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Title: Influence of crustal dust and sea spray supermicron particle concentrations and acidity on inorganic NO3 aerosol during the 2013 Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study

Journal Article · · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online)
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4]; ORCiD logo [5];  [5];  [6];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [8];  [3]
  1. Reed College, Portland, OR (United States); California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)
  2. Reed College, Portland, OR (United States); Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
  3. Reed College, Portland, OR (United States)
  4. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
  5. Ecole Polytechnique Federale Lausanne, Lausanne (Switzlerland)
  6. Atmospheric Research & Analysis, Inc., Cary, NC (United States)
  7. Ludwig-Maximilians-Univ., Munich (Germany)
  8. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Inorganic aerosol composition was measured in the southeastern United States, a region that exhibits high aerosol mass loading during the summer, as part of the 2013 Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) campaign. Measurements using a Monitor for AeRosols and GAses (MARGA) revealed two periods of high aerosol nitrate (NO3) concentrations during the campaign. These periods of high nitrate were correlated with increased concentrations of supermicron crustal and sea spray aerosol species, particularly Na+ and Ca2+, and with a shift towards aerosol with larger (1 to 2.5 μm) diameters. We suggest this nitrate aerosol forms by multiphase reactions of HNO3 and particles, reactions that are facilitated by transport of crustal dust and sea spray aerosol from a source within the United States. The observed high aerosol acidity prevents the formation of NH4NO3, the inorganic nitrogen species often dominant in fine-mode aerosol at higher pH. In addition, calculation of the rate of the heterogeneous uptake of HNO3 on mineral aerosol supports the conclusion that aerosol NO3 is produced primarily by this process, and is likely limited by the availability of mineral cation-containing aerosol surface area. Modeling of NO3 and HNO3 by thermodynamic equilibrium models (ISORROPIA II and E-AIM) reveals the importance of including mineral cations in the southeastern United States to accurately balance ion species and predict gas–aerosol phase partitioning.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1229924
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-108640; 47887; 48347; KP1704020
Journal Information:
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online), Vol. 15, Issue 18; ISSN 1680-7324
Publisher:
European Geosciences UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 50 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (14)

Measurements of PM10 ions and trace gases with the online system MARGA at the research station Melpitz in Germany – A five-year study journal April 2017
Organic nitrate aerosol formation via NO<sub>3</sub> + biogenic volatile organic compounds in the southeastern United States journal January 2015
The lifetime of nitrogen oxides in an isoprene-dominated forest journal January 2016
Investigation of global particulate nitrate from the AeroCom phase III experiment journal January 2017
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of atmospheric organosulfates in Centreville, Alabama journal January 2017
The diverse chemical mixing state of aerosol particles in the southeastern United States journal January 2018
The underappreciated role of nonvolatile cations in aerosol ammonium-sulfate molar ratios journal January 2018
Coupling of organic and inorganic aerosol systems and the effect on gas–particle partitioning in the southeastern US journal January 2018
Secondary sulfate is internally mixed with sea spray aerosol and organic aerosol in the winter Arctic journal January 2018
The sensitivity of PM 2.5 acidity to meteorological parameters and chemical composition changes: 10-year records from six Canadian monitoring sites journal January 2019
Chromatography related performance of the Monitor for AeRosols and GAses in ambient air (MARGA): laboratory and field-based evaluation journal January 2017
A simplified parameterization of isoprene-epoxydiol-derived secondary organic aerosol (IEPOX-SOA) for global chemistry and climate models: a case study with GEOS-Chem v11-02-rc journal January 2019
Computer-Controlled Raman Microspectroscopy (CC-Raman): A Method for the Rapid Characterization of Individual Atmospheric Aerosol Particles text January 2017
Computer-controlled Raman microspectroscopy (CC-Raman): A method for the rapid characterization of individual atmospheric aerosol particles journal May 2017

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