Secondary organic aerosol formation from anthropogenic air pollution: Rapid and higher than expected

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Read Full Article (file size: 665841 bytes) Cited by GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 33, L17811, doi:10.1029/2006GL026899, 2006 Secondary organic aerosol formation from anthropogenic air pollution: Rapid and higher than expected Rainer Volkamer Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Jose L. Jimenez Department of Chemistry and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA Federico San Martini Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Katja Dzepina Department of Chemistry and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA Qi Zhang Department of Chemistry and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA Dara Salcedo Centro de Investigaciones Químicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Mexico Luisa T. Molina Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Douglas R. Worsnop Aerodyne Research, Billerica, Massachusetts, USA Mario J. Molina Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Abstract The atmospheric chemistry of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urban areas results in the formation of ‘photochemical smog’, including secondary organic aerosol (SOA). State-of-the-art SOA models parameterize the results of simulation chamber experiments that bracket the conditions found in the polluted urban atmosphere. Here we show that in the real urban atmosphere reactive anthropogenic VOCs (AVOCs) produce much larger amounts of SOA than these models predict, even shortly after sunrise. Contrary to current belief, a significant fraction of the excess SOA is formed from first-generation AVOC oxidation products. Global models deem AVOCs a very minor contributor to SOA compared to biogenic VOCs (BVOCs). If our results are extrapolated to other urban areas, AVOCs could be responsible for additional 3–25 Tg yr⁻¹ SOA production globally, and cause up to −0.1 W m⁻² additional top-of-the-atmosphere radiative cooling. Received 15 May 2006; accepted 24 July 2006; published 12 September 2006. Index Terms: 0305 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Aerosols and particles (0345, 4801, 4906); 0322 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Constituent sources and sinks; 0345 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Pollution: urban and regional (0305, 0478, 4251); 0360 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Radiation: transmission and scattering; 0365 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere: composition and chemistry. Read Full Article (file size: 665841 bytes) Cited by Citation: Volkamer, R., J. L. Jimenez, F. San Martini, K. Dzepina, Q. Zhang, D. Salcedo, L. T. Molina, D. R. Worsnop, and M. J. Molina (2006), Secondary organic aerosol formation from anthropogenic air pollution: Rapid and higher than expected, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L17811, doi:10.1029/2006GL026899. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

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