Abstract. Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) accounts for a significant fraction of ambient tropospheric aerosol and a detailed knowledge of the formation, properties and transformation of SOA is therefore required to evaluate its impact on atmospheric processes, climate and human health. The chemical and physical processes associated with SOA formation are complex and varied, and, despite considerable progress in recent years, a quantitative and predictive understanding of SOA formation does not exist and therefore represents a major research challenge in atmospheric science. This review begins with an update on the current state of knowledge on the global SOA budget and is followed by an overview of the atmospheric degradation mechanisms for SOA precursors, gas-particle partitioning theory and the analytical techniques used to determine the chemical composition of SOA. A survey of recent laboratory, field and modeling studies is also presented. The following topical and emerging issues are highlighted and discussed in detail: molecular characterization of biogenic SOA constituents, condensed phase reactions and oligomerization, the interaction of atmospheric organic components with sulfuric acid, the chemical and photochemical processing of organics in the atmospheric aqueous phase, aerosol formation from real plant emissions, interaction of atmospheric organic components with water, thermodynamics and mixtures in atmospheric models. Finally, the major challenges ahead in laboratory, field and modeling studies of SOA are discussed and recommendations for future research directions are proposed.

Abstract. This article, the second in the series, presents kinetic and photochemical data evaluated by the IUPAC Subcommittee on Gas Kinetic Data Evaluation for Atmospheric Chemistry. It covers the gas phase and photochemical reactions of Organic species, which were last published in 1999, and were updated on the IUPAC website in late 2002, and subsequently during the preparation of this article. The article consists of a summary table of the recommended rate coefficients, containing the recommended kinetic parameters for the evaluated reactions, and eight appendices containing the data sheets, which provide information upon which the recommendations are made.

Abstract. Kinetic and mechanistic data relevant to the tropospheric degradation of volatile organic compounds (VOC), and the production of secondary pollutants, have previously been used to define a protocol which underpinned the construction of a near-explicit Master Chemical Mechanism. In this paper, an update to the previous protocol is presented, which has been used to define degradation schemes for 107 non-aromatic VOC as part of version 3 of the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM v3). The treatment of 18 aromatic VOC is described in a companion paper. The protocol is divided into a series of subsections describing initiation reactions, the reactions of the radical intermediates and the further degradation of first and subsequent generation products. Emphasis is placed on updating the previous information, and outlining the methodology which is specifically applicable to VOC not considered previously (e.g., α-and β-pinene). The present protocol aims to take into consideration work available in the open literature up to the beginning of 2001, and some other studies known by the authors which were under review at the time. Application of MCM v3 in appropriate box models indicates that the representation of isoprene degradation provides a good description of the speciated distribution of oxygenated organic products observed in reported field studies where isoprene was the dominant emitted hydrocarbon, and that the α-pinene degradation chemistry provides a good description of the time dependence of key gas phase species in α-pinene/NO X photo-oxidation experiments carried out in the European Photoreactor (EU-PHORE). Photochemical Ozone Creation Potentials (POCP) have been calculated for the 106 non-aromatic non-methane VOC in MCM v3 for idealised conditions appropriate to north-west Europe, using a photochemical trajectory model. The POCP values provide a measure of the relative ozone forming abilities of the VOC. Where applicable, the values are compared with those calculated with previous versions of the MCM.

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Abstract. This article, the first in the series, presents kinetic and photochemical data evaluated by the IUPAC Subcommittee on Gas Kinetic Data Evaluation for Atmospheric Chemistry. It covers the gas phase and photochemical reactions of O x , HO x , NO x and SO x species, which were last published in 1997, and were updated on the IUPAC website in late 2001. The article consists of a summary sheet, containing the recommended kinetic parameters for the evaluated reactions, and five appendices containing the data sheets, which provide information upon which the recommendations are made.