|
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 3761-3768, 2008
www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/3761/2008/ doi:10.5194/acp-8-3761-2008 © Author(s) 2008. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. |
On the volatility and production mechanisms of newly formed nitrate and water soluble organic aerosol in Mexico City
1School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0340, USA
2School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0340, USA
3School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0340, USA
4Geosciences Department, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204-5007, USA
*now at: Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, Colorado, USA
**now at: New York University, School of Medicine, USA
Abstract. Measurements of atmospheric gases and fine particle chemistry were made in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) at a site ~30 km down wind of the city center. Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) dominated the inorganic aerosol fraction and showed a distinct diurnal signature characterized by rapid morning production and a rapid mid-day concentration decrease. Between the hours of 08:00–12:45, particulate water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) concentrations increased and decreased in a manner consistent with that of NO3−, and the two were highly correlated (R2=0.88) during this time. A box model was used to analyze these behaviors and showed that, for both NO3− and WSOC, the concentration increase was caused primarily (~75–85%) by secondary formation, with a smaller contribution (~15–25%) from the entrainment of air from the free troposphere. For NO3−, a majority (~60%) of the midday concentration decrease was caused by dilution from boundary layer expansion, though a significant fraction (~40%) of the NO3− loss was due to particle evaporation. The WSOC concentration decrease was due largely to dilution (~75%), but volatilization did have a meaningful impact (~25%) on the decrease, as well. The results provide an estimate of ambient SOA evaporation losses and suggest that a significant fraction (~35%) of the fresh MCMA secondary organic aerosol (SOA) measured at the surface volatilized.
Citation: Hennigan, C. J., Sullivan, A. P., Fountoukis, C. I., Nenes, A., Hecobian, A., Vargas, O., Peltier, R. E., Case Hanks, A. T., Huey, L. G., Lefer, B. L., Russell, A. G., and Weber, R. J.: On the volatility and production mechanisms of newly formed nitrate and water soluble organic aerosol in Mexico City, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 3761-3768, doi:10.5194/acp-8-3761-2008, 2008.