Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) constitutes a substantial fraction of fine particulate matter and has important impacts on climate and human health. The extent to which human activities alter SOA formation from biogenic emissions in the atmosphere is largely undetermined. Here, we present direct observational evidence on the magnitude of anthropogenic influence on biogenic SOA formation based on comprehensive ambient measurements in the southeastern United States (US). Multiple high-time-resolution mass spectrometry organic aerosol measurements were made during different seasons at various locations, including urban and rural sites in the greater Atlanta area and Centreville in rural Alabama. Our results provide a quantitative understanding of the roles of anthropogenic SO2 and NOx in ambient SOA formation. We show that isoprene-derived SOA is directly mediated by the abundance of sulfate, instead of the particle water content and/or particle acidity as suggested by prior laboratory studies. Anthropogenic NOx is shown to enhance nighttime SOA formation via nitrate radical oxidation of monoterpenes, resulting in the formation of condensable organic nitrates. Together, anthropogenic sulfate and NOx can mediate 43–70% of total measured organic aerosol (29–49% of submicron particulate matter, PM1) in the southeastern US during summer. These measurements imply that future reduction in SO2 and NOx emissions can considerably reduce the SOA burden in the southeastern US. Updating current modeling frameworks with these observational constraints will also lead to more accurate treatment of aerosol formation for regions with substantial anthropogenic−biogenic interactions and consequently improve air quality and climate simulations.

Abstract. A suite of offline and real-time gas- and particle-phase measurements was deployed at Look Rock, Tennessee (TN), during the 2013 Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) to examine the effects of anthropogenic emissions on isoprene-derived secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. High- and low-time-resolution PM2.5 samples were collected for analysis of known tracer compounds in isoprene-derived SOA by gas chromatography/electron ionization-mass spectrometry (GC/EI-MS) and ultra performance liquid chromatography/diode array detection-electrospray ionization-high-resolution quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/DAD-ESI-HR-QTOFMS). Source apportionment of the organic aerosol (OA) was determined by positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis of mass spectrometric data acquired on an Aerodyne Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM). Campaign average mass concentrations of the sum of quantified isoprene-derived SOA tracers contributed to ~ 9 % (up to 28 %) of the total OA mass, with isoprene-epoxydiol (IEPOX) chemistry accounting for ~ 97 % of the quantified tracers. PMF analysis resolved a factor with a profile similar to the IEPOX-OA factor resolved in an Atlanta study and was therefore designated IEPOX-OA. This factor was strongly correlated (r2 > 0.7) with 2-methyltetrols, C5-alkene triols, IEPOX-derived organosulfates, and dimers of organosulfates, confirming the role of IEPOX chemistry as the source. On average, IEPOX-derived SOA tracer mass was ~ 26 % (up to 49 %) of the IEPOX-OA factor mass, which accounted for 32 % of the total OA. A low-volatility oxygenated organic aerosol (LV-OOA) and an oxidized factor with a profile similar to 91Fac observed in areas where emissions are biogenic-dominated were also resolved by PMF analysis, whereas no primary organic aerosol (POA) sources could be resolved. These findings were consistent with low levels of primary pollutants, such as nitric oxide (NO ~ 0.03 ppb), carbon monoxide (CO ~ 116 ppb), and black carbon (BC ~ 0.2 μg m−3). Particle-phase sulfate is fairly correlated (r2 ~ 0.3) with both methacrylic acid epoxide (MAE)/hydroxymethyl-methyl-α-lactone (HMML)- (henceforth called methacrolein (MACR)-derived SOA tracers) and IEPOX-derived SOA tracers, and more strongly correlated (r2 ~ 0.6) with the IEPOX-OA factor, in sum suggesting an important role of sulfate in isoprene SOA formation. Moderate correlation between the MACR-derived SOA tracer 2-methylglyceric acid with sum of reactive and reservoir nitrogen oxides (NOy; r2 = 0.38) and nitrate (r2 = 0.45) indicates the potential influence of anthropogenic emissions through long-range transport. Despite the lack of a clear association of IEPOX-OA with locally estimated aerosol acidity and liquid water content (LWC), box model calculations of IEPOX uptake using the simpleGAMMA model, accounting for the role of acidity and aerosol water, predicted the abundance of the IEPOX-derived SOA tracers 2-methyltetrols and the corresponding sulfates with good accuracy (r2 ~ 0.5 and ~ 0.7, respectively). The modeling and data combined suggest an anthropogenic influence on isoprene-derived SOA formation through acid-catalyzed heterogeneous chemistry of IEPOX in the southeastern US. However, it appears that this process was not limited by aerosol acidity or LWC at Look Rock during SOAS. Future studies should further explore the extent to which acidity and LWC as well as aerosol viscosity and morphology becomes a limiting factor of IEPOX-derived SOA, and their modulation by anthropogenic emissions.

Nitrogen oxides are essential for the formation of secondary atmospheric aerosols and of atmospheric oxidants such as ozone and the hydroxyl radical, which controls the self-cleansing capacity of the atmosphere. Nitric acid, a major oxidation product of nitrogen oxides, has traditionally been considered to be a permanent sink of nitrogen oxides. However, model studies predict higher ratios of nitric acid to nitrogen oxides in the troposphere than are observed. A 'renoxification' process that recycles nitric acid into nitrogen oxides has been proposed to reconcile observations with model studies, but the mechanisms responsible for this process remain uncertain. Here we present data from an aircraft measurement campaign over the North Atlantic Ocean and find evidence for rapid recycling of nitric acid to nitrous acid and nitrogen oxides in the clean marine boundary layer via particulate nitrate photolysis. Laboratory experiments further demonstrate the photolysis of particulate nitrate collected on filters at a rate more than two orders of magnitude greater than that of gaseous nitric acid, with nitrous acid as the main product. Box model calculations based on the Master Chemical Mechanism suggest that particulate nitrate photolysis mainly sustains the observed levels of nitrous acid and nitrogen oxides at midday under typical marine boundary layer conditions. Given that oceans account for more than 70 per cent of Earth's surface, we propose that particulate nitrate photolysis could be a substantial tropospheric nitrogen oxide source. Recycling of nitrogen oxides in remote oceanic regions with minimal direct nitrogen oxide emissions could increase the formation of tropospheric oxidants and secondary atmospheric aerosols on a global scale.

Abstract. Airborne observations over the Amazon Basin showed high aerosol particle concentrations in the upper troposphere (UT) between 8 and 15 km altitude, with number densities (normalized to standard temperature and pressure) often exceeding those in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) by 1 or 2 orders of magnitude. The measurements were made during the German-Brazilian cooperative aircraft campaign ACRIDICON-CHUVA, where ACRIDICON stands for "Aerosol, Cloud, Precipitation, and Radiation Interactions and Dynamics of Convective Cloud Systems" and

Abstract. New pathways to form secondary organic aerosol (SOA) have been postulated recently. Glyoxal, the smallest dicarbonyl, is one of the proposed precursors. It has both anthropogenic and biogenic sources, and readily partitions into the aqueous phase of cloud droplets and deliquesced particles where it undergoes both reversible and irreversible chemistry. In this work we extend the regional scale chemistry transport model WRF-Chem to include detailed gas-phase chemistry of glyoxal formation as well as a state-of-the-science module describing its partitioning and reactions in the aerosol aqueous-phase. A comparison of several proposed mechanisms is performed to quantify the relative importance of different formation pathways and their regional variability. The CARES/CalNex campaigns over California in summer 2010 are used as case studies to evaluate the model against observations. A month-long simulation over the continental United States (US) enables us to extend our results to the continental scale. In all simulations over California, the Los Angeles (LA) basin was found to be the hot spot for SOA formation from glyoxal, which contributes between 1% and 15% of the model SOA depending on the mechanism used. Our results indicate that a mechanism based only on a reactive (surface limited) uptake coefficient leads to higher SOA yields from glyoxal compared to a more detailed description that considers aerosol phase state and chemical composition. In the more detailed simulations, surface uptake is found to give the highest SOA mass yields compared to a volume process and reversible formation. We find that the yields of the latter are limited by the availability of glyoxal in aerosol water, which is in turn controlled by an increase in the Henry's law constant depending on salt concentrations ("salting-in"). A time dependence in this increase prevents substantial partitioning of glyoxal into aerosol water at high salt concentrations. If this limitation is removed, volume pathways contribute > 20% of glyoxal-SOA mass, and the total mass formed (5.8% of total SOA in the LA basin) is about a third of the simple uptake coefficient formulation without consideration of aerosol phase state and composition. Results from the continental US simulation reveal the much larger potential to form glyoxal-SOA over the eastern continental US. Interestingly, the low concentrations of glyoxal-SOA over the western continental US are not due to the lack of a potential to form glyoxal-SOA here. Rather these small glyoxal-SOA concentrations reflect dry conditions and high salt concentrations, and the potential to form SOA mass here will strongly depend on the water associated with particles.

Oxidation flow reactors (OFRs) containing low-pressure mercury (Hg) lamps that emit UV light at both 185 and 254 nm ("OFR185") to generate OH radicals and O3 are used in many areas of atmospheric science and in pollution control devices. The widely used potential aerosol mass (PAM) OFR was designed for studies on the formation and oxidation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA), allowing for a wide range of oxidant exposures and short experiment duration with reduced wall loss effects. Although fundamental photochemical and kinetic data applicable to these reactors are available, the radical chemistry and its sensitivities have not been modeled in detail before; thus, experimental verification of our understanding of this chemistry has been very limited. To better understand the chemistry in the OFR185, a model has been developed to simulate the formation, recycling, and destruction of radicals and to allow the quantification of OH exposure (OHexp) in the reactor and its sensitivities. The model outputs of OHexp were evaluated against laboratory calibration experiments by estimating OHexp from trace gas removal and were shown to agree within a factor of 2. A sensitivity study was performed to characterize the dependence of the OHexp, HO2/OH ratio, and O3 and H2O2 output concentrations on reactor parameters. OHexp is strongly affected by the UV photon flux, absolute humidity, reactor residence time, and the OH reactivity (OHR) of the sampled air, and more weakly by pressure and temperature. OHexp can be strongly suppressed by high OHR, especially under low UV light conditions. A OHexp estimation equation as a function of easily measurable quantities was shown to reproduce model results within 10% (average absolute value of the relative errors) over the whole operating range of the reactor. OHexp from the estimation equation was compared with measurements in several field campaigns and shows agreement within a factor of 3. The improved understanding of the OFR185 and quantification of OHexp resulting from this work further establish the usefulness of such reactors for research studies, especially where quantifying the oxidation exposure is important.

Exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a leading contributor to diseases in India. Previous studies analysing emission source attributions were restricted by coarse model resolution and limited PM2.5 observations. We use a regional model informed by new observations to make the first high-resolution study of the sector-specific disease burden from ambient PM2.5 exposure in India. Observed annual mean PM2.5 concentrations exceed 100 μg m−3 and are well simulated by the model. We calculate that the emissions from residential energy use dominate (52%) population-weighted annual mean PM2.5 concentrations, and are attributed to 511,000 (95UI: 340,000–697,000) premature mortalities annually. However, removing residential energy use emissions would avert only 256,000 (95UI: 162,000–340,000), due to the non-linear exposure–response relationship causing health effects to saturate at high PM2.5 concentrations. Consequently, large reductions in emissions will be required to reduce the health burden from ambient PM2.5 exposure in India.

Abstract. Organic aerosol (OA) is an important fraction of submicron aerosols. However, it is challenging to predict and attribute the specific organic compounds and sources that lead to observed OA loadings, largely due to contributions from secondary production. This is especially true for megacities surrounded by numerous regional sources that create an OA background. Here, we utilize in situ gas and aerosol observations collected on board the NASA DC-8 during the NASA–NIER KORUS-AQ (Korea–United States Air Quality) campaign to investigate the sources and hydrocarbon precursors that led to the secondary OA (SOA) production observed over Seoul. First, we investigate the contribution of transported OA to total loadings observed over Seoul by using observations over the Yellow Sea coupled to FLEXPART Lagrangian simulations. During KORUS-AQ, the average OA loading advected into Seoul was ∼1–3 µg sm−3. Second, taking this background into account, the dilution-corrected SOA concentration observed over Seoul was ∼140 µgsm-3ppmv-1 at 0.5 equivalent photochemical days. This value is at the high end of what has been observed in other megacities around the world (20–70 µgsm-3ppmv-1 at 0.5 equivalent days). For the average OA concentration observed over Seoul (13 µg sm−3), it is clear that production of SOA from locally emitted precursors is the major source in the region. The importance of local SOA production was supported by the following observations. (1) FLEXPART source contribution calculations indicate any hydrocarbons with a lifetime of less than 1 day, which are shown to dominate the observed SOA production, mainly originate from South Korea. (2) SOA correlated strongly with other secondary photochemical species, including short-lived species (formaldehyde, peroxy acetyl nitrate, sum of acyl peroxy nitrates, dihydroxytoluene, and nitrate aerosol). (3) Results from an airborne oxidation flow reactor (OFR), flown for the first time, show a factor of 4.5 increase in potential SOA concentrations over Seoul versus over the Yellow Sea, a region where background air masses that are advected into Seoul can be measured. (4) Box model simulations reproduce SOA observed over Seoul within 11 % on average and suggest that short-lived hydrocarbons (i.e., xylenes, trimethylbenzenes, and semi-volatile and intermediate-volatility compounds) were the main SOA precursors over Seoul. Toluene alone contributes 9 % of the modeled SOA over Seoul. Finally, along with these results, we use the metric ΔOA/ΔCO2 to examine the amount of OA produced per fuel consumed in a megacity, which shows less variability across the world than ΔOA∕ΔCO.