Abstract. Airborne measurements of formaldehyde (FA), glycolaldehyde (GA), glyoxal (GL), methylglyoxal (MG), and pyruvic acid (PD) were made on board instrumented aircraft platforms, the Department of Energy G 1 and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration P3 (FA only), during the 1995 Nashville/Middle Tennessee Ozone Study. FA data determined on these two aircraft during three intercomparison flights agreed to within-10%. The mean and median (in parentheses) concentrations observed within the boundary layer (< 2000 m) for FA, GA, GL, MG, and PD were 4.2 (3.9), 0.78 (0.70), 0.07 (0.06), 0.14 (0.10), and 0.24 (0.23), respectively (all in parts per billion by volume (ppbv)). At the observed concentrations, FA accounted for a substantial fraction of the OH reactivity, comparable to isoprene and CO. Further, it served as an important free radical precursor, contributing 25-30% of the radical production during midday and even greater during morning and late afternoon periods. Source attribution of FA was assessed using measured concentrations of hydrocarbons, their reaction kinetics with the OH radicals, and FA yields. The results showed that isoprene was the dominant source of FA, responsible for-67%, methane and peroxyacetyl nitrate contributed equally at-13% each, and alkanes and alkenes which are largely of anthropogenic origin accounted for only-7%. This assessment based on reaction kinetics is consistent with the strong correlations (r > 0.8) observed between FA and two other isoprene products, GA and MG. Further, the magnitudes of the nonzero FA intercept exhibited in these correlation plots are found to qualitatively agree with the fraction of precursors that did not concomitantly produce GA and MG. Inspection of specific flights showed direct evidence of the dominance of isoprene as a precursor for FA, appreciable contribution of FA to CO, and negligible decay of FA overnight. Because of the dominant role isoprene plays as a precursor of FA, FA could be used as a proxy of isoprene for assessing the applicability of various versions of biogenic emission inventory.
Abstract. This paper reports results from the Southern Oxidants Study field campaign designed to characterize the formation and distribution of ozone and related species in the Nashville urban region. Data from several airborne platforms as well as surface observations on July 3 and 18 are examined to gain insight into the factors that control 03 formation rates and concentrations in the regional plumes. On both days, well-defined urban and power plant plumes were sampled. Utilizing both aircraft and surface data, a detailed kinetic analysis of the chemical evolution of the urban plume is performed to derive NOx lifetime, ozone production efficiency, OH concentration, HNO3 dry deposition rate, and the relative importance of natural and anthropogenic hydrocarbons to 03 production. Analysis of the urban plume data revealed a very active photochemical system (average [OH] -1.2 x 10 '/molecules cm -3) which consumed 50% of the NOx within approximately 2 hours, at an ozone production efficiency of 2.5 to 4 molecules for each molecule of NOx. Anthropogenic hydrocarbons provided approximately 44% of the fuel for ozone production by the urban plume. The dry deposition rate for HNO3 in the urban plume was estimated to be of the order of 5 to 7 cm s -•.
Abstract. Assessment of the environmental impact of aircraft emissions is required by planners and policy makers. Seveal areas of concern are: 1. exposure of airport workers and urban residents to toxic chemicals emitted when the engines operate at low power (idle and taxi) on the ground; 2. contributions to urban photochemical air pollution of aircraft volatile organic and nitrogen oxides emissions from operations around airports; and 3. emissions of nitrogen oxides and particles during high-altitude operation. The environmental impact of chemicals emitted from jet aircraft turbine engines has not been firmly established due to lack of data regarding emission rates and identities of the compounds emitted. This paper describes an experimental study of two different aircraft turbine engines designed to determine detailed organic emissions, as well as emissions of inorganic gases. Emissions were measured at several engine power settings. Measurements were made of detailed organic composition from C1 through C17, CO, CO2, NO, NOx, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Measurements were made using a multi-port sampling pro be positioned directly behind the engine in the exhaust exit plane. The emission measurements have been used to determine the organic distribution by carbon number and the distribution by compound class at each engine power level. The sum of the organic species was compared with an independent measurement of total organic carbon to assess the carbon mass balance. A portion of the exhaust was captured and irradiated in outdoor smog chambers to assess the photochemical reactivity of the emissions with respect to ozone formation. The reactivity of emissions from the two engines was apportioned by chemical compound class.
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