Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics www.atmos-chem-phys.net 1680-7316 1680-7324 9 2 2009 10.5194/acp-9-467-2009 http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/9/467/2009/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/9/467/2009/acp-9-467-2009.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/9/467/2009/acp-9-467-2009.pdf 467 481 2009-01-21 Measurements of Volatile Organic Compounds Using Proton Transfer Reaction – Mass Spectrometry during the MILAGRO 2006 Campaign E. C. Fortner J. Zheng R. Zhang zhang@ariel.met.tamu.edu W. Berk Knighton R. M. Volkamer P. Sheehy L. Molina M. André Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA Molina Center for Energy and the Environment, La Jolla, California and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Heidelberg, INF 229, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany now at: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured by proton transfer reaction – mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) on a rooftop in the urban mixed residential and industrial area North Northeast of downtown Mexico City as part of the Megacity Initiative – Local and Global Research Observations (MILAGRO) 2006 field campaign. Thirty eight individual masses were monitored during the campaign and many species were quantified including methanol, acetaldehyde, toluene, the sum of C₂ benzenes, the sum of C₃ benzenes, acetone, isoprene, benzene, and ethyl acetate. The VOC measurements were analyzed to gain a better understanding of the type of VOCs present in the MCMA, their diurnal patterns, and their origins. Diurnal profiles of weekday and weekend/holiday aromatic VOC concentrations showed the influence of vehicular traffic during the morning rush hours and during the afternoon hours. Plumes including elevated toluene as high as 216 parts per billion (ppb) and ethyl acetate as high as 183 ppb were frequently observed during the late night and early morning hours, indicating the possibility of significant industrial sources of the two compounds in the region. 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