, with an average of 0.172 mg m À3 . Lower concentrations were measured in the Basin outflow regions and above the inversion layer. The SP2 afforded a quantification of the mixing state of rBC aerosols through modeling the scattering cross-section with a core-and-shell Mie model to determine coating thickness. The rBC particles above the inversion layer were more thickly coated by a light-scattering substance than those below, indicating a more aged aerosol in the free troposphere. Near the surface, as the LA plume is advected from west to east with the sea breeze, a coating of scattering material grows on rBC particles, coincident with a clear growth of ammonium nitrate within the LA Basin and the persistence of water-soluble organic compounds as the plume travels through the outflow regions. Detailed analysis of the rBC mixing state reveals two modes of coated rBC particles; a mode with smaller rBC core diameters ($90 nm) but thick (>200 nm) coating diameters and a mode with larger rBC cores ($145 nm) with a thin (<75 nm) coating. The "weekend effect" in the LA Basin results in more thickly coated rBC particles, coinciding with more secondary formation of aerosol.
[1] Hydroxyl (OH), hydroperoxy (HO 2 ) radicals, collectively known as HO x , and OH reactivity, were measured during the PMTACS-NY (PM2.5 Technology Assessment and Characteristics Study-New York) summer 2002 intensive at Whiteface Mountain, Wilmington, New York. The measurement results of OH and HO 2 for 4 weeks are presented. Diurnal cycles show that the average noontime maximum mixing ratios were about 0.11 pptv (2.6 Â 10 6 cm À3 ) for OH and 20 pptv for HO 2 . Measured HO 2 to OH ratios were typically between 40 and 400, which are greater than those obtained in polluted and semipolluted rural environments. Low but significant mixing ratios of OH and HO 2 persisted into early evening and were frequently observed during nighttime, consistent with previous studies in different environments. Steady state OH and HO 2 were calculated with a zero-dimensional chemical model using a complete Regional Atmospheric Chemical Mechanism (RACM) and a parameterized RACM which was constrained to the measured OH reactivity. Good agreement was obtained between the complete RACM and the parameterized RACM models. On average, the complete RACM model reproduced the observed OH with a median measured-to-modeled OH ratio of 0.82 and daytime HO 2 with a median measured-to-modeled HO 2 ratio of 1.21. The reasonably good agreement in this study is inconsistent with the significant underestimation of OH in the Program for Research on Oxidants: Photochemistry, Emissions, and Transport in 1998 (PROPHET98) study at a similar forested site. HO x budget analysis indicates that OH was primarily from the photolysis of HONO and O 3 during the day and from O 3 + alkenes reactions at night. The main HO x loss was the self reaction of HO 2 . The good agreement between the measured and calculated OH reactivity in this environment contrasts with findings in the PROPHET2000 study, in which significant OH reactivity was missing and the missing OH reactivity was temperature-dependent.
Abstract. The Pasadena Aerosol Characterization Observatory (PACO) represents the first major aerosol characterization experiment centered in the Western/Central Los Angeles Basin. The sampling site, located on the campus of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, was positioned to sample a continuous afternoon influx of transported urban aerosol with a photochemical age of 1-2 h and generally free from major local contributions. Sampling spanned 5 months during the summer of 2009, which were broken into 3 regimes on the basis of distinct meteorological conditions. Regime I was characterized by a series of low pressure systems, resulting in high humidity and rainy periods with clean conditions. Regime II typified early summer meteorology, with significant morning marine layers and warm, sunny afternoons. Regime III was characterized by hot, dry conditions with little marine layer influence. Regardless of regime, organic aerosol (OA) is the most significant constituent of nonrefractory submicron Los Angeles aerosol (42, 43, and 55 % of total submicron mass in regimes I, II, and III, respectively). The overall oxidation state remains relatively constant on timescales of days to weeks (O:C = 0.44 ± 0.08, 0.55 ± 0.05, and 0.48 ± 0.08 during regimes I, II, and III, respectively), with no difference in O:C between morning and afternoon periods. Periods characterized by significant morning marine layer influence followed by photochemically favorable afternoons displayed significantly higher aerosol mass and O:C ratio, suggesting that aqueous processes may Correspondence to: J. H. Seinfeld (seinfeld@caltech.edu) be important in the generation of secondary aerosol and oxidized organic aerosol (OOA) in Los Angeles. Online analysis of water soluble organic carbon (WSOC) indicates that water soluble organic mass (WSOM) reaches maxima near 14:00-15:00 local time (LT), but the percentage of AMS organic mass contributed by WSOM remains relatively constant throughout the day. Sulfate and nitrate reside predominantly in accumulation mode aerosol, while afternoon SOA production coincides with the appearance of a distinct fine mode dominated by organics. Particulate NH 4 NO 3 and (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 appear to be NH 3 -limited in regimes I and II, but a significant excess of particulate NH + 4 in the hot, dry regime III suggests less SO 2− 4 and the presence of either organic amines or NH
Aircraft‐based measurements of aerosol composition, either bulk or single‐particle, and both subsaturated and supersaturated hygroscopicity were made in the Los Angeles Basin and its outflows during May 2010 during the CalNex field study. Aerosol composition evolves from source‐rich areas in the western Basin to downwind sites in the eastern Basin, evidenced by transition from an external to internal mixture, as well as enhancements in organic O : C ratio, the amount of organics and nitrate internally mixed on almost all particle types, and coating thickness on refractory black carbon (rBC). Transport into hot, dilute outflow regions leads to significant volatilization of semivolatile material, resulting in a unimodal aerosol comprising primarily oxygenated, low‐volatility, water‐soluble organics and sulfate. The fraction of particles with rBC or soot cores is between 27 and 51% based on data from a Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) and Aerosol Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (ATOFMS). Secondary organics appear to inhibit subsaturated water uptake in aged particles, while CCN activity is enhanced with photochemical age. A biomass‐burning event resulted in suppression of subsaturated hygroscopicity but enhancement in CCN activity, suggesting that BB particles may be nonhygroscopic at subsaturated RH but are important sources of CCN. Aerosol aging and biomass burning can lead to discrepancies between subsaturated and supersaturated hygroscopicity that may be related to mixing state. In the cases of biomass burning aerosol and aged particles coated with secondary material, more than a single parameter representation of subsaturated hygroscopicity and CCN activity is needed.
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