PMEL Publications Abstract
FY 2007
Observation of daytime N2O5 in the marine boundary layer during New England Air Quality Study–Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation 2004
Osthoff, H.D., R. Sommariva, T. Baynard, A. Pettersson, E.J. Williams, B.M. Lerner, J.M. Roberts, H. Stark, P.D. Goldan, W.C. Kuster, T.S. Bates, D. Coffman, A.R. Ravishankara, and S.S. Brown
J. Geophys. Res., 111, D23S14, doi: 10.1029/2006JD007593 (2006)
The nitrate radical, NO
, and dinitrogen pentoxide, N
O
, are key reactive nocturnal nitrogen oxides in the troposphere. The daytime impact of NO and NO, however, is restricted by photochemical recycling of NO to NO and O. In this paper, we report daytime measurements of NO on board the NOAA research vessel Ronald H. Brown in the Gulf of Maine during the New England Air Quality Study–Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation (NEAQS-ITCT) campaign in the summer of 2004. Daytime NO mixing ratios of up to 4 pptv were observed, consistent with predictions from a steady state analysis. Predicted and observed NO mixing ratios were below the instrumental detection limit of ~1 pptv; the average calculated concentration was 0.09 pptv. Important impacts of daytime NO and NO in the marine boundary layer included increased rates of VOC oxidation (in particular dimethyl sulfide) and enhanced NO
to HNO conversion, both of which scaled with the available NO. Smaller effects of daytime NO and NO included chemical destruction of O and a shift of the NO:NO ratio. Because the rates of heterogeneous conversion of NO and NO to HNO scale with the surface area available for uptake, the importance of daytime fog is discussed.