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Impact of isoprene and HONO chemistry on ozone and OVOC formation in a semirural South Korean forest

Journal Article · · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online)
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [1];  [2];  [2]
  1. Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
  2. National Inst. Environmental Research, Incheon (South Korea)
  3. Korean Univ., Seoul (South Korea)
  4. Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore, MD (United States). Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology
  5. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Atmospheric Science and Global Change Div. (ASGC)
Rapid urbanization and economic development in East Asia in past decades has led to photochemical air pollution problems such as excess photochemical ozone and aerosol formation. Asian megacities such as Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing are surrounded by densely forested areas, and recent research has consistently demonstrated the importance of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from vegetation in determining oxidation capacity in the suburban Asian megacity regions. Uncertainties in constraining tropospheric oxidation capacity, dominated by hydroxyl radical, undermine our ability to assess regional photochemical air pollution problems. We present an observational data set of CO, NOx, SO2, ozone, HONO, and VOCs (anthropogenic and biogenic) from Taehwa research forest (TRF) near the Seoul metropolitan area in early June 2012. The data show that TRF is influenced both by aged pollution and fresh biogenic volatile organic compound emissions. With the data set, we diagnose HOx (OH, HO2, and RO2) distributions calculated using the University of Washington chemical box model (UWCM v2.1) with near-explicit VOC oxidation mechanisms from MCM v3.2 (Master Chemical Mechanism). Uncertainty from unconstrained HONO sources and radical recycling processes highlighted in recent studies is examined using multiple model simulations with different model constraints. The results suggest that (1) different model simulation scenarios cause systematic differences in HOx distributions, especially OH levels (up to 2.5 times), and (2) radical destruction (HO2 + HO2 or HO2 + RO2) could be more efficient than radical recycling (RO2 + NO), especially in the afternoon. Implications of the uncertainties in radical chemistry are discussed with respect to ozone–VOC–NOx sensitivity and VOC oxidation product formation rates. Overall, the NOx limited regime is assessed except for the morning hours (8 a.m. to 12 p.m. local standard time), but the degree of sensitivity can significantly vary depending on the model scenarios. The model results also suggest that RO2 levels are positively correlated with oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) production that is not routinely constrained by observations. These unconstrained OVOCs can cause higher-than-expected OH loss rates (missing OH reactivity) and secondary organic aerosol formation. The series of modeling experiments constrained by observations strongly urge observational constraint of the radical pool to enable precise understanding of regional photochemical pollution problems in the East Asian megacity region.
Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1206591
Journal Information:
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online), Journal Name: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online) Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 15; ISSN 1680-7324
Publisher:
European Geosciences UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (6)

Changes in Global Tropospheric OH Expected as a Result of Climate Change Over the Last Several Decades journal September 2018
Formaldehyde production from isoprene oxidation across NOx regimes journal January 2016
Low-level summertime isoprene observed at a forested mountaintop site in southern China: implications for strong regional atmospheric oxidative capacity journal January 2018
Integration of airborne and ground observations of nitryl chloride in the Seoul metropolitan area and the implications on regional oxidation capacity during KORUS-AQ 2016 journal January 2019
Taehwa Research Forest: a receptor site for severe domestic pollution events in Korea during 2016 journal January 2019
The Framework for 0-D Atmospheric Modeling (F0AM) v3.1 journal January 2016

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