Nature Communications (Oct 2016)

The reaction of methyl peroxy and hydroxyl radicals as a major source of atmospheric methanol

  • Jean-François Müller,
  • Zhen Liu,
  • Vinh Son Nguyen,
  • Trissevgeni Stavrakou,
  • Jeremy N. Harvey,
  • Jozef Peeters

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13213
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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The high observed abundance of atmospheric methanol over remote oceans is still not well-explained. Here the authors use quantum calculations and atmospheric modelling to show the reaction of methyl peroxy and hydroxyl radicals is a major methanol source (115 Tg/yr), comparable to global terrestrial emissions.