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5 p.International audienceThe eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull in April 2010 led to the injection in the troposphere of an important quantity of volcanic ash whose advection towards densely populated areas raised serious concerns regarding potential impacts on air quality. Here we investigate to what extent air quality in France was altered using exclusively quantitative data that was available in near real-time. We rely on a combination of atmospheric dispersion modelling, ground-based remote sensing, and chemical characterization of airborne particles. One week after the onset of the eruption we were able to conclude that the Eyjafjallajökull ash plume was locally responsible for an increase of up to 30 +/- 10 µgm-3 of total PM10 (particulate matter finer than 10 µm) that reached 65 mg m-3 on 18 and 19 April 2010. The methodology presented in this letter offers promising perspectives in terms of emergency response strategy when facing such unforeseen atmospheric dispersion events

A new one-step method for the analysis of highly polar components of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) has been developed. This method should lead to a better understanding of SOA formation and evolution since it enables the compounds responsible for SOA formation to be identified. Since it is based on supercritical fluid extraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, it minimizes the analysis time and significantly enhances sensitivity, which makes it suitable for trace-level compounds, which are constituents of SOA. One of the key features of this method is the in situ derivatisation step: an online silylation allowing the measurement of highly polar, polyfunctional compounds, which is a prerequisite for the elucidation of chemical mechanisms. This paper presents the development of this analytical method and highlights its ability to address this major atmospheric issue through the analysis of SOA formed from the ozonolysis of a biogenic hydrocarbon (sabinene). Ozonolysis of sabinene was performed in a 6 m3 Teflon chamber. The aerosol components were derivatised in situ. More than thirty products, such as sabinaketone, sabinic acid and other multifunctional compounds including dicarboxylic acids and oxoacids, were measured. Nine of them were identified and quantified. The sensitivity and the linearity (0.91

The gas/particle partitioning behaviour of the semi-volatile fraction of secondary organic matter and the associated multiphase chemistry are key features to accurately evaluate climate and health impacts of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). However, today, the partitioning of oxygenated secondary species is rarely assessed in experimental SOA studies and SOA modelling is still largely based on estimated partitioning data. This paper describes a new analytical approach, solvent-free and easy to use, to explore the chemical composition of the secondary organic matter at a molecular scale in both gas and particulate phases. The method is based on thermal desorption (TD) of gas and particulate samples, coupled with gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS), with derivatisation on sampling supports. Gaseous compounds were trapped on Tenax TA adsorbent tubes pre-coated with pentafluorobenzylhydroxylamine (PFBHA) or N-Methyl-N-(<i>t</i>-butyldimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA). Particulate samples were collected onto quartz or Teflon-quartz filters and subsequently subjected to derivatisation with PFBHA or MTBSTFA before TD-GC/MS analysis. Method development and validation are presented for an atmospherically relevant range of organic acids and carbonyl and hydroxyl compounds. Application of the method to a limonene ozonolysis experiment conducted in the EUPHORE simulation chamber under simulated atmospheric conditions of low concentrations of limonene precursor and relative humidity, provides an overview of the method capabilities. Twenty-five compounds were positively or tentatively identified, nine being in both gaseous and particulate phases; and twelve, among them tricarboxylic acids, hydroxyl dicarboxylic acids and oxodicarboxylic acids, being detected for the first time