Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Apr 2020)
Missing OH reactivity in the global marine boundary layer
- A. B. Thames,
- W. H. Brune,
- D. O. Miller,
- H. M. Allen,
- E. C. Apel,
- D. R. Blake,
- T. P. Bui,
- R. Commane,
- J. D. Crounse,
- B. C. Daube,
- G. S. Diskin,
- J. P. DiGangi,
- J. W. Elkins,
- S. R. Hall,
- T. F. Hanisco,
- R. A. Hannun,
- R. A. Hannun,
- E. Hintsa,
- E. Hintsa,
- R. S. Hornbrook,
- M. J. Kim,
- K. McKain,
- K. McKain,
- F. L. Moore,
- F. L. Moore,
- J. M. Nicely,
- J. M. Nicely,
- J. Peischl,
- J. Peischl,
- T. B. Ryerson,
- J. M. St. Clair,
- J. M. St. Clair,
- C. Sweeney,
- A. Teng,
- C. R. Thompson,
- C. R. Thompson,
- K. Ullmann,
- P. O. Wennberg,
- P. O. Wennberg,
- G. M. Wolfe,
- G. M. Wolfe
Affiliations
- A. B. Thames
- Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- W. H. Brune
- Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- D. O. Miller
- Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- H. M. Allen
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- E. C. Apel
- Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
- D. R. Blake
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
- T. P. Bui
- Earth Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
- R. Commane
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
- J. D. Crounse
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- B. C. Daube
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- G. S. Diskin
- Chemistry and Dynamics Branch, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
- J. P. DiGangi
- Chemistry and Dynamics Branch, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
- J. W. Elkins
- Global Monitoring Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
- S. R. Hall
- Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
- T. F. Hanisco
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- R. A. Hannun
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- R. A. Hannun
- Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD, USA
- E. Hintsa
- Global Monitoring Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
- E. Hintsa
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
- R. S. Hornbrook
- Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
- M. J. Kim
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- K. McKain
- Global Monitoring Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
- K. McKain
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
- F. L. Moore
- Global Monitoring Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
- F. L. Moore
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
- J. M. Nicely
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- J. M. Nicely
- Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- J. Peischl
- Global Monitoring Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
- J. Peischl
- Chemical Sciences Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
- T. B. Ryerson
- Chemical Sciences Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
- J. M. St. Clair
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- J. M. St. Clair
- Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD, USA
- C. Sweeney
- Global Monitoring Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
- A. Teng
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- C. R. Thompson
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
- C. R. Thompson
- Chemical Sciences Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
- K. Ullmann
- Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
- P. O. Wennberg
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- P. O. Wennberg
- Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- G. M. Wolfe
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- G. M. Wolfe
- Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4013-2020
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 20
pp. 4013 – 4029
Abstract
The hydroxyl radical (OH) reacts with thousands of chemical species in the atmosphere, initiating their removal and the chemical reaction sequences that produce ozone, secondary aerosols, and gas-phase acids. OH reactivity, which is the inverse of OH lifetime, influences the OH abundance and the ability of OH to cleanse the atmosphere. The NASA Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) campaign used instruments on the NASA DC-8 aircraft to measure OH reactivity and more than 100 trace chemical species. ATom presented a unique opportunity to test the completeness of the OH reactivity calculated from the chemical species measurements by comparing it to the measured OH reactivity over two oceans across four seasons. Although the calculated OH reactivity was below the limit of detection for the ATom instrument used to measure OH reactivity throughout much of the free troposphere, the instrument was able to measure the OH reactivity in and just above the marine boundary layer. The mean measured value of OH reactivity in the marine boundary layer across all latitudes and all ATom deployments was 1.9 s−1, which is 0.5 s−1 larger than the mean calculated OH reactivity. The missing OH reactivity, the difference between the measured and calculated OH reactivity, varied between 0 and 3.5 s−1, with the highest values over the Northern Hemisphere Pacific Ocean. Correlations of missing OH reactivity with formaldehyde, dimethyl sulfide, butanal, and sea surface temperature suggest the presence of unmeasured or unknown volatile organic compounds or oxygenated volatile organic compounds associated with ocean emissions.
