On the budget of OH radicals and ozone in an urban plume from the decay of C5-C8 hydrocarbons and NOx

Abstract

Simultaneous measurements of ozone and ozoneprecursors were made during a field campaign atSchauinsland in the Black Forest and in the valleynorth of Schauinsland that channels the flow ofpolluted air from the city of Freiburg to the site.From the decay of hydrocarbons and NOx between the twomeasuring sites and the known rate coefficients, theconcentration of OH radicals was calculated. From abudget analysis of OH and HOx it is concluded that therelatively high OH concentrations (5–8 ×106cm-3) in the presence of high NO2concentrations cannot be explained by the knownprimary sources. The budget can be closed if efficientrecycling of OH via HO2 is assumed to occur andthat, based on the measured hydrocarbons, 2 HO2molecules are formed for each OH radical that reactswith a hydrocarbon molecule. This assumption is inaccordance with the budget of Ox obtained from ourmeasurements and with results from earliermeasurements of alkylnitrates and peroxy radicals atSchauinsland. A possible conclusion is that the decayof precursors and production of photooxidants in urbanplumes proceeds at a faster rate than is currentlyassumed. The potential role of biogenichydrocarbons for the radical budget is alsodiscussed.