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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 36,
L19803,
5 PP., 2009
doi:10.1029/2009GL040248
Direct observations of N2O5 reactivity on ambient aerosol particles
Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Earth System Research Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Earth System Research Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, Colorado, USA
CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA, Seattle, Washington, USA
Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA, Seattle, Washington, USA
Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA, Seattle, Washington, USA
N2O5 reactivity has been measured directly for the first time on ambient aerosol particles using an entrained aerosol flow reactor coupled to a custom-built chemical ionization mass spectrometer at two urban locations during summer. The observed N2O5 reactivity is a strong function of both relative humidity (RH) and particle chemical composition. We show that particulate organic mass loadings, together with ambient relative humidity, play a leading role in determining the reaction rate of N2O5 with particles. Our observed reactivity values are both more variable and, at times, as much as a factor of ten lower than currently implemented large-scale model parameterizations would predict. Such discrepancies have likely consequences for predictions of NOx availability and ozone production, and the sensitivity of these quantities to aerosol particle loadings.
Received 28 July 2009; accepted 10 September 2009; published 8 October 2009.
Citation: (2009), Direct observations of N2O5 reactivity on ambient aerosol particles, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L19803, doi:10.1029/2009GL040248.
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