Abstract. Forest fires are major contributors of reactive gas- and particle-phase organic compounds to the atmosphere. We used offline high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry to perform a molecular-level speciation of gas- and particle-phase compounds sampled via aircraft from an evolving boreal forest fire smoke plume in Saskatchewan, Canada. We observed diverse multifunctional compounds containing oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur (CHONS), whose structures, formation, and impacts are understudied. The dilution-corrected absolute ion abundance of particle-phase CHONS compounds increased with plume age by a factor of 6.4 over the first 4 h of downwind transport, and their relative contribution to the observed functionalized organic aerosol (OA) mixture increased from 19 % to 40 %. The dilution-corrected absolute ion abundance of particle-phase compounds with sulfide functional groups increased by a factor of 13 with plume age, and their relative contribution to observed OA increased from 4 % to 40 %. Sulfides were present in up to 75 % of CHONS compounds and the increases in sulfides were accompanied by increases in ring-bound nitrogen; both increased together with CHONS prevalence. A complex mixture of intermediate- and semi-volatile gas-phase organic sulfur species was observed in emissions from the fire and depleted downwind, representing potential precursors to particle-phase CHONS compounds. These results demonstrate CHONS formation from nitrogen- and oxygen-containing biomass burning emissions in the presence of reduced sulfur species. In addition, they highlight chemical pathways that may also be relevant in situations with elevated emissions of nitrogen- and sulfur-containing organic compounds from residential biomass burning and fossil fuel use (e.g., coal), respectively.

Abstract. Volatile chemical products (VCPs) and other non-combustion-related sources have become important for urban air quality, and bottom-up calculations report emissions of a variety of functionalized compounds that remain understudied and uncertain in emissions estimates. Using a new instrumental configuration, we present online measurements of oxygenated organic compounds in a US megacity over a 10 d wintertime sampling period, when biogenic sources and photochemistry were less active. Measurements were conducted at a rooftop observatory in upper Manhattan, New York City, USA using a Vocus chemical ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer, with ammonium (NH4+) as the reagent ion operating at 1 Hz. The range of observations spanned volatile, intermediate-volatility, and semi-volatile organic compounds, with targeted analyses of ∼150 ions, whose likely assignments included a range of functionalized compound classes such as glycols, glycol ethers, acetates, acids, alcohols, acrylates, esters, ethanolamines, and ketones that are found in various consumer, commercial, and industrial products. Their concentrations varied as a function of wind direction, with enhancements over the highly populated areas of the Bronx, Manhattan, and parts of New Jersey, and included abundant concentrations of acetates, acrylates, ethylene glycol, and other commonly used oxygenated compounds. The results provide top-down constraints on wintertime emissions of these oxygenated and functionalized compounds, with ratios to common anthropogenic marker compounds and comparisons of their relative abundances to two regionally resolved emissions inventories used in urban air quality models.

We describe a novel experiment for high school students that uses gas chromatography (GC) equipment to demonstrate the principles of chemical quantitation in the context of fragrant compounds. A highlight of the work is the use of inexpensive equipment and tools accessible to the usual high school laboratory. The students use control samples, learn about functional groups and chemical separations, and are introduced to a commonly used chemistry instrument. We describe the protocols in detail and analyze student survey results to highlight the advantages of this experiment as well as possible routes for further improvement.

Abstract. Volatile chemical products (VCPs) and other non-combustion-related sources have become important for urban air quality, and bottom-up calculations report emissions of a variety of functionalized compounds that remain understudied and uncertain in emissions estimates. Using a new instrumental configuration, we present online measurements of oxygenated VCPs in a U.S. megacity over a 10-day wintertime sampling period, when biogenic sources and photochemistry were less active. Measurements were conducted at a rooftop observatory in upper Manhattan, New York City, USA using a Vocus chemical ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer with ammonium (NH4+) as the reagent ion operating at 1 Hz. The range of observations spanned volatile, intermediate-volatility, and semi-volatile organic compounds with targeted analyses of ~150 ions whose likely assignments included a range of functionalized compound classes such as glycols, glycol ethers, acetates, acids, alcohols, acrylates, esters, ethanolamines, and ketones that are found in various consumer, commercial, and industrial products. Their concentrations varied as a function of wind direction with enhancements over the highly-populated areas of the Bronx, Manhattan, and parts of New Jersey, and included abundant concentrations of acetates, acrylates, ethylene glycol, and other commonly-used oxygenated compounds. The results provide top-down constraints on wintertime emissions of these oxygenated/functionalized compounds with ratios to common anthropogenic marker compounds and compares their relative abundances to two regionally-resolved emissions inventories used in urban air quality models.

Tobacco combustion products in deposited particles and bodily reservoirs enable persistent thirdhand smoke contamination and transport.