SSCI-VIDE+CARE+MBM:NHY:SPR:CGOInternational audienceFilms of organic compounds exposed to the atmosphere are ubiquitously found on surfaces of cloud droplets, aerosol particles, buildings, plants, soils and the ocean. The sea-surface microlayer is one example of organic films that are host to countless biogenic amphiphilic compounds concentrated there with respect to bulk water. Yet, organic materials present in the bulk, such as humic acids and other photosensitizing compounds, can still have a tremendous impact on the surfactants (George, 2015). Here, we present a laboratory investigation on secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from the reaction of ozone with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), originating from photo-induced processes in surfactant-containing water or sea-water. The results underscore the environmental importance of photochemical reactions at the air–water interface to produce SOA precursors in significant amounts, leading to significant particle formation and growth.Laboratory experiments were conducted in a custom-built 2 m3 Teflon reaction chamber with a pure or sea-water reservoir containing nonanoic acid, a model surfactant proxy for a surface microlayer, and humic acids when desired. In other experiments nonanol was used as a surfactant for comparison. VOC concentrations were measured over time using a proton transfer reaction–time of flight–mass spectrometer (PTR–ToF–MS) as a function of irradiation (UV and visible light) in a humidified low NOx and low ozone environment. Additionally, photochemical gas- and liquid-phase products generated by irradiation of natural riverine biofilms were investigated. Characterization of organic compounds in water and aerosol particles was performed with ion chromatography and liquid chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS) utilizing a quadrupole-orbitrap detector. Aerosol size distribution and numbers were continuously monitored during all experiments.Production of VOCs occurred while the chamber air and water were irradiated with UV light for the nonanoic acid and pure water system. Gas-phase products included alkenes, aldehydes and dienes, as observed by PTR–ToF–MS in three different ionization modes (H3O+, NO+ and O2+). Aerosol nucleation and growth occurred upon ozone introduction and reaction in the chamber but with lights switched off, further indicating the presence of unsaturated VOCs. Concentrations of aerosol particles were typically on the order of 102–103 cm–3. When nonanoic acid and seawater were present, similar types and concentrations of VOCs were observed. Production of halogenated organic compounds was investigated using O2+ reagent ions. The addition of humic acids typically enhanced photochemical VOC production and aerosol formation, where SOA numbers exceeded 104 cm–3 after ozone injection and particle nucleation. We note that when nonanol was used as a surfactant, VOC and aerosol formation was never observed. This result highlights the potential importance of the carbonyl functionality of the acid group in the photochemical mechanism. The products were not only emitted to the gas phase, but also the bulk water. Using LC–HRMS the same VOCs, observed with the PTR–ToF–MS in the gas phase, were also identified in bulk water samples extracted during and after experiments. In addition, high molecular weight compounds such as highly oxidized organic molecules and molecular recombination products were identified in experiments with the nonanoic acid surfactant.We suggest that light absorption precedes radical chemistry at the organic surfactant interface. Recent experimental findings in our group, supported by quantum chemical calculations, reveal the possibility of exciting nonanoic acid molecules to their triplet state even under irradiation of 300–320 nm wavelengths. Subsequent inter- and intra-molecular reactions have been proposed generating OH and other radicals leading to a suite of products. At an organic interface neighboring organic molecules are likely to react, especially in molecular layers such as those existing in organic or biogenic films. This proximity of organic molecules is unique to an interface, in contrast to the bulk or gas phase and thus, may also result in unique chemical reaction pathways leading to VOC formation. Fatty acid and organic compound coated surfaces are ubiquitous and photon-induced chemistry at organic interfaces may be important, ultimately influencing VOC flux and SOA formation at the Earth’s surface and aloft.ReferencesGeorge, C., Ammann, M., D’Anna, B. Donaldson, D. J., Nizkorodov, S. A. (2015), Chemical Reviews 115 (10), 4218–4258. DOI: 10.1021/cr500648

The emission of organic aerosols (OA) in the ambient air by residential wood burning is nowadays a subject of great scientific concern and a growing number of studies aim at apportioning the influence of such emissions on urban air quality. In the present study, results obtained using two commonly-used source apportionment models, i.e., Chemical Mass Balance (CMB, performed with off-line filter measurements) and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF, applied to Aerosol Mass Spectrometer measurements), as well as using the recently-proposed Aethalometer model (based on the measurement of the aerosol light absorption at different wavelengths) are inter-compared. This work is performed using field data obtained during the winter season (14 to 29 January 2009) at an urban background site of a French Alpine city (Grenoble). Converging results from the different models indicate a major contribution of wood burning organic aerosols (OM_wb) to the ambient aerosol organic fraction, with mean OM_wb contributions to total OA of 68%, 61% and 37% for the CMB, the Aethalometer and the AMS-PMF models respectively, during the period when the three modelling studies overlapped (12 days). Quantitative discrepancies might notably be due to the overestimation of OM_wb calculated by the CMB due to the loss of semi-volatile compounds from sources to receptor site, as well as to the accounting of oxidized primary wood burning organic (OPOA_wb) aerosols within the Oxygenated Organic Aerosol (OOA) PMF-factor. This OOA factor accounts on average for about 50% of total OM, while non-combustion sources contribute to about 25% and 28% of total OM according to the CMB and Aethalometer models respectively. Each model suggests a mean contribution of fossil fuel emissions to total OM of about 10%. A good agreement is also obtained for the source apportionment of elemental carbon (EC) by both the CMB and the Aethalometer models, with fossil fuel emissions representing on average more than 80% of total EC.

Real-time measurements of non-refractory submicron aerosols (NR-PM₁) were conducted within the greater Alpine region (Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France and Liechtenstein) during several week-long field campaigns in 2002–2009. This region represents one of the most important economic and recreational spaces in Europe. A large variety of sites was covered including urban backgrounds, motorways, rural, remote, and high-alpine stations, and also mobile on-road measurements were performed. Inorganic and organic aerosol (OA) fractions were determined by means of aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS). The data originating from 13 different field campaigns and the combined data have been utilized for providing an improved temporal and spatial data coverage. The average mass concentration of NR-PM₁ for the different campaigns typically ranged between 10 and 30 μg m⁻³. Overall, the organic portion was most abundant, ranging from 36% to 81% of NR-PM₁. Other main constituents comprised ammonium (5–15%), nitrate (8–36%), sulfate (3–26%), and chloride (0–5%). These latter anions were, on average, fully neutralized by ammonium. As a major result, time of the year (winter vs. summer) and location of the site (Alpine valleys vs. Plateau) could largely explain the variability in aerosol chemical composition for the different campaigns and were found to be better descriptors for aerosol composition than the type of site (urban, rural etc.). Thus, a reassessment of classifications of measurements sites might be considered in the future, possibly also for other regions of the world. The OA data was further analyzed using positive matrix factorization (PMF) and the multi-linear engine ME (factor analysis) separating the total OA into its underlying components, such as oxygenated (mostly secondary) organic aerosol (OOA), hydrocarbon-like and freshly emitted organic aerosol (HOA), as well as OA from biomass burning (BBOA). OOA was ubiquitous, ranged between 36% and 94% of OA, and could be separated into a low-volatility and a semi-volatile fraction (LV-OOA and SV-OOA) for all summer campaigns at low altitude sites. Wood combustion (BBOA) accounted for a considerable fraction during wintertime (17–49% OA), particularly in narrow Alpine valleys BBOA was often the most abundant OA component. HOA/OA ratios were comparatively low for all campaigns (6–16%) with the exception of on-road, mobile measurements (23%) in the Rhine Valley. The abundance of the aerosol components and the retrievability of SV-OOA and LV-OOA are discussed in the light of atmospheric chemistry and physics.

Soot particles produced by incomplete combustion processes are one of the major components of urban air pollution. Chemistry at their surfaces lead to the heterogeneous conversion of several key trace gases; for example NO ₂ interacts with soot and is converted into HONO, which rapidly photodissociates to form OH in the troposphere. In the dark, soot surfaces are rapidly deactivated under atmospheric conditions, leading to the current understanding that soot chemistry affects tropospheric chemical composition only in a minor way. We demonstrate here that the conversion of NO ₂ to HONO on soot particles is drastically enhanced in the presence of artificial solar radiation, and leads to persistent reactivity over long periods. Soot photochemistry may therefore be a key player in urban air pollution.

In this paper we describe and summarize the main achievements of the European Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality Interactions project (EUCAARI). EUCAARI started on 1 January 2007 and ended on 31 December 2010 leaving a rich legacy including: (a) a comprehensive database with a year of observations of the physical, chemical and optical properties of aerosol particles over Europe, (b) comprehensive aerosol measurements in four developing countries, (c) a database of airborne measurements of aerosols and clouds over Europe during May 2008, (d) comprehensive modeling tools to study aerosol processes fron nano to global scale and their effects on climate and air quality. In addition a new Pan-European aerosol emissions inventory was developed and evaluated, a new cluster spectrometer was built and tested in the field and several new aerosol parameterizations and computations modules for chemical transport and global climate models were developed and evaluated. These achievements and related studies have substantially improved our understanding and reduced the uncertainties of aerosol radiative forcing and air quality-climate interactions. The EUCAARI results can be utilized in European and global environmental policy to assess the aerosol impacts and the corresponding abatement strategies.