Observational evidence reveals the significance of nocturnal chemistry in seasonal secondary organic aerosol formation
Oxidized Organic Aerosol (OOA), a major component of fine atmospheric particles, impacts climate and human health. Previous experiments and atmospheric models emphasize the importance of nocturnal OOA formation from NO<sub>3</sub>· oxidation of biogenic VOCs. This seasonal study extends the understanding by showing that nocturnal oxidation of biomass-burning emissions can account for up to half of total OOA production in fall and winter. It is the first to distinguish nocturnal OOA characteristics from daytime OOA across all seasons using bulk aerosol measurements. Summer observations of nocturnal OOA align well with regional chemistry transport model predictions, but discrepancies in other seasons reveal a common model deficiency in representing biomass-burning emissions and their nocturnal oxidation. This study underscores the significance of near-ground nocturnal OOA production, proposes a method to differentiate it using bulk aerosol measurements, and suggests model optimization strategies. These findings enhance the understanding and prediction of nighttime OOA formation.
Authors
- Vlassis A. Karydis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1616-9746)
- Franz Röhrer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3436-3419)
- Birger Bohn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4177-3934)
- Andreas Wahner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8948-1928)
- F. Holland (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2278-4761)
- Ralf Tillmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0648-6622)
- Benjamin Winter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4644-4099)
- Andreas Hofzumahaus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2876-0880)
- Vaishali Vardhan
- Hendrik Fuchs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1263-0061)
- Anne Caroline Lange (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8027-5933)
- Astrid Kiendler‐Scharr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3166-2253)
- Anna Novelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2077-7573)
- Thorsten Hohaus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5722-6244)
- Philipp Franke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6298-164X)
- Sergej Wedel
- Zhaofeng Tan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3808-1964)
- S. Andres
- Quanfu He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3229-8206)
- Lu Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9818-6282)
Institutions
- Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE)
- University of Cologne (DE)
- University College Cork (IE)
- Paul Scherrer Institute (CH)
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Climate and Atmospheric Science
- Published
- 2024-09-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-024-00747-6
- Citations
- 13
- Primary Topic
- Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.89
Funders
- European Commission