Seasonally Varying Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation From In-Situ Oxidation of Near-Highway Air.
Environ Sci Technol
; 52(13): 7192-7202, 2018 07 03.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29847110
ABSTRACT
The extent to which motor vehicles contribute to ambient secondary organic aerosol (SOA) remains uncertain. Here, we present in situ measurements of SOA formation at a near-highway site with substantial tree-cover 10 m from Interstate 40 near Durham, North Carolina. In July 2015 (summer) and February 2016 (winter), we exposed ambient air to a range of oxidant (O3 and OH) concentrations in an oxidation flow reactor (OFR), resulting in hours to weeks of equivalent atmospheric aging. We observed substantial seasonal variation in SOA formation upon OFR aging; diurnally varying OA enhancements of â¼3-8 µg m-3 were observed in summer and significantly lower enhancements (â¼0.5-1 µg m-3) in winter. Measurements in both seasons showed consistent changes in bulk OA properties (chemical composition; volatility) with OFR aging. Mild increases in traffic-related SOA precursors during summer partly explains the seasonal variation. However, biogenic emissions, with sharp temperature dependence, appear to dominate summer OFR-SOA. Our analysis indicates that SOA observed in the OFR is similar (within a factor of 2) to that predicted to form from traffic and biogenic precursors using literature yields, especially in winter. This study highlights the utility of the OFR for studying the prevalence of SOA precursors in complex real-world settings.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Air Pollutants
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
Language:
En
Journal:
Environ Sci Technol
Year:
2018
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States