Heterogeneous reactions with NaCl in the El Chichon volcanic aerosols

Journal Article · Mon Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1991 · Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/91GL00547· OSTI ID:5566375

Michelangeli, D V ^[1]; Allen, M; Yung, Y L ^[2]

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1. NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA (United States)
2. California Inst. of Tech., Pasadena (United States)

Previous investigations of the effects of the 1982 eruption of the El Chichon volcano could not explain all the observations of changes in O{sub 3}, HCl, NO and NO{sub 2} simultaneously without proposing unproven chemical reactions. Since reactions between solid NaCl and gaseous ClNO{sub 3} and N{sub 2}O{sub 5} rapidly produce photochemically active chlorine species and solid NaNO{sub 3} in laboratory experiments, the authors suggest that these reactions could have occurred with the NaCl observed to be present in the El Chichon sulfuric acid aerosols. As a consequence, they predict that HCl should increase substantially, while NO{sub x} should decrease, in agreement with the measurements after the eruption. Ozone should only be slightly affected by these reactions. Reactions between solid NaCl and the acids H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} and HNO{sub 3} might prove to be important, but they lack sufficient evidence regarding their efficiency and the presence of HNO{sub 3} in the aerosols to be more conclusive.

• OSTI ID: 5566375
• Journal Information: Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States), Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States) Vol. 18:4; ISSN GPRLA; ISSN 0094-8276
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540110*
AEROSOLS
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
CHLORIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
CHLORINE NITRATES
COLLOIDS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DISPERSIONS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROCHLORIC ACID
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
LATIN AMERICA
MEXICO
NITRATES
NITRIC ACID
NITRIC OXIDE
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN DIOXIDE
NITROGEN OXIDES
NORTH AMERICA
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OZONE
PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTIONS
SODIUM CHLORIDES
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
SOLS
STRATOSPHERE
SULFURIC ACID
VOLCANOES