On the link between hygroscopicity, volatility, and oxidation state of ambient and water-soluble aerosol in the Southeastern United States.

Autor: Cerully, K. M., Bougiatioti, A., Hite Jr., J. R., Guo, H., Xu, L., Ng, N. L., Weber, R., Nenes, A.
Zdroj: Atmospheric Chemistry & Physics Discussions; 2014, Vol. 14 Issue 22, p30835-30877, 43p
Abstrakt: The formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) combined with the partitioning of semi-volatile organic components can impact numerous aerosol properties including cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity, hygroscopicity and volatility. During the summer 2013 Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) field campaign in a rural site in the Southeastern United States, a suite of instruments including a CCN counter, a thermodenuder (TD) and a high resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) were used to measure CCN activity, aerosol volatility, composition and oxidation state. Particles were either sampled directly from ambient or through a Particle Into Liquid Sampler (PILS), allowing the investigation of the water-soluble aerosol component. Ambient aerosol exhibited size-dependent composition with larger particles being more hygroscopic. The hygroscopicity of thermally-denuded aerosol was similar between ambient and PILS-generated aerosol and showed limited dependence on volatilization. Results of AMS 3-factor Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) analysis for the PILS-generated aerosol showed that the most hygroscopic components are most likely the most and the least volatile features of the aerosol. No clear relationship was found between organic hygroscopicity and oxygen-to-carbon ratio; in fact, Isoprene organic aerosol (Isoprene-OA) was found to be the most hygroscopic factor, while at the same time being the least oxidized and likely most volatile of all PMF factors. Considering the diurnal variation of each PMF factor and its associated hygroscopicity, Isoprene-OA and More Oxidized--Oxidized Oxygenated Organic Aerosol (MO-OOA) are the prime contributors to hygroscopicity and covary with Less Oxidized--Oxidized Oxygenated Organic Aerosol (LO-OOA) in a way that induces the observed diurnal invariance in total organic hygroscopicity. Biomass Burning Organic Aerosol (BBOA) contributed little to aerosol hygroscopicity, which is expected since there was little biomass burning activity during the sampling period examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index