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1.
Characterization of ambient aerosols in Mexico City during the MCMA-2003 campaign with aerosol mass spectrometry : results from the CENICA Supersite
Dara Salcedo, T. B. Onasch, Katja Džepina, M. R. Canagaratna, Qi Zhang, J. A. Huffman, P. F. DeCarlo, J. Jayne, P. Mortimer, D. Worsnop, 2006, original scientific article

Abstract: An Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) was deployed at the CENICA Supersite, during the Mexico City Metropolitan Area field study (MCMA-2003) from 31 March-4 May 2003 to investigate particle concentrations, sources, and processes. The AMS provides real time information on mass concentration and composition of the non-refractory species in particulate matter less than 1 mu m (NR-PM1) with high time and size-resolution. In order to account for the refractory material in the aerosol, we also present estimates of Black Carbon (BC) using an aethalometer and an estimate of the aerosol soil component obtained from Proton-Induced X-ray Emission Spectrometry (PIXE) analysis of impactor substrates. Comparisons of AMS + BC + soil mass concentration with other collocated particle instruments (a LASAIR Optical Particle Counter, a PM2.5 Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM), and a PM2.5 DustTrak Aerosol Monitor) show that the AMS + BC + soil mass concentration is consistent with the total PM2.5 mass concentration during MCMA-2003 within the combined uncertainties. In Mexico City, the organic fraction of the estimated PM2.5 at CENICA represents, on average, 54.6% (standard deviation sigma=10%) of the mass, with the rest consisting of inorganic compounds ( mainly ammonium nitrate and sulfate/ammonium salts), BC, and soil. Inorganic compounds represent 27.5% of PM2.5 (sigma=10%); BC mass concentration is about 11% (sigma=4%); while soil represents about 6.9% (sigma=4%). Size distributions are presented for the AMS species; they show an accumulation mode that contains mainly oxygenated organic and secondary inorganic compounds. The organic size distributions also contain a small organic particle mode that is likely indicative of fresh traffic emissions; small particle modes exist for the inorganic species as well. Evidence suggests that the organic and inorganic species are not always internally mixed, especially in the small modes. The aerosol seems to be neutralized most of the time; however, there were some periods when there was not enough ammonium to completely neutralize the nitrate, chloride and sulfate present. The diurnal cycle and size distributions of nitrate suggest local photochemical production. On the other hand, sulfate appears to be produced on a regional scale. There are indications of new particle formation and growth events when concentrations of SO2 were high. Although the sources of chloride are not clear, this species seems to condense as ammonium chloride early in the morning and to evaporate as the temperature increases and RH decreases. The total and speciated mass concentrations and diurnal cycles measured during MCMA-2003 are similar to measurements during a previous field campaign at a nearby location.
Keywords: aerosol mass-spectrometer, atmospheric aerosol, atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric physics
Published in RUNG: 12.04.2021; Views: 2083; Downloads: 0
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2.
Secondary organic aerosol formation from anthropogenic air pollution : rapid and higher than expected
Rainer Volkamer, Jose L. Jimenez, F. M. San Martini, Katja Džepina, Q. Zhang, Dara Salcedo, Luisa T. Molina, D. Worsnop, 2006, original scientific article

Abstract: The atmospheric chemistry of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urban areas results in the formation of 'photochemical smog', including secondary organic aerosol (SOA). State-of-the-art SOA models parameterize the results of simulation chamber experiments that bracket the conditions found in the polluted urban atmosphere. Here we show that in the real urban atmosphere reactive anthropogenic VOCs (AVOCs) produce much larger amounts of SOA than these models predict, even shortly after sunrise. Contrary to current belief, a significant fraction of the excess SOA is formed from first-generation AVOC oxidation products. Global models deem AVOCs a very minor contributor to SOA compared to biogenic VOCs (BVOCs). If our results are extrapolated to other urban areas, AVOCs could be responsible for additional 3 - 25 Tg yr(-1) SOA production globally, and cause up to - 0.1 W m(-2) additional top-of-the-atmosphere radiative cooling.
Keywords: atmospheric aerosol, atmospheric chemistry, volatile organic compounds, secondary organic aerosols
Published in RUNG: 12.04.2021; Views: 2909; Downloads: 0
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3.
4.
CityFlux perfluorocarbon tracer experiments
Fredrik K Petersson, Damien Martin, Iain R. White, Stephen J Henshaw, Graham Nickless, Ian Longley, Carl J Percival, Martin Gallagher, Dudley E. Shallcross, 2010, original scientific article

Abstract: In June 2006, two perfluorocarbon tracer experiments were conducted in central Manchester UK as part of the CityFlux campaign. The main aim was to investigate vertical dispersion in an urban area during convective conditions, but dispersion mechanisms within the street network were also studied. Paired receptors were used in most cases where one receptor was located at ground level and one at roof level. One receptor was located on the roof of Portland Tower which is an 80m high building in central Manchester. Source receptor distances in the two experiments varied between 120 and 600 m. The results reveal that maximum concentration was sometimes found at roof level rather than at ground level implying the effectiveness of convective forces on dispersion. The degree of vertical dispersion was found to be dependent on source receptor distance as well as on building height in proximity to the release site. Evidence of flow channelling in a street canyon was also found. Both a Gaussian profile and a street network model were applied and the results show that the urban topography may lead to highly effective flow channelling which therefore may be a very important dispersion mechanism should the right meteorological conditions prevail. The experimental results from this campaign have also been compared with a simple urban dispersion model that was developed during the DAPPLE framework and show good agreement with this. The results presented here are some of the first published regarding vertical dispersion. More tracer experiments are needed in order to further characterise vertical concentration profiles and their dependence on, for instance, atmospheric stability. The impact of urban topography on pollutant dispersion is important to focus on in future tracer experiments in order to improve performance of models as well as for our understanding of the relationship between air quality and public health.
Keywords: air quality, atmospheric chemistry, concentration (composition), convective system, dispersion, public health, street canyon, tracer, urban area
Published in RUNG: 18.07.2019; Views: 2933; Downloads: 0
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5.
What effect does VOC sampling time have on derived OH reactivity?
Hannah Sonderfeld, Iain R. White, Iain C A Goodall, James R Hopkins, Alistair C Lewis, Ralf Koppmann, Paul S Monks, 2016, original scientific article

Abstract: State-of-the-art techniques allow for rapid measurements of total OH reactivity. Unknown sinks of OH and oxidation processes in the atmosphere have been attributed to what has been termed ĝ€missingĝ€ OH reactivity. Often overlooked are the differences in timescales over which the diverse measurement techniques operate. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) acting as sinks of OH are often measured by gas chromatography (GC) methods which provide low-frequency measurements on a timescale of hours, while sampling times are generally only a few minutes. Here, the effect of the sampling time and thus the contribution of unmeasured VOC variability on OH reactivity is investigated. Measurements of VOC mixing ratios by proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) conducted during two field campaigns (ClearfLo and PARADE) in an urban and a semi-rural environment were used to calculate OH reactivity. VOCs were selected to represent variability for different compound classes. Data were averaged over different time intervals to simulate lower time resolutions and were then compared to the mean hourly OH reactivity. The results show deviations in the range of 1 to 25%. The observed impact of VOC variability is found to be greater for the semi-rural site.The selected compounds were scaled by the contribution of their compound class to the total OH reactivity from VOCs based on concurrent gas chromatography measurements conducted during the ClearfLo campaign. Prior to being scaled, the variable signal of aromatic compounds results in larger deviations in OH reactivity for short sampling intervals compared to oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs). However, once scaled with their lower share during the ClearfLo campaign, this effect was reduced. No seasonal effect on the OH reactivity distribution across different VOCs was observed at the urban site.
Keywords: Hydroxyl radical, Atmospheric chemistry, Box model
Published in RUNG: 18.07.2019; Views: 2770; Downloads: 0

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