyacetonitrile isomer was observed in previous field studies rather than the stated identification of methyl isocyanate.
Stéphanie Alage, Vincent Michoud, Sergio Harb, Bénédicte Picquet-Varrault, Manuela Cirtog, Avinash Kumar, Matti Rissanen, and Christopher Cantrell
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4709–4724, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4709-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4709-2024, 2024
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Calibration exercises are essential for determining the accuracy of instruments. We performed calibrations on a NO3¯ ToFCIMS instrument to determine its sensitivity and linearity for detecting various organic compounds. Our findings revealed significant variability, over several orders of magnitude, in the calibration factors obtained. The results suggest that relying on a single calibration factor from H2SO4 for the quantification of all compounds detected by this technique is not appropriate.
Tanita J. Ballé, Stefan Röttger, Florian Mertes, Anja Honig, Petr Kovar, Petr P. S. Otáhal, and Annette Röttger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2055–2065, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2055-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2055-2024, 2024
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Over 50 % of naturally occurring radiation exposure is due to 222Rn (progenies), but traceability of measurements to the International System of Units (SI) is lacking. To address this, two new 222Rn sources were developed to be used as calibration standards for reference instruments. These sources were investigated by comparing their estimated calibration factors for one instrument. Despite the small differences derived, all uncertainties are well within the intended target uncertainty of 10 %.
Teodor D. Andron, Warren T. Corns, Igor Živković, Saeed Waqar Ali, Sreekanth Vijayakumaran Nair, and Milena Horvat
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1217–1228, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1217-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1217-2024, 2024
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Atmospheric mercury monitoring is an important activity in order to model the global trajectory of this toxic element and to assess if certain areas are polluted or not in accordance to global guidelines. One of the analysers tested in this work is globally used in this regard due to its practicality compared with other devices. Because it is only calibrated by the manufacturer at very high concentrations, we wanted to see how it performs at ambient mercury concentrations.
Heidi Hellén, Toni Tykkä, Simon Schallhart, Evdokia Stratigou, Thérèse Salameh, and Maitane Iturrate-Garcia
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 315–333, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-315-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-315-2024, 2024
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Even though online measurements of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) are becoming more common, the use of sorbent tubes is expected to continue because they offer greater spatial coverage and no infrastructure is required for sampling. In this study the sorbent tube sampling method was optimized and evaluated for the determination of BVOCs in gas-phase samples. Tenax TA sorbent tubes were found to be suitable for the quantitative measurements of C10–C15 BVOCs.
Douglas E. J. Worthy, Michele K. Rauh, Lin Huang, Felix R. Vogel, Alina Chivulescu, Kenneth A. Masarie, Ray L. Langenfelds, Paul B. Krummel, Colin E. Allison, Andrew M. Crotwell, Monica Madronich, Gabrielle Pétron, Ingeborg Levin, Samuel Hammer, Sylvia Michel, Michel Ramonet, Martina Schmidt, Armin Jordan, Heiko Moossen, Michael Rothe, Ralph Keeling, and Eric J. Morgan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5909–5935, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5909-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5909-2023, 2023
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Network compatibility is important for inferring greenhouse gas fluxes at global or regional scales. This study is the first assessment of the measurement agreement among seven individual programs within the World Meteorological Organization community. It compares co-located flask air measurements at the Alert Observatory in Canada over a 17-year period. The results provide stronger confidence in the uncertainty estimation while using those datasets in various data interpretation applications.
Shasha Tian, Kexin Zu, Huabin Dong, Limin Zeng, Keding Lu, and Qi Chen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5525–5535, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5525-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5525-2023, 2023
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We developed an online NH3 monitoring system based on a selective colorimetric reaction and a long-path absorption photometer (SAC-LOPAP), which can run statically for a long time and be applied to the continuous online measurement of low concentrations of ambient air by optimizing the reaction conditions, adding a constant-temperature module and liquid flow controller. It is well suited for the investigation of the NH3 budget for urban to rural conditions in China.
Frank A. F. Winiberg, William J. Warman, Charlotte A. Brumby, Graham Boustead, Iustinian G. Bejan, Thomas H. Speak, Dwayne E. Heard, Daniel Stone, and Paul W. Seakins
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4375–4390, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4375-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4375-2023, 2023
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OH and HO2 are key reactive intermediates in the Earth's atmosphere. Accurate measurements in either the field or simulation chambers provide a good test for chemical mechanisms. Fluorescence techniques have the appropriate sensitivity for detection but require calibration. This paper compares different methods of calibration and specifically how calibration factors vary across a temperature range relevant to atmospheric and chamber determinations.
James P. Williams, Khalil El Hachem, and Mary Kang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3421–3435, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3421-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3421-2023, 2023
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Methane is powerful greenhouse gas; thus, to reduce methane emissions, it is important that the methods used to measure methane are tested and validated. The static chamber method is an enclosure-based technique that directly measures methane emissions; however, it has not been thoroughly tested for the new variety of methane sources that it is currently being used for. We find that the static chamber method can accurately measure methane emissions under a wide range of methane emission rates.
David R. Worton, Sergi Moreno, Kieran O'Daly, and Rupert Holzinger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1061–1072, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1061-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1061-2023, 2023
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Proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry is widely used in the environmental, health, and food and beverage sectors. As a result, there is a need for accurate and comparable measurements. In this work we have developed a 20-component gravimetrically prepared traceable primary reference material (gas standard in a high-pressure cylinder) to enable quantitative and comparable measurements. The accuracy of all components was better than 3 %–10 % with stabilities of better than 1–2 years.
Guo Li, Hang Su, Meng Li, Uwe Kuhn, Guangjie Zheng, Lei Han, Fengxia Bao, Ulrich Pöschl, and Yafang Cheng
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6433–6446, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6433-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6433-2022, 2022
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A large fraction of previous work using dynamic flow chambers was to quantify gas exchange in terms of flux or deposition/emission rate. Here, we extended the usage of this technique to examine uptake kinetics on sample surfaces. The good performance of the chamber system was validated. This technique can be further used for liquid samples and real atmospheric aerosol samples without complicated coating procedures, which complements the existing techniques in atmospheric kinetic studies.
Nobuyuki Aoki, Shigeyuki Ishidoya, Shohei Murayama, and Nobuhiro Matsumoto
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5969–5983, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5969-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5969-2022, 2022
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The CO2 concentration in a cylinder is affected by carbon dioxide (CO2) adsorption to a cylinder’s internal surface and fractionation of CO2 and air in the preparation of standard mixtures. We demonstrate that the effects make the CO2 molar fractions deviate in standard mixtures prepared by diluting pure CO2 with air three times. This means that CO2 standard gases are difficult to gravimetrically prepare through multistep dilution.
Sophie Dixneuf, Albert A. Ruth, Rolf Häseler, Theo Brauers, Franz Rohrer, and Hans-Peter Dorn
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 945–964, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-945-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-945-2022, 2022
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Atmospheric chambers, like SAPHIR in Jülich (Germany), are used to experimentally simulate specific atmospheric scenarios to improve our understanding of the complex chemical reactions occurring in our atmospheres. These facilities hence require cutting-edge gas-sensing capabilities to detect trace gases at the lowest level and in a short time. One important trace gas is HONO, for which we custom-built an optical sensing setup, capable of detecting one HONO molecule in ~40 billion in 1 min.
Jan Gačnik, Igor Živković, Sergio Ribeiro Guevara, Radojko Jaćimović, Jože Kotnik, Gianmarco De Feo, Matthew A. Dexter, Warren T. Corns, and Milena Horvat
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6619–6631, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6619-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6619-2021, 2021
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Atmospheric mercury and knowledge of its transformations and processes are of great importance for lowering its anthropogenic emissions. To ensure that, it is crucial to have a tested and validated measurement procedure. Since this is not always the case, we performed experiments that provided insight into commonly used atmospheric mercury sampling methods. The results showed that some sampling methods are unsuitable, and some are useful if we consider the results obtained from this work.
Nobuyuki Aoki, Shigeyuki Ishidoya, Yasunori Tohjima, Shinji Morimoto, Ralph F. Keeling, Adam Cox, Shuichiro Takebayashi, and Shohei Murayama
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6181–6193, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6181-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6181-2021, 2021
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Observing the minimal long-term change in atmospheric O2 molar fraction combined with CO2 observation enables us to estimate terrestrial biospheric and oceanic CO2 uptakes separately. In this study, we firstly identified the span offset between the laboratory O2 scales using our developed high-precision standard mixtures, suggesting that the result may allow us to estimate terrestrial biospheric and oceanic CO2 uptakes precisely.
Ruth E. Hill-Pearce, Aimee Hillier, Eric Mussell Webber, Kanokrat Charoenpornpukdee, Simon O'Doherty, Joachim Mohn, Christoph Zellweger, David R. Worton, and Paul J. Brewer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5447–5458, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5447-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5447-2021, 2021
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There is currently a need for gas reference materials with well-characterised delta values for monitoring N2O amount fractions. We present work towards the preparation of gas reference materials for calibration of in-field monitoring equipment, which target the WMO-GAW data quality objectives for comparability of amount fraction and demonstrate the stability of δ15Nα, δ15Nβ and δ18O values with pressure and effects of cylinder passivation.
Fides Lefrancois, Markus Jesswein, Markus Thoma, Andreas Engel, Kieran Stanley, and Tanja Schuck
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4669–4687, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4669-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4669-2021, 2021
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Synthetic halocarbons can contribute to stratospheric ozone depletion or to climate change. In many applications they have been replaced over the last years. The presented non-target analysis shows an application approach to quantify those replacements retrospectively, using recorded data of air measurements with gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry. We focus on the retrospective analysis of the fourth-generation halocarbons, detected at Taunus Observatory in Germany.
Bradley D. Hall, Andrew M. Crotwell, Duane R. Kitzis, Thomas Mefford, Benjamin R. Miller, Michael F. Schibig, and Pieter P. Tans
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3015–3032, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3015-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3015-2021, 2021
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We have recently revised the carbon dioxide calibration scale used by numerous laboratories that measure atmospheric CO2. The revision follows from an improved understanding of the manometric method used to determine the absolute amount of CO2 in an atmospheric air sample. The new scale is 0.18 μmol mol−1 (ppm) greater than the previous scale at 400 ppm CO2. While this difference is small in relative terms (0.045 %), it is significant in terms of atmospheric monitoring.
Iris de Krom, Wijnand Bavius, Ruben Ziel, Elizabeth A. McGhee, Richard J. C. Brown, Igor Živković, Jan Gačnik, Vesna Fajon, Jože Kotnik, Milena Horvat, and Hugo Ent
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2317–2326, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2317-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2317-2021, 2021
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To demonstrate the robustness and comparability of the novel primary mercury gas standard, the results of comparisons are presented with current calibration methods maintained, using the bell jar in combination with the Dumarey equation or NIST liquid standard reference material. The results show that the primary standard and the NIST reference material are comparable, whereas a difference of −8 % exists between results traceable to the primary standard and the Dumarey equation.
Shujiro Komiya, Fumiyoshi Kondo, Heiko Moossen, Thomas Seifert, Uwe Schultz, Heike Geilmann, David Walter, and Jost V. Lavric
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1439–1455, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1439-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1439-2021, 2021
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The Amazon basin influences the atmospheric and hydrological cycles on local to global scales. To better understand how, we plan to perform continuous on-site measurements of the stable isotope composition of atmospheric water vapour. For making accurate on-site observations possible, we have investigated the performance of two commercial analysers and determined the best calibration strategy. Well calibrated, both analysers will allow us to record natural signals in the Amazon rainforest.
Axel Fouqueau, Manuela Cirtog, Mathieu Cazaunau, Edouard Pangui, Pascal Zapf, Guillaume Siour, Xavier Landsheere, Guillaume Méjean, Daniele Romanini, and Bénédicte Picquet-Varrault
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6311–6323, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6311-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6311-2020, 2020
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An incoherent broadband cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy (IBBCEAS) technique has been developed for the in situ monitoring of NO3 radicals in the CSA simulation chamber at LISA. The optical cavity allows a high sensitivity for NO3 detection up to 6 ppt for an integration time of 10 s. The technique is now fully operational and can be used to determine rate constants for fast reactions involving complex volatile organic compounds (with rate constants up to 10−10 cm3 molecule−1 s−1).
Melodie Lao, Leigh R. Crilley, Leyla Salehpoor, Teles C. Furlani, Ilann Bourgeois, J. Andrew Neuman, Andrew W. Rollins, Patrick R. Veres, Rebecca A. Washenfelder, Caroline C. Womack, Cora J. Young, and Trevor C. VandenBoer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5873–5890, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5873-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5873-2020, 2020
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Nitrous acid (HONO) is a key intermediate in the generation of oxidants and fate of nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere. High-purity calibration sources that produce stable atmospherically relevant levels under field conditions have not been made to date, reducing measurement accuracy. In this study a simple salt-coated tube humidified with water vapor is demonstrated to produce pure stable low levels of HONO, with modifications allowing the generation of higher amounts.
Aku Helin, Hannele Hakola, and Heidi Hellén
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3543–3560, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3543-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3543-2020, 2020
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A thermal desorption–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method following sorbent tube sampling was developed for the determination of terpenes in gas-phase samples. The main focus was on the analysis of diterpenes, which have been limited in study in gas-phase samples. The analytical figures of merit were fit for purpose (e.g. quantitation limits <10 pptv and reproducibility <10 % for terpenes). Diterpenes could be detected and identified in emissions from spruce and pine samples.
Ann-Sophie Lehnert, Thomas Behrendt, Alexander Ruecker, Georg Pohnert, and Susan E. Trumbore
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3507–3520, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3507-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3507-2020, 2020
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Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like scents can appear and disappear quickly. For example, when a bug starts on a tree, the tree releases VOCs that warn the trees around him. Thus, one needs instruments measuring their concentration in real time and identify which VOC is measured. In our study, we compared two instruments doing that, PTR-MS and SIFT-MS. Both work similarly, but we found that the PTR-MS can measure lower concentrations, but the SIFT-MS can identify VOCs better.
Stephen J. Harris, Jesper Liisberg, Longlong Xia, Jing Wei, Kerstin Zeyer, Longfei Yu, Matti Barthel, Benjamin Wolf, Bryce F. J. Kelly, Dioni I. Cendón, Thomas Blunier, Johan Six, and Joachim Mohn
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2797–2831, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2797-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2797-2020, 2020
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The latest commercial laser spectrometers have the potential to revolutionize N2O isotope analysis. However, to do so, they must be able to produce trustworthy data. Here, we test the performance of widely used laser spectrometers for ambient air applications and identify instrument-specific dependencies on gas matrix and trace gas concentrations. We then provide a calibration workflow to facilitate the operation of these instruments in order to generate reproducible and accurate data.
Lavinia Onel, Alexander Brennan, Michele Gianella, James Hooper, Nicole Ng, Gus Hancock, Lisa Whalley, Paul W. Seakins, Grant A. D. Ritchie, and Dwayne E. Heard
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2441–2456, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2441-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2441-2020, 2020
Dezhao Liu, Li Rong, Jesper Kamp, Xianwang Kong, Anders Peter S. Adamsen, Albarune Chowdhury, and Anders Feilberg
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 259–272, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-259-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-259-2020, 2020
Jiajue Chai, David J. Miller, Eric Scheuer, Jack Dibb, Vanessa Selimovic, Robert Yokelson, Kyle J. Zarzana, Steven S. Brown, Abigail R. Koss, Carsten Warneke, and Meredith Hastings
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6303–6317, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6303-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6303-2019, 2019
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Isotopic analysis offers a potential tool to distinguish between sources and interpret transformation pathways of atmospheric species. We applied recently developed techniques in our lab to characterize the isotopic composition of reactive nitrogen species (NOx, HONO, HNO3, pNO3-) in fresh biomass burning emissions. Intercomparison with other techniques confirms the suitability of our methods, allowing for future applications of our techniques in a variety of environments.
Jesper Nørlem Kamp, Albarune Chowdhury, Anders Peter S. Adamsen, and Anders Feilberg
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 2837–2850, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2837-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2837-2019, 2019
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We tested the performance of a cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) instrument from Picarro for measuring ammonia. Interference tests with 10 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were conducted to find potential interference of these VOCs. Calibrations show excellent linearity over a large dynamic range of NH3 concentrations. There is negligible interference from humidity and few of the tested VOCs. Overall, the CRDS system performs well with only negligible influence from other compounds.
Nobuyuki Aoki, Shigeyuki Ishidoya, Nobuhiro Matsumoto, Takuro Watanabe, Takuya Shimosaka, and Shohei Murayama
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 2631–2646, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2631-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2631-2019, 2019
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Observation of atmospheric O2 requires highly precise standard gas mixtures with uncertainty of less than 1 ppm for the O2 mole fraction or 5 per meg for O2 / N2. The uncertainty had not been achieved due unknown uncertainty factors in mass determination of the filled source gases. We first developed the primary standard mixtures with 1 ppm for the O2 mole fraction or 5 per meg by identifying and reducing the unknown uncertainty factors.
Cristina Romero-Trigueros, María Esther González, Marta Doval Miñarro, and Enrique González Ferradás
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1685–1695, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1685-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1685-2019, 2019
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Determining benzene in ambient air is mandatory in the European Union. The reference measuring technique is by gas chromatography (GC), and a photometric ionisation detector is recommended. This study shows that the simultaneous presence of benzene and tetrachloromethane causes a significant decrease in GC–photoionisation detector (GC-PID) readings. Given the importance of this behaviour, a possible mechanism was proposed. This study highlights the uncertainty of measuring benzene with a GC-PID.
Matthieu B. Miller, Sarrah M. Dunham-Cheatham, Mae Sexauer Gustin, and Grant C. Edwards
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1207–1217, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1207-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1207-2019, 2019
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This study was undertaken to demonstrate that a cation exchange membrane (CEM) material used for sampling reactive mercury (RM) does not possess an inherent tendency to collect gaseous elemental mercury (GEM). Using a custom-built mercury vapor permeation system, we found that the CEM material has a very small GEM uptake of approximately 0.004 %, too small to create a significant artifact. We also found that a representative RM compound was collected by the CEM material with high efficiency.
Bradley D. Hall, Andrew M. Crotwell, Benjamin R. Miller, Michael Schibig, and James W. Elkins
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 517–524, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-517-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-517-2019, 2019
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We have used a one-step method for gravimetric preparation of CO2-in-air standards in aluminum cylinders. We consider both adsorption to stainless steel surfaces used in the transfer of highly pure CO2 and adsorption of CO2 to cylinder walls. This work compliments ongoing efforts to support atmospheric monitoring of CO2.
Nicholas D. C. Allen, David R. Worton, Paul J. Brewer, Celine Pascale, and Bernhard Niederhauser
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6429–6438, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6429-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6429-2018, 2018
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This paper investigates the stability of trace level static terpene primary reference materials (PRMs) and how the choice of passivation affects this process. For the first time, sampling canisters that can be used in the field are tested and demonstrated to be suitable for terpene mixtures. The PRMs were compared against a novel dynamic generator system based on dilution of pure limonene vapour emitted from a permeation tube. The effect of cylinder pressure and decanting are also investigated.
Myriam Guillevic, Martin K. Vollmer, Simon A. Wyss, Daiana Leuenberger, Andreas Ackermann, Céline Pascale, Bernhard Niederhauser, and Stefan Reimann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3351–3372, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3351-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3351-2018, 2018
Short summary
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We present new primary calibration scales for five halogenated greenhouse gases. The preparation method, newly applied to halocarbons, is dynamic and gravimetric
and allows the generation of reference gas mixtures at near-ambient levels (pmol mol−1). Each prepared molar fraction is traceable to the
realisation of SI units (International System of Units) and is assigned an uncertainty estimate following international guidelines.
Loic Lechevallier, Semen Vasilchenko, Roberto Grilli, Didier Mondelain, Daniele Romanini, and Alain Campargue
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2159–2171, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2159-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2159-2018, 2018
Short summary
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The amplitude, the temperature dependence, and the physical origin of the water vapour absorption continuum are a long standing issue in molecular spectroscopy with a direct impact in atmospheric and planetary sciences. Using highly sensitive laser spectrometers, the water self continuum has been determined with unprecedented sensitivity in infrared atmospheric transparency windows.
Taku Umezawa, Carl A. M. Brenninkmeijer, Thomas Röckmann, Carina van der Veen, Stanley C. Tyler, Ryo Fujita, Shinji Morimoto, Shuji Aoki, Todd Sowers, Jochen Schmitt, Michael Bock, Jonas Beck, Hubertus Fischer, Sylvia E. Michel, Bruce H. Vaughn, John B. Miller, James W. C. White, Gordon Brailsford, Hinrich Schaefer, Peter Sperlich, Willi A. Brand, Michael Rothe, Thomas Blunier, David Lowry, Rebecca E. Fisher, Euan G. Nisbet, Andrew L. Rice, Peter Bergamaschi, Cordelia Veidt, and Ingeborg Levin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1207–1231, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1207-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1207-2018, 2018
Short summary
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Isotope measurements are useful for separating different methane sources. However, the lack of widely accepted standards and calibration methods for stable carbon and hydrogen isotopic ratios of methane in air has caused significant measurement offsets among laboratories. We conducted worldwide interlaboratory comparisons, surveyed the literature and assessed them systematically. This study may be of help in future attempts to harmonize data sets of isotopic composition of atmospheric methane.
Bernhard Buchholz and Volker Ebert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 459–471, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-459-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-459-2018, 2018
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This paper describes the absolute validation of the novel, calibration-free SEALDH-II hygrometer at a traceable humidity generator. During 23 days of permanent operation, 15 H2O mole fractions levels (5–1200 ppmv) at 6 gas pressures (65–950 hPa) were validated. With this validation, SEALDH-II is the first metrologically validated humidity transfer standard which links several scientific airborne and laboratory measurement campaigns to the international metrological water vapor scale.
Lavinia Onel, Alexander Brennan, Michele Gianella, Grace Ronnie, Ana Lawry Aguila, Gus Hancock, Lisa Whalley, Paul W. Seakins, Grant A. D. Ritchie, and Dwayne E. Heard
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4877–4894, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4877-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4877-2017, 2017
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Hydroperoxy (HO2) radicals are key intermediates participating in a rapid chemical cycling at the centre of the tropospheric oxidation. Fluorescence assay by gas expansion (FAGE) technique is the most commonly used for the HO2 measurements in the atmosphere. However, FAGE is an indirect technique, requiring calibration. This work finds a good agreement between the indirect FAGE method and the direct cavity ring-down spectroscopy method and hence validates FAGE and the FAGE calibration method.
Pieter P. Tans, Andrew M. Crotwell, and Kirk W. Thoning
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 2669–2685, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2669-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2669-2017, 2017
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We describe a new CO2 calibration system for the Central Calibration Laboratory of the World Meteorological Organization Global Atmosphere Watch program. The system uses two laser spectroscopic instruments to measure the three major CO2 isotopologues individually. We account for isotopic differences between standards in the calibration hierarchy when assigning CO2 mole fraction, eliminating bias due to variations in the isotopic composition.
Jiaping Pang, Xuefa Wen, Xiaomin Sun, and Kuan Huang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 3879–3891, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3879-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3879-2016, 2016
Peter Sperlich, Nelly A. M. Uitslag, Jürgen M. Richter, Michael Rothe, Heike Geilmann, Carina van der Veen, Thomas Röckmann, Thomas Blunier, and Willi A. Brand
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 3717–3737, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3717-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3717-2016, 2016
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Isotope measurements in atmospheric CH4 are performed since more than 3 decades. However, standard gases to harmonize global measurements are not available to this day. We designed two methods to calibrate a suite of 8 CH4 gases with a wide range in isotopic composition to the VPDB and VSMOW scales with high precision and accuracy. Synthetic air mixtures with ~2 ppm of calibrated CH4 can be provided to the community by the ISOLAB of the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, Germany.
Agnès Perrin, Jean-Marie Flaud, Marco Ridolfi, Jean Vander Auwera, and Massimo Carlotti
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2067–2076, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2067-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2067-2016, 2016
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Improved line positions and intensities have been generated for the 7.6 µm spectral region of nitric acid, relying on a recent laboratory reinvestigation and comparisons of HNO3 volume mixing ratios retrieved from Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) radiances in the 11 and 7.6 µm regions. The much improved consistency of line intensities in both regions will make it possible to use them simultaneously to retrieve atmospheric HNO3.
Véronique Perraud, Simone Meinardi, Donald R. Blake, and Barbara J. Finlayson-Pitts
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 1325–1340, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1325-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1325-2016, 2016
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Gas phase organosulfur compounds in air serve as precursors of particles which impact human health, visibility, and climate. We compare here two different approaches to measuring these compounds, one an online mass spectrometry technique and the other canister sampling followed by offline analysis by gas chromatography. We show that each approach has its own advantages and limitations in measuring these compounds in complex mixtures, including some artifacts due to reactions on surfaces.
Shang Sun, Alexander Moravek, Lisa von der Heyden, Andreas Held, Matthias Sörgel, and Jürgen Kesselmeier
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 599–617, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-599-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-599-2016, 2016
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We present a dynamic twin-cuvette system for quantifying the trace gas exchange fluxes between plants and the atmosphere under controlled temperature, light, and humidity conditions. We found out that at a relative humidity of 40 %, the deposition velocity ratio of O3 and PAN was determined to be 0.45. At that humidity, the O3-deposition to the plant leaves was found to be only controlled by leaf stomata. For PAN, an additional resistance inhibited the uptake of PAN by the leaves.
M. C. Leuenberger, M. F. Schibig, and P. Nyfeler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 5289–5299, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5289-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5289-2015, 2015
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Adsorption/desorption effects of trace gases in gas cylinders were investigated. Our measurements indicate a rather strong effect on steel cylinders for CO2 that becomes easily visible through enhanced concentrations for low (<20 bars) gas pressure. Much smaller effects are observed for CO and CH4. Significantly smaller effects are measured for all gas species investigated on aluminium cylinders. Careful selection of gas cylinders for high-precision calibration purposes is recommended.
Z. Peng, D. A. Day, H. Stark, R. Li, J. Lee-Taylor, B. B. Palm, W. H. Brune, and J. L. Jimenez
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4863–4890, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4863-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4863-2015, 2015
C. C. Hoerger, A. Claude, C. Plass-Duelmer, S. Reimann, E. Eckart, R. Steinbrecher, J. Aalto, J. Arduini, N. Bonnaire, J. N. Cape, A. Colomb, R. Connolly, J. Diskova, P. Dumitrean, C. Ehlers, V. Gros, H. Hakola, M. Hill, J. R. Hopkins, J. Jäger, R. Junek, M. K. Kajos, D. Klemp, M. Leuchner, A. C. Lewis, N. Locoge, M. Maione, D. Martin, K. Michl, E. Nemitz, S. O'Doherty, P. Pérez Ballesta, T. M. Ruuskanen, S. Sauvage, N. Schmidbauer, T. G. Spain, E. Straube, M. Vana, M. K. Vollmer, R. Wegener, and A. Wenger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2715–2736, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2715-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2715-2015, 2015
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The performance of 20 European laboratories involved in long-term non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) measurements was assessed with respect to ACTRIS and GAW data quality objectives. The participants were asked to measure both a 30-component NMHC mixture in nitrogen and whole air. The NMHCs were analysed either by GC-FID or GC-MS. Most systems performed well for the NMHC in nitrogen, whereas in air more scatter was observed. Reasons for this are explained in the paper.
A. Kornilova, S. Moukhtar, M. Saccon, L. Huang, W. Zhang, and J. Rudolph
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2301–2313, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2301-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2301-2015, 2015
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A technique for compound specific analysis of stable carbon isotope ratios and concentration of ambient volatile organic compounds (VOC) is presented. It is based on selective VOC sampling onto adsorbent filled cartridges. Examples of measurements conducted demonstrate that the ability to make accurate measurements in air with low VOC mixing ratios is important to avoid bias from an overrepresentation of samples that are strongly impacted by recent emissions.
R. Thalman, M. T. Baeza-Romero, S. M. Ball, E. Borrás, M. J. S. Daniels, I. C. A. Goodall, S. B. Henry, T. Karl, F. N. Keutsch, S. Kim, J. Mak, P. S. Monks, A. Muñoz, J. Orlando, S. Peppe, A. R. Rickard, M. Ródenas, P. Sánchez, R. Seco, L. Su, G. Tyndall, M. Vázquez, T. Vera, E. Waxman, and R. Volkamer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1835–1862, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1835-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1835-2015, 2015
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Measurements of α-dicarbonyl compounds, like glyoxal (CHOCHO) and methyl glyoxal (CH3C(O)CHO), are informative about the rate of hydrocarbon oxidation, oxidative capacity, and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation in the atmosphere. We have compared nine instruments and seven techniques to measure α-dicarbonyl, using simulation chamber facilities in the US and Europe. We assess our understanding of calibration, precision, accuracy and detection limits, as well as possible sampling biases.
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Short summary
A new mid-infrared and ultra-portable formaldehyde (HCHO) sensor from Aeris Technologies is characterized and evaluated against well-established laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) instrumentation. The Aeris sensor displays linear behavior (R squared > 0.94) and shows good agreement with LIF instruments. While the compact sensor is not currently a replacement for the most sensitive research-grade instrumentation available, its sub-ppbv precision is sufficient for indoor and outdoor HCHO monitoring.
A new mid-infrared and ultra-portable formaldehyde (HCHO) sensor from Aeris Technologies is...