Daytime formation of nitrous acid at a coastal remote site in Cyprus indicating a common ground source of atmospheric HONO and NO

H. Meusel; U. Kuhn; A. Reiffs; C. Mallik; H. Harder; M. Martinez; J. Schuladen; B. Bohn; U. Parchatka; J. N. Crowley; H. Fischer; L. Tomsche; A. Novelli; A. Novelli; T. Hoffmann; R. H. H. Janssen; O. Hartogensis; M. Pikridas; M. Vrekoussis; M. Vrekoussis; M. Vrekoussis; E. Bourtsoukidis; B. Weber; J. Lelieveld; J. Williams; U. Pöschl; Y. Cheng; H. Su

doi:10.5194/acp-16-14475-2016

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Nov 2016)

Daytime formation of nitrous acid at a coastal remote site in Cyprus indicating a common ground source of atmospheric HONO and NO

H. Meusel,
U. Kuhn,
A. Reiffs,
C. Mallik,
H. Harder,
M. Martinez,
J. Schuladen,
B. Bohn,
U. Parchatka,
J. N. Crowley,
H. Fischer,
L. Tomsche,
A. Novelli,
A. Novelli,
T. Hoffmann,
R. H. H. Janssen,
O. Hartogensis,
M. Pikridas,
M. Vrekoussis,
M. Vrekoussis,
M. Vrekoussis,
E. Bourtsoukidis,
B. Weber,
J. Lelieveld,
J. Williams,
U. Pöschl,
Y. Cheng,
H. Su

Affiliations

H. Meusel: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Multiphase Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
U. Kuhn: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Multiphase Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
A. Reiffs: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
C. Mallik: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
H. Harder: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
M. Martinez: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
J. Schuladen: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
B. Bohn: Institute for Energy and Climate Research (IEK-8), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
U. Parchatka: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
J. N. Crowley: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
H. Fischer: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
L. Tomsche: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
A. Novelli: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
A. Novelli: Institute for Energy and Climate Research (IEK-8), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
T. Hoffmann: Johannes Gutenberg University, Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Mainz, Germany
R. H. H. Janssen: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
O. Hartogensis: Wageningen University and Research Center, Meteorology and Air Quality, Wageningen, the Netherlands
M. Pikridas: Cyprus Institute, Energy, Environment and Water Research Center, Nicosia, Cyprus
M. Vrekoussis: Cyprus Institute, Energy, Environment and Water Research Center, Nicosia, Cyprus
M. Vrekoussis: Institute of Environmental Physics and Remote Sensing – IUP, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
M. Vrekoussis: Center of Marine Environmental Sciences – MARUM, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
E. Bourtsoukidis: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
B. Weber: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Multiphase Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
J. Lelieveld: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
J. Williams: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
U. Pöschl: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Multiphase Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
Y. Cheng: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Multiphase Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
H. Su: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Multiphase Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14475-2016
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 16
pp. 14475 – 14493

Abstract

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Characterization of daytime sources of nitrous acid (HONO) is crucial to understand atmospheric oxidation and radical cycling in the planetary boundary layer. HONO and numerous other atmospheric trace constituents were measured on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus during the CYPHEX (CYprus PHotochemical EXperiment) campaign in summer 2014. Average volume mixing ratios of HONO were 35 pptv (±25 pptv) with a HONO ∕ NOx ratio of 0.33, which was considerably higher than reported for most other rural and urban regions. Diel profiles of HONO showed peak values in the late morning (60 ± 28 pptv around 09:00 local time) and persistently high mixing ratios during daytime (45 ± 18 pptv), indicating that the photolytic loss of HONO is compensated by a strong daytime source. Budget analyses revealed unidentified sources producing up to 3.4 × 106 molecules cm−3 s−1 of HONO and up to 2.0 × 107 molecules cm−3 s−1 NO. Under humid conditions (relative humidity > 70 %), the source strengths of HONO and NO exhibited a close linear correlation (R2 = 0.72), suggesting a common source that may be attributable to emissions from microbial communities on soil surfaces.

Published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

ISSN: 1680-7316 (Print); 1680-7324 (Online)
Publisher: Copernicus Publications
Country of publisher: Germany
LCC subjects: Science: Physics; Science: Chemistry
Website: http://www.atmospheric-chemistry-and-physics.net/

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