Field measurements of the dissociation of ammonium nitrate and ammonium chloride aerosols

SSH-Aerosol v1.1: A Modular Box Model to Simulate the Evolution of Primary and Secondary Aerosols

Particles are emitted by different sources and are also formed in the atmosphere. Despite the large impact of atmospheric particles on health and climate, large uncertainties remain concerning their representation in models. To reduce these uncertainties as much as possible, a representation of the main processes involved in aerosol dynamics and chemistry is necessary. For that purpose, SSH-aerosol was developed to represent the evolution of the mass and number concentrations of primary and secondary particles, across different scales, using state-of-the-art modules, taking into account processes that are usually not considered in air-quality or climate modelling. For example, the particle mixing state and the growth of ultra-fine particles are taken into account in the aerosol dynamics, the affinity of semi-volatile organic compounds with water and viscosity are taken into account in the partitioning between the gas and particle phases of organics and the formation of extremely low-volatility organic compounds from biogenic precursors is represented. SSH-aerosol is modular and can be used with different levels of complexity. It may be used as standalone to analyse chamber measurements. It is also designed to be easily coupled to 3D models, adapting the level of complexity to the spatial scale studied.

Development of a Particulate Mass Measurement System for Quantification of Ambient Reactive Mercury

The Teledyne Advanced Pollution Instrumentation (TAPI) model 602 Beta^Plus particulate system provides nondestructive analysis of particulate matter (PM_2.5) mass concentration. This instrument was used to determine if measurements made with cation exchange membranes (CEM) were comparable to standard methods, the β attenuation method at two locations in Reno, NV and an environmental β attenuation method and gravimetric method at Great Basin National Park, NV. TAPI PM_2.5 CEM measurements were statistically similar to the other three PM_2.5 methods. Once this was established, the second objective, a destructive method for measurement of reactive mercury (RM = gaseous oxidized and particulate bound Hg), was tested. Samples collected at 16.7 L per min (Lpm) for 24 h on CEM from the TAPI were compared to those measured by the University of Nevada, Reno-Reactive Mercury Active System (UNRRMAS, 1 Lpm) CEM and a Tekran 2537/1130/1135 system (7 Lpm). Given the use of CEM in the TAPI and UNRRMAS, we hypothesized that both should collect RM. Due to the high flow rate and different inlets, TAPI data were systematically lower than the UNRRMAS. Correlation between RM concentrations demonstrated that the TAPI may be used to estimate 24 h resolution RM concentrations in Nevada.

Airborne submicron particulate (PM1) pollution in Shanghai, China: chemical variability, formation/dissociation of associated semi-volatile components and the impacts on visibility

Hourly mass concentrations of water-soluble ions in PM1 and gasses (NH3, HNO3, HCl) were on-line measured with a Monitor for AeRosols and Gases Analyzer (MARGA) in Shanghai from Oct. 1 to Nov. 16, 2012. During the field campaign, 7 haze episodes (total 157 h) were identified. 845 h were identified as non-haze periods, excluding fog events and wet precipitation. The average mass concentration of PM1 and total water-soluble ions (TWSI) in PM1 in haze episodes were 78.9 ± 29.9 μg/m(3) and 47.2 ± 17.2 μg/m(3), 3.11 times (from 1.49 to 4.06 times) and 3.28 times (1.96 to 4.34 times) as those in non-haze periods, respectively. TWSI accounted for 60.4 ± 18.8% of PM1 mass loading in the whole campaign. With the ascending PM1 mass concentration from 2.5 to 125.0 μg/m(3) from non-haze periods to haze episodes, average contribution of TWSI to PM1 mass loading decreased from 86.1% to 54.2%, while different species altered. Contribution of NO3(-) increased from 14.0% to 26.8%, while SO4(2-) decreased from 39.5% to 15.0% and NH4(+) remained around 13.7%. Relationship of visibility with PM1 and TWSI was addressed in specific RH ranges. It was found that hourly TWSI mass concentration showed better correlation with visibility. Formation/dissociation of semi-volatiles (NH4NO3 and NH4Cl) was also investigated and demonstrated. NH4NO3 and NH4Cl tended to partition into gas phase in non-haze periods. Particularly, strong dissociation from 11:00 LT to 17:00 LT was observed. In haze episodes, HNO3 and HCl tended to react with NH3 to form particulate matters. Interestingly, we found that formation/dissociation of NH4NO3 and NH4Cl exerted great impacts on visibility. Excluding the strong dissociation hours (11:00 LT to 17:00 LT) in correlation analysis of PM1 and visibility, correlation coefficients (R(2)) increased from 0.5762 to 0.7738 at RH<50%. No significant difference was observed in other RH ranges. In addition, Strong NH3 and HNO3 reaction resulted in the enhancement of NH4NO3 mass fraction, therefore increased associated water content in PM1 under high RH condition and contributed to visibility degradation.

Ammonia in the atmosphere: a review on emission sources, atmospheric chemistry and deposition on terrestrial bodies

Gaseous ammonia (NH3) is the most abundant alkaline gas in the atmosphere. In addition, it is a major component of total reactive nitrogen. The largest source of NH3 emissions is agriculture, including animal husbandry and NH3-based fertilizer applications. Other sources of NH3 include industrial processes, vehicular emissions and volatilization from soils and oceans. Recent studies have indicated that NH3 emissions have been increasing over the last few decades on a global scale. This is a concern because NH3 plays a significant role in the formation of atmospheric particulate matter, visibility degradation and atmospheric deposition of nitrogen to sensitive ecosystems. Thus, the increase in NH3 emissions negatively influences environmental and public health as well as climate change. For these reasons, it is important to have a clear understanding of the sources, deposition and atmospheric behaviour of NH3. Over the last two decades, a number of research papers have addressed pertinent issues related to NH3 emissions into the atmosphere at global, regional and local scales. This review article integrates the knowledge available on atmospheric NH3 from the literature in a systematic manner, describes the environmental implications of unabated NH3 emissions and provides a scientific basis for developing effective control strategies for NH3.

Atmospheric acid gases in Tokushima, Japan, monitored with parallel plate wet denuder coupled ion chromatograph

During the summer of 2011 and winter of 2012, we continuously measured trace acid gas concentrations in Tokushima, Japan, using a parallel plate wet denuder coupled ion chromatograph. The average concentrations of hydrochloric acid (HCl), nitrous acid (HONO), nitric acid (HNO(3)), and sulfur dioxide (SO(2)) were, respectively, 0.54, 1.20, 1.17, and 3.22 μg m(-3) in the summer, and 0.09, 1.06, 0.46, and 5.11 μg m(-3) in the winter. In the summer, concentrations of all the acid gases increased after sunrise and showed a strong diurnal pattern with daytime maxima and nighttime minima, but the time at which concentration levels began to increase and the pace of increase differed among the acid gases. The concentration of HONO increased sharply immediately after sunrise, while concentrations of the other three gases began increasing about one and half hours later. SO(2) showed the fastest rate of increase, followed by HNO(3) and HCl. These differences were likely attributable to the formation processes of gaseous substances.

Chemical characteristics of aerosols and trace gas distribution over North and Central India

A field campaign on aerosol chemical properties and trace gases measurements was carried out along the Delhi-Hyderabad-Delhi road corridor (spanning about 3,200 km) in India, during February 1-29, 2004. Aerosol particles were collected on quartz and cellulose filters using high volume (PM(10)) sampler at various locations along the route (i.e., urban, semi-urban, rural, and forest areas) and have been characterized for major cations (Na(+), Ca(2+), Mg(2+), K(+), and NH (4) (+)), anions (Cl(-), NO (3)(-), and SO (4)(2-)), and heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Fe, Zn, Mn, and Pb). Simultaneously, we measured NO(2) and SO(2) gases. These species show large spatial and temporal variations. The ambient PM(10) concentration has been observed to be the highest (55 ± 4 μg m(-3)) near semi-urban areas followed by forest areas (48 ± 2 μg m(-3)) and in rural areas (44 ± 22 μg m(-3)). The concentrations of NO( x ) (NO(2)+NO) and SO(2) ranged from 16 to 69 μg m(-3) and 4 to 11 μg m(-3), respectively. Among anions, NO(3)(-) and SO(4) (2-) are the major constituents of PM(10). The urban and semi-urban sites showed enhanced concentrations of Fe, Zn, Mn, Cd, and Pb. This study provide information about atmospheric concentrations of various species in the northern to central India, which may be important for policy makers to better understand the air quality of the region.

Nonequilibrium atmospheric secondary organic aerosol formation and growth

Airborne particles play critical roles in air quality, health effects, visibility, and climate. Secondary organic aerosols (SOA) formed from oxidation of organic gases such as α-pinene account for a significant portion of total airborne particle mass. Current atmospheric models typically incorporate the assumption that SOA mass is a liquid into which semivolatile organic compounds undergo instantaneous equilibrium partitioning to grow the particles into the size range important for light scattering and cloud condensation nuclei activity. We report studies of particles from the oxidation of α-pinene by ozone and NO(3) radicals at room temperature. SOA is primarily formed from low-volatility ozonolysis products, with a small contribution from higher volatility organic nitrates from the NO(3) reaction. Contrary to expectations, the particulate nitrate concentration is not consistent with equilibrium partitioning between the gas phase and a liquid particle. Rather the fraction of organic nitrates in the particles is only explained by irreversible, kinetically determined uptake of the nitrates on existing particles, with an uptake coefficient that is 1.6% of that for the ozonolysis products. If the nonequilibrium particle formation and growth observed in this atmospherically important system is a general phenomenon in the atmosphere, aerosol models may need to be reformulated. The reformulation of aerosol models could impact the predicted evolution of SOA in the atmosphere both outdoors and indoors, its role in heterogeneous chemistry, its projected impacts on air quality, visibility, and climate, and hence the development of reliable control strategies.

Analysis of the air pollution climate at a background site in the Po valley

The Po valley in northern Italy is renowned for its high air pollutant concentrations. Measurements of air pollutants from a background site in Modena, a town of 200 thousand inhabitants within the Po valley, are analysed. These comprise hourly data for CO, NO, NO(2), NO(x), and O(3), and daily gravimetric equivalent data for PM(10) from 1998-2010. The data are analysed in terms of long-term trends, annual, weekly and diurnal cycles, and auto-correlation and cross-correlation functions. CO, NO and NO(2) exhibit a strongly traffic-related pattern, with daily peaks at morning and evening rush hour and lower concentrations over the weekend. Ozone shows an annual cycle with a peak in July due to local production; notwithstanding the diurnal cycle dominated by titration by nitrogen oxide, the decreasing long term trend in NO concentration did not affect the long term trend in O(3), whose mean concentration remained steady over the sampling period. PM(10) shows a strong seasonality with higher concentration in winter and lower concentration in summer and spring. Both PM(10) and ozone show a marked weekly cycle in summer and winter respectively. Regressions of PM(10) upon NO(x) show a consistently greater intercept in winter, representing higher secondary PM(10) in the cooler months of the year. There is a seasonal pattern in primary PM(10) to NO(x) ratios, with lower values in winter and higher values in summer, but the reasons are unclear.

Field survey of trans-boundary air pollution with high time resolution at coastal sites on the Sea of Japan during winter in Japan

An intensive field survey, with 6-h measurement intervals, of concentrations of chemical species in particulate matter and gaseous compounds was carried out at coastal sites on the Sea of Japan during winter. The concentration variation of SO(2)(g) and HNO(3)(g) were well correlated, whereas the NH(3)(g) concentration variation had no correlation with those of SO(2)(g) and HNO(3)(g). The NH(4) (+) (p)/non-sea-salt- (nss-)SO(4) (2 -)(p) ratio in particulate matter was mainly affected by the location of the sampling site. One or more concentration peaks of nss-Ca(2 +) for survey period were observed. Backward trajectories analyses for the highest nss-Ca(2 +) concentration peaks showed some inconsistency in pathways. We consider that insufficient mixing of the atmosphere and/or insufficient time for the transported air pollutants to react with those discharged locally are the most likely explanations for the discrepancies between the measured products [HNO(3)][NH(3)] and the calculated values.

Particulate sulphate and nitrate in Southern England and Northern Ireland during 2002/3 and its formation in a photochemical trajectory model

Daily measurements of sulphate and nitrate are reported from Harwell in southern England and Belfast in Northern Ireland for the period 2002/3. When the higher percentiles are compared with the mean concentration, nitrate reveals considerably greater episodicity than either sulphate or PM(10) (measured by TEOM). A photochemical trajectory model using the Master Chemical Mechanism scheme has been used to predict daily concentrations of both nitrate and sulphate aerosol over the period March to August 2002 at the Belfast and Harwell sites. This has been carried out for daily samples using 72, 96 and 120 h air mass back trajectories obtained from both the British Atmospheric Data Centre and the HYSPLIT on-line service. Additionally, model simulations have been conducted for 5 trajectories generated through clustering of the trajectories for individual days. This reveals an under-prediction of the model associated particularly with trajectories originating from the European mainland. In general, the model performs reasonably well in simulating concentrations of both nitrate and sulphate, which is surprising given that the model does not account for processes requiring the presence of liquid water. This suggests that aqueous phase oxidation processes may not make a major contribution to airborne sulphate concentrations in the U.K. in the spring and summer months. It appears that inclusion of explicit ammonium nitrate formation chemistry may be essential to reliable prediction of episodic nitrate peaks.

An analysis of spatial and temporal properties of daily sulfate, nitrate and chloride concentrations at UK urban and rural sites

Daily measurements of sulfate, nitrate and chloride in PM(10) have been made at three geographically separated UK sites over a three year period. Chloride shows a clear seasonal pattern with highest concentrations in winter, whilst sulfate and nitrate both show highest concentrations in the spring, apparently related to weather patterns. Spatial variability of both sulfate and nitrate is low in comparison to temporal variations, with high correlations of both species between all three sites, London (North Kensington), Harwell and Belfast, despite a geographic separation of 510 km. Both SO/SO(2) and NO/NO(x) ratios are considerably higher in summer than winter, reflecting a greater oxidising capacity of the atmosphere. SO(4)(2-)/NO(3)(-) ratios are higher in summer than winter, suggesting that aqueous phase oxidation of SO(2), expected to be most important in the winter months is not appreciably influencing production of sulfate aerosol, although greater dissociation of ammonium nitrate in summer may also play a role. Regression of concentrations at London, North Kensington with those from the proximate rural site of Harwell is interpreted as showing a similar effect of regional transport at the two sites and a small influence of local formation in the urban atmosphere or primary emissions, averaging 0.46 microg m(-3) of nitrate and 0.22 microg m(-3) of sulfate.

Atmospheric conversion of sulfur dioxide to particulate sulfate and nitrogen dioxide to particulate nitrate and gaseous nitric acid in an urban area

Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate sulfate and nitrate, gaseous nitric acid, ozone and meteorological parameters (temperature and relative humidity) were measured during the winter season (1999-2000) and summer season (2000) in an urban area (Dokki, Giza, Egypt). The average particulate nitrate concentrations were 6.20 and 9.80 microg m(-3), while the average gaseous nitric acid concentrations were 1.14 and 6.70 microg m(-3) in the winter and summer seasons, respectively. The average sulfate concentrations were 15.32 microg m(-3) during the winter and 25.10 microg m(-3) during the summer season. The highest average concentration ratio of gaseous nitric acid to total nitrate was found during the summer season. Particulate sulfate and nitrate and gaseous nitric acid concentrations were relatively higher in the daytime than those in the nighttime. Sulfur conversion ratio (Fs) and nitrogen conversion ratio (Fn) defined in the text were calculated from the field measurement data. Sulfur conversion ratio (Fs) and nitrogen conversion ratio (Fn) in the summer were about 2.22 and 2.97 times higher than those in the winter season, respectively. Moreover, sulfur conversion ratio (Fs) and nitrogen conversion ratio (Fn) were higher in the daytime than those in the nighttime during the both seasons. The sulfur conversion ratio (Fs) increases with increasing ozone concentration and relative humidity. This indicates that the droplet phase reactions and gas phase reactions are important for the oxidation of SO2 to sulfate. Moreover, the nitrogen conversion ratio (Fn) increases with increasing ozone concentration, and the gas phase reactions are important and predominant for the oxidation of NO2 to nitrate.

Atmospheric phase distribution of oxidized and reduced nitrogen at a forest ecosystem research site

Atmospheric concentrations of gaseous NH3 and HNO3 and of particulate NH4+ and NO3- were measured during various seasons at a forest ecosystem research site in the "Fichtelgebirge" mountains in Central Europe. Air masses arriving at this site were highly variable with respect to trace compound concentration levels and their concentration ratios. However, the distributions of NH4+ and NO3- within the aerosol particle size spectra exhibited some very consistent patterns, with the former dominating the fine particle concentrations, and the latter dominating the coarse particles range, respectively. Overall, the particulate phase (NH4+ + NO3-) dominated the atmospheric nitrogen budget (particulate and gas phase, NH4+ + NO3- + NH3 + HNO3) by more than 90% of the median total mixing ratio in winter, and by more than 60% in summer. The phase partitioning varied significantly between the winter and summer seasons, with higher relative importance of the gaseous species during summer, when air temperatures were higher and relative humidities lower as compared to the winter season. Reduced nitrogen dominated over oxidized nitrogen, indicating the prevailing influence of emissions from agricultural activity as compared to traffic emissions at this mountainous site. A model has been successfully applied in order to test the hypothesis of thermodynamic equilibrium between the particulate and gas phases.

Atmospheric ammonia measurement using a VUV/photo-fragmentation laser-induced fluorescence technique

Vacuum ultraviolet/photofragmentation laser-induced fluorescence has been demonstrated to be a highly specific and sensitive method for the quantitative measurement of atmospheric ammonia (NH(3)). The fluorescence detected in this approach results from the two 193-nm photon photofragmentation step NH(3)?NH(2)? NH(b(1)Sigma(+)) followed by the excitation of the NH(b(1)Sigma(+)) NH(c(1)Pi) transition via a 450-nm photon with final emission being observed from the NH(c(1) Pi) NH(a(1)Delta) transition at 325 nm. Limits of detection for the instrumentpresented here are < 10 pptv and < 4 pptv for 1- and 5-min integration periods, respectively, in ambient sampling conditions. The technique is free from interferences and system performance does not significantly degrade in adverse sampling conditions (i.e., rain, fog, clouds, haze, etc.). Spectroscopic selectivity in the NH(b(1)Sigma(+))?NH(c(1)Pi) transition is sufficient to resolve (15)NH(3) and (14)NH(3) contributions for use in atmospheric tracer studies. Average ammonia measurements at Stone Mountain, GA, ranged from approximately 110 pptv for air temperatures <5 degrees C to approximately 240 pptv for air temperatures >/=<5 degrees C over the period from Dec. 1987 to the end of Apr. 1988.