Atmospheric Organic Aerosol Research Articles

Potential of Aerosol Liquid Water to Facilitate Organic Aerosol Formation: Assessing Knowledge Gaps about Precursors and Partitioning.

Isoprene epoxydiol (IEPOX), glyoxal, and methylglyoxal are ubiquitous water-soluble organic gases (WSOGs) that partition to aerosol liquid water (ALW) and clouds to form aqueous secondary organic aerosol (aqSOA). Recent laboratory-derived Setschenow (or salting) coefficients suggest glyoxal's potential to form aqSOA is enhanced by high aerosol salt molality, or "salting-in". In the southeastern U.S., aqSOA is responsible for a significant fraction of ambient organic aerosol, and correlates with sulfate mass. However, the mechanistic explanation for this correlation remains elusive, and an assessment of the importance of different WSOGs to aqSOA is currently missing. We employ EPA's CMAQ model to the continental U.S. during the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) to compare the potential of glyoxal, methylglyoxal, and IEPOX to partition to ALW, as the initial step toward aqSOA formation. Among these three studied compounds, IEPOX is a dominant contributor, ∼72% on average in the continental U.S., to potential aqSOA mass due to Henry's Law constants and molecular weights. Glyoxal contributes significantly, and application of the Setschenow coefficient leads to a greater than 3-fold model domain average increase in glyoxal's aqSOA mass potential. Methylglyoxal is predicted to be a minor contributor. Acid or ammonium - catalyzed ring-opening IEPOX chemistry as well as sulfate-driven ALW and the associated molality may explain positive correlations between SOA and sulfate during SOAS and illustrate ways in which anthropogenic sulfate could regulate biogenic aqSOA formation, ways not presently included in atmospheric models but relevant to development of effective control strategies.

Real-time detection of highly oxidized organosulfates and BSOA marker compounds during the F-BEACh 2014 field study

Abstract. The chemical composition of ambient organic aerosols was analyzed using complementary mass spectrometric techniques during a field study in central Europe in July 2014 (Fichtelgebirge – Biogenic Emission and Aerosol Chemistry, F-BEACh 2014). Among several common biogenic secondary organic aerosol (BSOA) marker compounds, 93 acidic oxygenated hydrocarbons were detected with elevated abundances and were thus attributed to be characteristic for the organic aerosol mass at the site. Monoterpene measurements exhibited median mixing ratios of 1.6 and 0.8 ppbV for in and above canopy levels respectively. Nonetheless, concentrations for early-generation oxidation products were rather low, e.g., pinic acid (c = 4.7 (±2.5) ng m−3). In contrast, high concentrations were found for later-generation photooxidation products such as 3-methyl-1,2,3-butanetricarboxylic acid (MBTCA, c = 13.8 (±9.0) ng m−3) and 3-carboxyheptanedioic acid (c = 10.2 (±6.6) ng m−3), suggesting that aged aerosol masses were present during the campaign period. In agreement, HYSPLIT trajectory calculations indicate that most of the arriving air masses traveled long distances (> 1500 km) over land with high solar radiation. In addition, around 47 % of the detected compounds from filter sample analysis contained sulfur, confirming a rather high anthropogenic impact on biogenic emissions and their oxidation processes. Among the sulfur-containing compounds, several organosulfates, nitrooxy organosulfates, and highly oxidized organosulfates (HOOS) were tentatively identified by high-resolution mass spectrometry. Correlations among HOOS, sulfate, and highly oxidized multifunctional organic compounds (HOMs) support the hypothesis of previous studies that HOOS are formed by reactions of gas-phase HOMs with particulate sulfate. Moreover, periods with high relative humidity indicate that aqueous-phase chemistry might play a major role in HOOS production. However, for dryer periods, coinciding signals for HOOS and gas-phase peroxyradicals (RO2•) were observed, suggesting RO2• to be involved in HOOS formation.

Role of Aerosol Liquid Water in Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation from Volatile Organic Compounds.

A key mechanism for atmospheric secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation occurs when oxidation products of volatile organic compounds condense onto pre-existing particles. Here, we examine effects of aerosol liquid water (ALW) on relative SOA yield and composition from α-pinene ozonolysis and the photooxidation of toluene and acetylene by OH. Reactions were conducted in a room-temperature flow tube under low-NOx conditions in the presence of equivalent loadings of deliquesced (∼20 μg m-3 ALW) or effloresced (∼0.2 μg m-3 ALW) ammonium sulfate seeds at exactly the same relative humidity (RH = 70%) and state of wall conditioning. We found 13% and 19% enhancements in relative SOA yield for the α-pinene and toluene systems, respectively, when seeds were deliquesced rather than effloresced. The relative yield doubled in the acetylene system, and this enhancement was partially reversible upon drying the prepared SOA, which reduced the yield by 40% within a time scale of seconds. We attribute the high relative yield of acetylene SOA on deliquesced seeds to aqueous partitioning and particle-phase reactions of the photooxidation product glyoxal. The observed range of relative yields for α-pinene, toluene, and acetylene SOA on deliquesced and effloresced seeds suggests that ALW plays a complicated, system-dependent role in SOA formation.

Quantifying the volatility of organic aerosol in the southeastern US

Abstract. The volatility of organic aerosols (OA) has emerged as a property of primary importance in understanding their atmospheric life cycle, and thus abundance and transport. However, quantitative estimates of the thermodynamic (volatility, water solubility) and kinetic parameters dictating ambient-OA gas-particle partitioning, such as saturation concentrations (C∗), enthalpy of evaporation (ΔHvap), and evaporation coefficient (γe), are highly uncertain. Here, we present measurements of ambient-OA volatility at two sites in the southeastern US, one at a rural setting in Alabama dominated by biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) as part of the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) in June–July 2013, and another at a more anthropogenically influenced urban location in North Carolina during October–November 2013. These measurements applied a dual-thermodenuder (TD) system, in which temperature and residence times are varied in parallel to constrain equilibrium and kinetic aerosol volatility properties. Gas-particle partitioning parameters were determined via evaporation kinetic model fits to the dual-TD observations. OA volatility parameter values derived from both datasets were similar despite the fact that measurements were collected in distinct settings and seasons. The OA volatility distributions also did not vary dramatically over the campaign period or strongly correlate with OA components identified via positive matrix factorization of aerosol mass spectrometer data. A large portion (40–70 %) of measured ambient OA at both sites was composed of very-low-volatility organics (C∗ ≤ 0.1 µg m−3). An effective ΔHvap of bulk OA of ∼ 80–100 kJ mol−1 and a γe value of ∼ 0.5 best describe the evaporation observed in the TDs. This range of ΔHvap values is substantially higher than that typically assumed for simulating OA in atmospheric models (30–40 kJ mol−1). TD data indicate that γe is on the order of 0.1 to 0.5, indicating that repartitioning timescales for atmospheric OA are on the order of several minutes to an hour under atmospheric conditions. The OA volatility distributions resulting from fits were compared to those simulated in the Weather, Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF/Chem) with a current treatment of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. The substantial fraction of low-volatility material observed in our measurements is largely missing from simulations, and OA mass concentrations are underestimated. The large discrepancies between simulations and observations indicate a need to treat low-volatility OA in atmospheric models. Volatility parameters extracted from ambient measurements enable evaluation of emerging treatments for OA (e.g., secondary OA using the volatility basis set or formed via aqueous chemistry) in atmospheric models.

Argon offline-AMS source apportionment of organic aerosol over yearly cycles for an urban, rural, and marine site in northern Europe

Abstract. The widespread use of Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometers (AMS) has greatly improved real-time organic aerosol (OA) monitoring, providing mass spectra that contain sufficient information for source apportionment. However, AMS field deployments remain expensive and demanding, limiting the acquisition of long-term datasets at many sampling sites. The offline application of aerosol mass spectrometry entailing the analysis of nebulized water extracted filter samples (offline-AMS) increases the spatial coverage accessible to AMS measurements, being filters routinely collected at many stations worldwide. PM1 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter < 1 µm) filter samples were collected during an entire year in Lithuania at three different locations representative of three typical environments of the southeast Baltic region: Vilnius (urban background), Rūgšteliškis (rural terrestrial), and Preila (rural coastal). Aqueous filter extracts were nebulized in Ar, yielding the first AMS measurements of water-soluble atmospheric organic aerosol (WSOA) without interference from air fragments. This enables direct measurement of the CO+ fragment contribution, whose intensity is typically assumed to be equal to that of CO2+. Offline-AMS spectra reveal that the water-soluble CO2+ : CO+ ratio not only shows values systematically > 1 but is also dependent on season, with lower values in winter than in summer. AMS WSOA spectra were analyzed using positive matrix factorization (PMF), which yielded four factors. These factors included biomass burning OA (BBOA), local OA (LOA) contributing significantly only in Vilnius, and two oxygenated OA (OOA) factors, summer OOA (S-OOA) and background OOA (B-OOA), distinguished by their seasonal variability. The contribution of traffic exhaust OA (TEOA) was not resolved by PMF due to both low concentrations and low water solubility. Therefore, the TEOA concentration was estimated using a chemical mass balance approach, based on the concentrations of hopanes, specific markers of traffic emissions. AMS-PMF source apportionment results were consistent with those obtained from PMF applied to marker concentrations (i.e., major inorganic ions, OC / EC, and organic markers including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their derivatives, hopanes, long-chain alkanes, monosaccharides, anhydrous sugars, and lignin fragmentation products). OA was the largest fraction of PM1 and was dominated by BBOA during winter with an average concentration of 2 µg m−3 (53 % of OM), while S-OOA, probably related to biogenic emissions, was the prevalent OA component during summer with an average concentration of 1.2 µg m−3 (45 % of OM). PMF ascribed a large part of the CO+ explained variability (97 %) to the OOA and BBOA factors. Accordingly, we discuss a new CO+ parameterization as a function of CO2+ and C2H4O2+ fragments, which were selected to describe the variability of the OOA and BBOA factors.

Accurate representations of the physicochemical properties of atmospheric aerosols: when are laboratory measurements of value?

Laboratory studies can provide important insights into the processes that occur at the scale of individual particles in ambient aerosol. We examine the accuracies of measurements of core physicochemical properties of aerosols that can be made in single particle studies and explore the impact of these properties on the microscopic processes that occur in ambient aerosol. Presenting new measurements, we examine here the refinements in our understanding of aerosol hygroscopicity, surface tension, viscosity and optical properties that can be gained from detailed laboratory measurements for complex mixtures through to surrogates for secondary organic atmospheric aerosols.

Effects of organic aerosol loading and fog processing on organic aerosol volatility

A detailed time-resolved chemical characterization and volatility study of winter time ambient non refractory submicron aerosols (NR-PM1) was conducted at Kanpur, a polluted city of India. Two very distinct, high (HL, ~ 240μg/m3) and low (LL, ~100μg/m3) aerosol loading periods were observed during the campaign, impacted by frequent fog events (n=17). On average, organic aerosols (OA) contributed nearly 60% of the total NR-PM1 mass. Overall, OA volatility, (as measured by mass fraction of OA remaining after passing through a thermo denuder kept at 300°C) decreased significantly (60%) from HL to LL period. OA volatility is anti-correlated to OA loading but much more strongly so in LL compared to HL period. Volatilities of different types of OAs, as identified by positive matrix factorization (PMF) method, showed significant variations (up to 300%) from HL to LL period. This indicates that nature (like oxidation state, molecular structure, functional groups) of the OAs might have changed with variations in loading conditions. The presence of fog had little or no impact on overall OA volatility, in spite of (15–30) % enhancement in the ambinet OA oxidation ratio (O/C ratio) during fog. This study examines combined effects of OA loading and fog aqueous processing on the ambient OA volatility for the first time.

A technique for rapid source apportionment applied to ambient organic aerosol measurements from a thermal desorption aerosol gas chromatograph (TAG)

Abstract. We present a rapid method for apportioning the sources of atmospheric organic aerosol composition measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry methods. Here, we specifically apply this new analysis method to data acquired on a thermal desorption aerosol gas chromatograph (TAG) system. Gas chromatograms are divided by retention time into evenly spaced bins, within which the mass spectra are summed. A previous chromatogram binning method was introduced for the purpose of chromatogram structure deconvolution (e.g., major compound classes) (Zhang et al., 2014). Here we extend the method development for the specific purpose of determining aerosol samples' sources. Chromatogram bins are arranged into an input data matrix for positive matrix factorization (PMF), where the sample number is the row dimension and the mass-spectra-resolved eluting time intervals (bins) are the column dimension. Then two-dimensional PMF can effectively do three-dimensional factorization on the three-dimensional TAG mass spectra data. The retention time shift of the chromatogram is corrected by applying the median values of the different peaks' shifts. Bin width affects chemical resolution but does not affect PMF retrieval of the sources' time variations for low-factor solutions. A bin width smaller than the maximum retention shift among all samples requires retention time shift correction. A six-factor PMF comparison among aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS), TAG binning, and conventional TAG compound integration methods shows that the TAG binning method performs similarly to the integration method. However, the new binning method incorporates the entirety of the data set and requires significantly less pre-processing of the data than conventional single compound identification and integration. In addition, while a fraction of the most oxygenated aerosol does not elute through an underivatized TAG analysis, the TAG binning method does have the ability to achieve molecular level resolution on other bulk aerosol components commonly observed by the AMS.

Online analysis of secondary organic aerosols from OH-initiated photooxidation and ozonolysis of α-pinene, β-pinene, Δ3-carene and d-limonene by thermal desorption–photoionisation aerosol mass spectrometry

Environmental contextSecondary organic aerosol, formed by oxidation of volatile precursors such as monoterpenes, is a major contributor to the total atmospheric organic aerosol. We focus on the online mass spectrometric analysis of the aerosol generated by oxidation products of four major monoterpenes in an environmental chamber. Numerous important monoterpene oxidation products were clearly observed and provided a direct comparison of the formation of biogenic secondary organic aerosols. AbstractWe present here thermal desorption–tunable vacuum ultraviolet time-of-flight photoionisation aerosol mass spectrometry (TD-VUV-TOF-PIAMS) for online analysis of biogenic secondary organic aerosols (BSOAs) formed from OH-initiated photooxidation and dark ozonolysis of α-pinene, β-pinene, Δ3-carene and d-limonene in smog chamber experiments. The ‘soft’ ionisation at near-threshold photon energies (≤10.5eV) used in this study permits direct measurement of the fairly clean mass spectra, facilitating molecular identification. The online BSOA mass spectra compared well with previous offline measurements and most of the important monoterpene oxidation products were clearly found in the online mass spectra. Oxidation products such as monoterpene-derived acids (e.g. pinic acid, pinonic acid, 3-caronic acid, limononic acid, limonalic acid), ketones (e.g. norpinone, limonaketone), aldehydes (e.g. caronaldehyde, norcaronaldehyde, limononaldehyde) and multifunctional organics (e.g. hydroxypinonaldehydes, hydroxy-3-caronic aldehydes, hydroxylimononic acid) were tentatively identified. The online TD-VUV-TOF-PIAMS mass spectra showed that the OH-initiated photooxidation and ozonolysis of the same monoterpenes produced some similar BSOA products; for example, 3-caric acid, 3-caronic acid, 3-norcaronic acid, 3-norcaralic acid, caronaldehyde and norcaronaldehyde were observed in both photooxidation and ozonolysis of Δ3-carene. However, they could be formed through different pathways. Some of the same products and isomers (e.g. 10-oxopinonic acid, pinonic acid, norpinic acid, hydroxyl pinonaldehyde, norpinonic acid, norpinone) were formed during the photooxidation and ozonolysis of α-pinene and β-pinene. However, several different BSOA products were generated in these photooxidation and ozonolysis reactions due to their different parent structures. The OH–monoterpene reaction generated higher-molecular-weight products than O3–monoterpene owing to multiple OH additions to the unsaturated carbon bond. The online observation of key BSOA products provided a direct comparison of BSOA formation among different monoterpenes and insights into the formation pathways in the OH-initiated photooxidation and ozonolysis of monoterpenes.

Changes in concentration, composition and source contribution of atmospheric organic aerosols by shifting coal to natural gas in Urumqi

Size-segregated aerosols were collected in Urumqi, a megacity in northwest China, during two heating seasons, i.e., before (heating season І: January–March 2012) and after (heating season II: January–March 2014) the project “shifting coal to natural gas”, and determined for n-alkanes, PAHs and oxygenated PAHs to investigate the impact of replacement of coal by natural gas on organic aerosols in the urban atmosphere. Our results showed that compared to those in heating season I concentrations of n-alkanes, PAHs and OPAHs decreased by 74%, 74% and 82% in heating season II, respectively. Source apportionment analysis suggested that coal combustion, traffic emission and biomass burning are the major sources of the determined organics during the heating seasons in Urumqi. Traffic emission is the main source for n-alkanes in the city. Coal combustion is the dominant source of PAHs and OPAHs in heating season І, but traffic emission becomes their major source in heating season ІI. Relative contributions of coal combustion to n-alkanes, PAHs and OPAHs in Urumqi decreased from 21 to 75% in heating season I to 4.0–21% in heating season II due to the replacement of coal with natural gas for house heating. Health risk assessment further indicated that compared with that in heating season I the number of lung cancer related to PAHs exposure in Urumqi decreased by 73% during heating season II due to the project implementation. Our results suggest that replacing coal by clean energy sources for house heating will significantly mitigate air pollution and improve human health in China.

Mixing of secondary organic aerosols versus relative humidity

Atmospheric aerosols exert a substantial influence on climate, ecosystems, visibility, and human health. Although secondary organic aerosols (SOA) dominate fine-particle mass, they comprise myriad compounds with uncertain sources, chemistry, and interactions. SOA formation involves absorption of vapors into particles, either because gas-phase chemistry produces low-volatility or semivolatile products that partition into particles or because more-volatile organics enter particles and react to form lower-volatility products. Thus, SOA formation involves both production of low-volatility compounds and their diffusion into particles. Most chemical transport models assume a single well-mixed phase of condensing organics and an instantaneous equilibrium between bulk gas and particle phases; however, direct observations constraining diffusion of semivolatile organics into particles containing SOA are scarce. Here we perform unique mixing experiments between SOA populations including semivolatile constituents using quantitative, single-particle mass spectrometry to probe any mass-transfer limitations in particles containing SOA. We show that, for several hours, particles containing SOA from toluene oxidation resist exchange of semivolatile constituents at low relative humidity (RH) but start to lose that resistance above 20% RH. Above 40% RH, the exchange of material remains constant up to 90% RH. We also show that dry particles containing SOA from α-pinene ozonolysis do not appear to resist exchange of semivolatile compounds. Our interpretation is that in-particle diffusion is not rate-limiting to mass transfer in these systems above 40% RH. To the extent that these systems are representative of ambient SOA, we conclude that diffusion limitations are likely not common under typical ambient boundary layer conditions.

Discontinuities in hygroscopic growth below and above water saturation for laboratory surrogates of oligomers in organic atmospheric aerosols

Abstract. Discontinuities in apparent hygroscopicity below and above water saturation have been observed for organic and mixed organic–inorganic aerosol particles in both laboratory studies and in the ambient atmosphere. However, uncertainty remains regarding the factors that contribute to observations of low hygroscopic growth below water saturation but enhanced cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity for a given aerosol population. Utilizing laboratory surrogates for oligomers in atmospheric aerosols, we explore the extent to which such discontinuities are influenced by organic component molecular mass and viscosity, non-ideal thermodynamic interactions between aerosol components, and the combination of these factors. Measurements of hygroscopic growth under subsaturated conditions and the CCN activity of aerosols comprised of polyethylene glycol (PEG) with average molecular masses ranging from 200 to 10 000 g mol−1 and mixtures of PEG with ammonium sulfate (AS) were conducted. Experimental results are compared to calculations of hygroscopic growth at thermodynamic equilibrium conducted with the Aerosol Inorganic Organic Mixtures Functional groups Activity Coefficients (AIOMFAC) model, and the potential influence of kinetic limitations on observed water uptake was further explored through estimations of water diffusivity in the PEG oligomers. Particle-phase behavior, including the prevalence of liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS), was also modeled with AIOMFAC. Under subsaturated relative humidity (RH) conditions, we observed little variability in hygroscopic growth across PEG systems with different molecular masses; however, an increase in CCN activity with increasing PEG molecular mass was observed. This effect is most pronounced for PEG–AS mixtures, and, in fact, an enhancement in CCN activity was observed for the PEG10000–AS mixture as compared to pure AS, as evidenced by a 15 % reduction in critical activation diameter at a supersaturation of 0.8 %. We also observed a marked increase in apparent hygroscopicity for mixtures of higher molecular mass PEG and AS under supersaturated conditions as compared to subsaturated hygroscopic growth. AIOMFAC-based predictions and estimations of water diffusivity in PEG suggest that such discontinuities in apparent hygroscopicity above and below water saturation can be attributed, at least in part, to differences in the sensitivity of water uptake behavior to surface tension effects. There is no evidence that kinetic limitations to water uptake due to the presence of viscous aerosol components influenced hygroscopic growth. For the systems that display an enhancement in apparent hygroscopicity above water saturation, LLPS is predicted to persist to high RH. This indicates a miscibility gap and is likely to influence bulk-to-surface partitioning of PEG at high RH, impacting droplet surface tension and CCN activity. This work provides insight into the factors likely to be contributing to discontinuities in aerosol water-uptake behavior below and above water saturation that have been observed previously in the ambient atmosphere.

Source characterization of highly oxidized multifunctional compounds in a boreal forest environment using positive matrix factorization

Abstract. Highly oxidized multifunctional compounds (HOMs) have been demonstrated to be important for atmospheric secondary organic aerosols (SOA) and new-particle formation (NPF), yet it remains unclear which the main atmospheric HOM formation pathways are. In this study, a nitrate-ion-based chemical ionization atmospheric-pressure-interface time-of-flight mass spectrometer (CI-APi-TOF) was deployed to measure HOMs in the boreal forest in Hyytiälä, southern Finland. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to separate the detected HOM species into several factors, relating these “factors” to plausible formation pathways. PMF was performed with a revised error estimation derived from laboratory data, which agrees well with an estimate based on ambient data. Three factors explained the majority (> 95 %) of the data variation, but the optimal solution found six factors, including two nighttime factors, three daytime factors, and a transport factor. One nighttime factor is almost identical to laboratory spectra generated from monoterpene ozonolysis, while the second likely represents monoterpene oxidation initiated by NO3. The exact chemical processes forming the different daytime factors remain unclear, but they all have clearly distinct diurnal profiles, very likely related to monoterpene oxidation with a strong influence from NO, presumably through its effect on peroxy radical (RO2) chemistry. Apart from these five “local” factors, the sixth factor is interpreted as a transport related factor. These findings improve our understanding of HOM production by confirming current knowledge and inspiring future research directions and provide new perspectives on using factorization methods to understand short-lived atmospheric species.

Light Absorption and Excitation-Emission Fluorescence of Urban Organic Aerosol Components and Their Relationship to Chemical Structure.

The present study used a combination of solvent and solid-phase extractions to fractionate organic compounds with different polarities from total suspended particulates in Nagoya, Japan, and their optical characteristics were obtained on the basis of their UV-visible absorption spectra and excitation-emission matrices (EEMs). The relationship between their optical characteristics and chemical structures was investigated based on high-resolution aerosol mass spectra (HR-AMS spectra), soft ionization mass spectra and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra. The major light-absorption organics were less polar organic fractions, which tended to have higher mass absorption efficiencies (MAEs) and lower wavelength dependent Ångström exponents (Å) than the more polar organic fractions. Correlation analyses indicate that organic compounds with O and N atoms may contribute largely to the total light absorption and fluorescence of the organic aerosol components. The extracts from the aerosol samples were further characterized by a classification of the EEM profiles using a PARAFAC model. Different fluorescence components in the aerosol organic EEMs were associated with specific AMS ions and with different functional groups from the FT-IR analysis. These results may be useful to determine and further classify the chromophores in atmospheric organic aerosols using EEM spectroscopy.

Combined effects of organic aerosol loading and fog processing on organic aerosols oxidation, composition, and evolution

Chemical characterization of ambient non-refractory submicron aerosols (NR-PM1) was carried out in real time at Kanpur, India. The measurements were performed during the winter (December 2014 to February 2015), and comprised of two very distinct high and low aerosol loading periods coupled with prevalent foggy conditions. The average non-refractory submicron aerosol loading varied significantly from high (HL, ~240μg/m3) to low loading (LL, ~100μg/m3) period and was dominated by organic aerosols (OA) which contributed more than half (~60%) of the measured aerosol mass. OA source apportionment via positive matrix factorization (PMF) showed drastic changes in the composition of OA from HL to LL period. Overall, O/C (oxygen to carbon) ratios also varied significantly from HL (=0.59) to LL (=0.69) period. Fog episodes (n=17) studied here seem to be reducing the magnitude of the negative impact of OA loading on O/C ratio (OA loading and O/C ratio are anti-correlated, as higher OA loading allows gas to particle partitioning of relatively less oxidized organics) by 60% via aqueous processing. This study provided new insights into the combined effects of OA loading and fog aqueous processing on the evolution of ambient organic aerosols (OA) for the first time.

Photosensitized Formation of Secondary Organic Aerosols above the Air/Water Interface.

In this study, we evaluated photosensitized chemistry at the air–sea interface as a source of secondary organic aerosols (SOA). Our results show that, in addition to biogenic emissions, abiotic processes could also be important in the marine boundary layer. Photosensitized production of marine secondary organic aerosol was studied in a custom-built multiphase atmospheric simulation chamber. The experimental chamber contained water, humic acid (1–10 mg L–1) as a proxy for dissolved organic matter, and nonanoic acid (0.1–10 mM), a fatty acid proxy which formed an organic film at the air–water interface. Dark secondary reaction with ozone after illumination resulted in SOA particle concentrations in excess of 1000 cm–3, illustrating the production of unsaturated compounds by chemical reactions at the air–water interface. SOA numbers via photosensitization alone and in the absence of ozone did not exceed background levels. From these results, we derived a dependence of SOA numbers on nonanoic acid surface coverage and dissolved organic matter concentration. We present a discussion on the potential role of the air–sea interface in the production of atmospheric organic aerosol from photosensitized origins.

Sampling strategies and post-processing methods for increasing the time resolution of organic aerosol measurements requiring long sample-collection times

Abstract. The composition and properties of atmospheric organic aerosols (OAs) change on timescales of minutes to hours. However, some important OA characterization techniques typically require greater than a few hours of sample-collection time (e.g., Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy). In this study we have performed numerical modeling to investigate and compare sample-collection strategies and post-processing methods for increasing the time resolution of OA measurements requiring long sample-collection times. Specifically, we modeled the measurement of hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA) and oxygenated OA (OOA) concentrations at a polluted urban site in Mexico City, and investigated how to construct hourly resolved time series from samples collected for 4, 6, and 8 h. We modeled two sampling strategies – sequential and staggered sampling – and a range of post-processing methods including interpolation and deconvolution. The results indicated that relative to the more sophisticated and costly staggered sampling methods, linear interpolation between sequential measurements is a surprisingly effective method for increasing time resolution. Additional error can be added to a time series constructed in this manner if a suboptimal sequential sampling schedule is chosen. Staggering measurements is one way to avoid this effect. There is little to be gained from deconvolving staggered measurements, except at very low values of random measurement error (< 5 %). Assuming 20 % random measurement error, one can expect average recovery errors of 1.33–2.81 µg m−3 when using 4–8 h-long sequential and staggered samples to measure time series of concentration values ranging from 0.13–29.16 µg m−3. For 4 h samples, 19–47 % of this total error can be attributed to the process of increasing time resolution alone, depending on the method used, meaning that measurement precision would only be improved by 0.30–0.75 µg m−3 if samples could be collected over 1 h instead of 4 h. Devising a suitable sampling strategy and post-processing method is a good approach for increasing the time resolution of measurements requiring long sample-collection times.

Evolution of Submicrometer Organic Aerosols during a Complete Residential Coal Combustion Process.

In the absence of particulate matter (PM) control devices, residential coal combustion contributes significantly to ambient PM pollution. Characterizing PM emissions from residential coal combustion with high time resolution is beneficial for developing control policies and evaluating the environmental impact of PM. This study reports the evolution of submicrometer organic aerosols (OA) during a complete residential coal combustion process, that is, from fire start to fire extinction. Three commonly used coal types (bituminous, anthracite, and semicoke coals) were evaluated in a typical residential stove in China. For all three types of coal, the OA emission exhibited distinct characteristics in the four stages, that is, ignition, fierce combustion, relatively stable combustion, and ember combustion. OA emissions during the ignition stage accounted for 58.2-85.4% of the total OA emission of a complete combustion process. The OA concentration decreased rapidly during the fierce combustion stage and remained low during the relatively stable combustion stage. During these two stages, a significant ion peak of m/z 73 from organic acids were observed. The degree of oxidation of the OA increased from the first stage to the last stage. Implications for ambient OA source-apportionment and residential PM emission characterization and control are discussed.

Contribution of methane to aerosol carbon mass

Small volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as methane (CH4) have long been considered non-relevant to aerosol formation due to the high volatility of their oxidation products. However, even low aerosol yields from CH4, the most abundant VOC in the atmosphere, would contribute significantly to the total particulate carbon budget. In this study, organic aerosol (OA) mass yields from CH4 oxidation were evaluated at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) smog chamber in the presence of inorganic and organic seed aerosols. Using labeled 13C methane, we could detect its oxidation products in the aerosol phase, with yields up to 0.09 +0.26−0.09 %. Overall, we estimate a maximum contribution of CH4 oxidation of 0.13% to the total global organic aerosol budget. We present evidence that oxidation of formaldehyde, a product of methane oxidation, contributes only a minor fraction to the observed aerosol yields. Therefore, other mechanisms appear to be more important for OA production from CH4 oxidation. A thorough elucidation of such mechanisms is still required. However, our results imply that many other small, volatile, and abundant hydrocarbons thus far considered irrelevant for OA production may contribute to the atmospheric OA budget.

Characterization of the organic matter in submicron urban aerosols using a Thermo-Desorption Proton-Transfer-Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (TD-PTR-TOF-MS)

Organic matter is the most complicated and unresolved major component of atmospheric aerosol particles. Its sources and global budget are still highly uncertain and thereby necessitate further research efforts with state-of-the-art instrument. This study employed a Thermo-Desorption Proton-Transfer-Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (TD-PTR-TOF-MS) for characterization of ambient organic aerosols. First, five authentic standard substances, which include phthalic acid, levoglucosan, arabitol, cis-pinonic acid and glutaric acid, were utilized to examine the response of the instrument. The results demonstrated the linearity of the TD-PTR-TOF-MS signals against a range of mass loading of specific species on filters. However, it was found that significant fragmentation happened to those challenging compounds, although the proton-transfer-reaction (PTR) was recognized as a soft ionization technique. Consequently, quantitative characterization of aerosols with the TD-PTR-TOF-MS depended on the availability of the fragmentation pattern in mass spectra and the recovery rate with the quantification ion peak(s). The instrument was further deployed to analyze a subset of submicron aerosol samples collected at the TARO (Taipei Aerosol and Radiation Observatory) in Taipei, Taiwan during August 2013. The results were compared with the measurements from a conventional DRI thermo-optical carbon analyzer. The inter-comparison indicated that the TD-PTR-TOF-MS underestimated the mass of total organic matter (TOM) in aerosol samples by 27%. The underestimation was most likely due to the thermo-decomposition during desorption processes and fragmentation in PTR drift tube, where undetectable fragments were formed. Besides, condensation loss of low vapor pressure species in the transfer components was also responsible for the underestimation to a certain degree. Nevertheless, it was showed that the sum of the mass concentrations of the major detected ion peaks correlated strongly with the TOM determined by DRI analyzer (R2 = 0.8578), suggesting that the TD-PTR-TOF-MS measurements explained more than 85% of the variance in the time series of TOM. In addition to identification by comparing with the fragmentation pattern obtained from the mass spectra of the authentic substances, most of the major ions were attributed to protonated or acylium ions of specific parent compounds. Amongst the quantified species with full calibration with authentic standard, phthalic acid was found accounting for 7.0% of the mass loading of TOM. In addition, a high-end estimation of 9.4% was suggested for the mass contribution from glutaric acid, which was made by assuming that the ion with m/z of 73.027 was totally produced from fragmentation of glutaric acid as characterization of authentic standard despite of the formation of protonated methyl-glyoxal ion. Moreover, a substantial contribution from ions corresponding to protonated acetic acid and acetone was measured, which could be produced from fragmentation of larger oxygenated molecules. The TD-PTR-TOF-MS measurements suggested that low molecular weight carboxylic acid (LMWCA), products of photochemical oxidation of gaseous hydrocarbons and fatty acids, constituted a major fraction of secondary organic aerosols in Taipei, Taiwan, a typical subtropical urban area.