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    Terpenylic acid and related compounds: precursors for dimers in secondary organic aerosol from the ozonolysis of α- and β-pinene
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2010) Yasmeen, F.; Vermeylen, R.; Szmigielski, R.; Iinuma, Y.; Böge, O.; Herrmann, H.; Maenhaut, W.; Claeys, M.
    In the present study, we have characterized the structure of a higher-molecular weight (MW) 358 α- and β-pinene dimeric secondary organic aerosol (SOA) product that received ample attention in previous molecular characterization studies and has been elusive. Based on mass spectrometric evidence for deprotonated molecules formed by electrospray ionization in the negative ion mode and chemical considerations, it is suggested that diaterpenylic acid is a key monomeric intermediate for dimers of the ester type. It is proposed that cis-pinic acid is esterified with the hydroxyl-containing diaterpenylic acid, which can be explained through acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of the recently elucidated lactone-containing terpenylic acid and/or diaterpenylic acid acetate, both first-generation oxidation products. To a minor extent, higher-MW 358 and 344 diester products are formed containing other terpenoic acids as monomeric units, i.e., diaterpenylic acid instead of cis-pinic acid, and diaterebic acid instead of diaterpenylic acid. It is shown that the MW 358 diester and related MW 344 compounds, which can be regarded as processed SOA products, also occur in ambient fine (PM2.5) rural aerosol collected at night during the warm period of the 2006 summer field campaign conducted at K-puszta, Hungary, a rural site with coniferous vegetation. This indicates that, under ambient conditions, the higher-MW diesters are formed in the particle phase over a longer time-scale than that required for gas-to-particle partitioning of their monomeric precursors in laboratory α-/β-pinene ozonolysis experiments.
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    Campholenic aldehyde ozonolysis: A mechanism leading to specific biogenic secondary organic aerosol constituents
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2014) Kahnt, A.; Iinuma, Y.; Mutzel, A.; Böge, O.; Claeys, M.; Herrmann, H.
    In the present study, campholenic aldehyde ozonolysis was performed to investigate pathways leading to specific biogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) marker compounds. Campholenic aldehyde, a known α-pinene oxidation product, is suggested to be a key intermediate in the formation of terpenylic acid upon α-pinene ozonolysis. It was reacted with ozone in the presence and absence of an OH radical scavenger, leading to SOA formation with a yield of 0.75 and 0.8, respectively. The resulting oxidation products in the gas and particle phases were investigated employing a denuder/filter sampling combination. Gas-phase oxidation products bearing a carbonyl group, which were collected by the denuder, were derivatised by 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) followed by liquid chromatography/negative ion electrospray ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis and were compared to the gas-phase compounds detected by online proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry. Particle-phase products were also analysed, directly or after DNPH derivatisation, to derive information about specific compounds leading to SOA formation. Among the detected compounds, the aldehydic precursor of terpenylic acid was identified and its presence was confirmed in ambient aerosol samples from the DNPH derivatisation, accurate mass data, and additional mass spectrometry (MS2 and MS3 fragmentation studies). Furthermore, the present investigation sheds light on a reaction pathway leading to the formation of terpenylic acid, involving α-pinene, α-pinene oxide, campholenic aldehyde, and terpenylic aldehyde. Additionally, the formation of diaterpenylic acid acetate could be connected to campholenic aldehyde oxidation. The present study also provides insights into the source of other highly functionalised oxidation products (e.g. m / z 201, C9H14O5 and m / z 215, C10H16O5), which have been observed in ambient aerosol samples and smog chamber-generated monoterpene SOA. The m / z 201 and 215 compounds were tentatively identified as a C9- and C10-carbonyl-dicarboxylic acid, respectively, based on reaction mechanisms of campholenic aldehyde and ozone, as well as detailed interpretation of mass spectral data, in conjunction with the formation of corresponding DNPH derivatives.
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    The formation, properties and impact of secondary organic aerosol: Current and emerging issues
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2009) Hallquist, M.; Wenger, J.C.; Baltensperger, U.; Rudich, Y.; Simpson, D.; Claeys, M.; Dommen, J.; Donahue, N.M.; George, C.; Goldstein, A.; Hamilton, J.F.; Herrmann, H.; Hoffmann, T.; Iinuma, Y.; Jang, M.; Jenkin, M.E.; Jimenez, J.L.; Kiendler-Scharr, A.; Maenhaut, W.; McFiggans, G.; Mentel, Th.F.; Monod, A.; Prévôt, A.S.H.; Seinfeld, J.H.; Surratt, J.D.; Szmigielski, R.; Wildt, J.
    Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) accounts for a significant fraction of ambient tropospheric aerosol and a detailed knowledge of the formation, properties and transformation of SOA is therefore required to evaluate its impact on atmospheric processes, climate and human health. The chemical and physical processes associated with SOA formation are complex and varied, and, despite considerable progress in recent years, a quantitative and predictive understanding of SOA formation does not exist and therefore represents a major research challenge in atmospheric science. This review begins with an update on the current state of knowledge on the global SOA budget and is followed by an overview of the atmospheric degradation mechanisms for SOA precursors, gas-particle partitioning theory and the analytical techniques used to determine the chemical composition of SOA. A survey of recent laboratory, field and modeling studies is also presented. The following topical and emerging issues are highlighted and discussed in detail: molecular characterization of biogenic SOA constituents, condensed phase reactions and oligomerization, the interaction of atmospheric organic components with sulfuric acid, the chemical and photochemical processing of organics in the atmospheric aqueous phase, aerosol formation from real plant emissions, interaction of atmospheric organic components with water, thermodynamics and mixtures in atmospheric models. Finally, the major challenges ahead in laboratory, field and modeling studies of SOA are discussed and recommendations for future research directions are proposed.
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    An intercomparison study of analytical methods used for quantification of levoglucosan in ambient aerosol filter samples
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2015) Yttri, K.E.; Schnelle-Kreis, J.; Maenhaut, W.; Abbaszade, G.; Alves, C.; Bjerke, A.; Bonnier, N.; Bossi, R.; Claeys, M.; Dye, C.; Evtyugina, M.; García-Gacio, D.; Hillamo, R.; Hoffer, A.; Hyder, M.; Iinuma, Y.; Jaffrezo, J.-L.; Kasper-Giebl, A.; Kiss, G.; López-Mahia, P.L.; Pio, C.; Piot, C.; Ramirez-Santa-Cruz, C.; Sciare, J.; Teinilä, K.; Vermeylen, R.; Vicente, A.; Zimmermann, R.
    The monosaccharide anhydrides (MAs) levoglucosan, galactosan and mannosan are products of incomplete combustion and pyrolysis of cellulose and hemicelluloses, and are found to be major constituents of biomass burning (BB) aerosol particles. Hence, ambient aerosol particle concentrations of levoglucosan are commonly used to study the influence of residential wood burning, agricultural waste burning and wildfire emissions on ambient air quality. A European-wide intercomparison on the analysis of the three monosaccharide anhydrides was conducted based on ambient aerosol quartz fiber filter samples collected at a Norwegian urban background site during winter. Thus, the samples' content of MAs is representative for BB particles originating from residential wood burning. The purpose of the intercomparison was to examine the comparability of the great diversity of analytical methods used for analysis of levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan in ambient aerosol filter samples. Thirteen laboratories participated, of which three applied high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC), four used high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and six resorted to gas chromatography (GC). The analytical methods used were of such diversity that they should be considered as thirteen different analytical methods. All of the thirteen laboratories reported levels of levoglucosan, whereas nine reported data for mannosan and/or galactosan. Eight of the thirteen laboratories reported levels for all three isomers. The accuracy for levoglucosan, presented as the mean percentage error (PE) for each participating laboratory, varied from −63 to 20%; however, for 62% of the laboratories the mean PE was within ±10%, and for 85% the mean PE was within ±20%. For mannosan, the corresponding range was −60 to 69%, but as for levoglucosan, the range was substantially smaller for a subselection of the laboratories; i.e. for 33% of the laboratories the mean PE was within ±10%. For galactosan, the mean PE for the participating laboratories ranged from −84 to 593%, and as for mannosan 33% of the laboratories reported a mean PE within ±10%. The variability of the various analytical methods, as defined by their minimum and maximum PE value, was typically better for levoglucosan than for mannosan and galactosan, ranging from 3.2 to 41% for levoglucosan, from 10 to 67% for mannosan and from 6 to 364% for galactosan. For the levoglucosan to mannosan ratio, which may be used to assess the relative importance of softwood versus hardwood burning, the variability only ranged from 3.5 to 24 . To our knowledge, this is the first major intercomparison on analytical methods used to quantify monosaccharide anhydrides in ambient aerosol filter samples conducted and reported in the scientific literature. The results show that for levoglucosan the accuracy is only slightly lower than that reported for analysis of SO42- (sulfate) on filter samples, a constituent that has been analysed by numerous laboratories for several decades, typically by ion chromatography and which is considered a fairly easy constituent to measure. Hence, the results obtained for levoglucosan with respect to accuracy are encouraging and suggest that levels of levoglucosan, and to a lesser extent mannosan and galactosan, obtained by most of the analytical methods currently used to quantify monosaccharide anhydrides in ambient aerosol filter samples, are comparable. Finally, the various analytical methods used in the current study should be tested for other aerosol matrices and concentrations as well, the most obvious being summertime aerosol samples affected by wildfires and/or agricultural fires.
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    Overview of the Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment/Aerosol Direct Radiative Forcing on the Mediterranean Climate (ChArMEx/ADRIMED) summer 2013 campaign
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2016) Mallet, M.; Dulac, F.; Formenti, P.; Nabat, P.; Sciare, J.; Roberts, G.; Pelon, J.; Ancellet, G.; Tanré, D.; Parol, F.; Denjean, C.; Brogniez, G.; di Sarra, A.; Alados-Arboledas, L.; Arndt, J.; Auriol, F.; Blarel, L.; Bourrianne, T.; Chazette, P.; Chevaillier, S.; Claeys, M.; D'Anna, B.; Derimian, Y.; Desboeufs, K.; Di Iorio, T.; Doussin, J.-F.; Durand, P.; Féron, A.; Freney, E.; Gaimoz, C.; Goloub, P.; Gómez-Amo, J.L.; Granados-Muñoz, M.J.; Grand, N.; Hamonou, E.; Jankowiak, I.; Jeannot, M.; Léon, J.-F.; Maillé, M.; Mailler, S.; Meloni, D.; Menut, L.; Momboisse, G.; Nicolas, J.; Podvin, T.; Pont, V.; Rea, G.; Renard, J.-B.; Roblou, L.; Schepanski, K.; Schwarzenboeck, A.; Sellegri, K.; Sicard, M.; Solmon, F.; Somot, S.; Torres, B.; Totems, J.; Triquet, S.; Verdier, N.; Verwaerde, C.; Waquet, F.; Wenger, J.; Zapf, P.
    The Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment (ChArMEx; http://charmex.lsce.ipsl.fr) is a collaborative research program federating international activities to investigate Mediterranean regional chemistry-climate interactions. A special observing period (SOP-1a) including intensive airborne measurements was performed in the framework of the Aerosol Direct Radiative Impact on the regional climate in the MEDiterranean region (ADRIMED) project during the Mediterranean dry season over the western and central Mediterranean basins, with a focus on aerosol-radiation measurements and their modeling. The SOP-1a took place from 11 June to 5 July 2013. Airborne measurements were made by both the ATR-42 and F-20 French research aircraft operated from Sardinia (Italy) and instrumented for in situ and remote-sensing measurements, respectively, and by sounding and drifting balloons, launched in Minorca. The experimental setup also involved several ground-based measurement sites on islands including two ground-based reference stations in Corsica and Lampedusa and secondary monitoring sites in Minorca and Sicily. Additional measurements including lidar profiling were also performed on alert during aircraft operations at EARLINET/ACTRIS stations at Granada and Barcelona in Spain, and in southern Italy. Remote-sensing aerosol products from satellites (MSG/SEVIRI, MODIS) and from the AERONET/PHOTONS network were also used. Dedicated meso-scale and regional modeling experiments were performed in relation to this observational effort. We provide here an overview of the different surface and aircraft observations deployed during the ChArMEx/ADRIMED period and of associated modeling studies together with an analysis of the synoptic conditions that determined the aerosol emission and transport. Meteorological conditions observed during this campaign (moderate temperatures and southern flows) were not favorable to producing high levels of atmospheric pollutants or intense biomass burning events in the region. However, numerous mineral dust plumes were observed during the campaign, with the main sources located in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, leading to aerosol optical depth (AOD) values ranging between 0.2 and 0.6 (at 440 nm) over the western and central Mediterranean basins. One important point of this experiment concerns the direct observations of aerosol extinction onboard the ATR-42, using the CAPS system, showing local maxima reaching up to 150 M m-1 within the dust plume. Non-negligible aerosol extinction (about 50 M m-1) has also been observed within the marine boundary layer (MBL). By combining the ATR-42 extinction coefficient observations with absorption and scattering measurements, we performed a complete optical closure revealing excellent agreement with estimated optical properties. This additional information on extinction properties has allowed calculation of the dust single scattering albedo (SSA) with a high level of confidence over the western Mediterranean. Our results show a moderate variability from 0.90 to 1.00 (at 530 nm) for all flights studied compared to that reported in the literature on this optical parameter. Our results underline also a relatively low difference in SSA with values derived near dust sources. In parallel, active remote-sensing observations from the surface and onboard the F-20 aircraft suggest a complex vertical structure of particles and distinct aerosol layers with sea spray and pollution located within the MBL, and mineral dust and/or aged North American smoke particles located above (up to 6-7 km in altitude). Aircraft and balloon-borne observations allow one to investigate the vertical structure of the aerosol size distribution showing particles characterized by a large size (> 10 μm in diameter) within dust plumes. In most of cases, a coarse mode characterized by an effective diameter ranging between 5 and 10 μm, has been detected above the MBL. In terms of shortwave (SW) direct forcing, in situ surface and aircraft observations have been merged and used as inputs in 1-D radiative transfer codes for calculating the aerosol direct radiative forcing (DRF). Results show significant surface SW instantaneous forcing (up to -90 W m-2 at noon). Aircraft observations provide also original estimates of the vertical structure of SW and LW radiative heating revealing significant instantaneous values of about 5° K per day in the solar spectrum (for a solar angle of 30°) within the dust layer. Associated 3-D modeling studies from regional climate (RCM) and chemistry transport (CTM) models indicate a relatively good agreement for simulated AOD compared with observations from the AERONET/PHOTONS network and satellite data, especially for long-range dust transport. Calculations of the 3-D SW (clear-sky) surface DRF indicate an average of about -10 to -20 W m-2 (for the whole period) over the Mediterranean Sea together with maxima (-50 W m-2) over northern Africa. The top of the atmosphere (TOA) DRF is shown to be highly variable within the domain, due to moderate absorbing properties of dust and changes in the surface albedo. Indeed, 3-D simulations indicate negative forcing over the Mediterranean Sea and Europe and positive forcing over northern Africa. Finally, a multi-year simulation, performed for the 2003 to 2009 period and including an ocean-atmosphere (O-A) coupling, underlines the impact of the aerosol direct radiative forcing on the sea surface temperature, O-A fluxes and the hydrological cycle over the Mediterranean.