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Now showing 1 - 10 of 12
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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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    Diurnal variations of ambient particulate wood burning emissions and their contribution to the concentration of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Seiffen, Germany
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2011) Poulain, L.; Iinuma, Y.; Müller, K.; Birmili, W.; Weinhold, K.; Brüggemann, E.; Gnauk, T.; Hausmann, A.; Löschau, G.; Wiedensohler, A.; Herrmann, H.
    Residential wood burning is becoming an increasingly important cause of air quality problems since it has become a popular source of alternative energy to fossil fuel. In order to characterize the contribution of residential wood burning to local particle pollution, a field campaign was organized at the village of Seiffen (Saxony, Germany). During this campaign, an Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) was deployed in parallel to a PM1 high volume filter sampler. The AMS mass spectra were analyzed using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) to obtain detailed information about the organic aerosol (OA). Biomass-burning organic aerosol (BBOA), Hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (HOA), and Oxygenated Organic Aerosol (OOA) were identified and represented 20%, 17% and 62% of total OA, respectively. Additionally, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) were measured by the AMS with an average concentration of 10 ng m−3 and short term events of extremely high PAH concentration (up to 500 ng m−3) compared to the mean PAH value were observed during the whole measurement period. A comparison with the results from PM1 filter samples showed that the BBOA factor and the AMS PAH are good indicators of the total concentration of the different monosaccharide anhydrides and PAH measured on the filter samples. Based on its low correlation with CO and the low car traffic, the HOA factor was considered to be related to residential heating using liquid fuel. An influence of the time of the week (week vs. weekend) on the diurnal profiles of the different OA components was observed. The weekdays were characterized by two maxima; a first one early in the morning and a stronger one in the evening. During the weekend days, the different OA components principally reached only one maximum in the afternoon. Finally, the PAH emitted directly from residential wood combustion was estimated to represent 1.5% of the total mass of the BBOA factor and around 62% of the total PAH concentration measured at Seiffen. This result highlights the important contribution of residential wood combustion to air quality and PAH emissions at the sampling place, which might have a significant impact on human health. Moreover, it also emphasizes the need for a better time resolution of the chemical characterization of toxic particulate compounds in order to provide more information on variations of the different sources through the days as well as to better estimate the real human exposure.
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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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    Trace metal characterization of aerosol particles and cloud water during HCCT 2010
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2015) Fomba, K.W.; van Pinxteren, D.; Müller, K.; Iinuma, Y.; Lee, T.; Collett Jr., J.L.; Herrmann, H.
    Trace metal characterization of bulk and size-resolved aerosol and cloud water samples were performed during the Hill Cap Cloud Thuringia (HCCT) campaign. Cloud water was collected at the top of Mt. Schmücke while aerosol samples were collected at two stations upwind and downwind of Mt. Schmücke. Fourteen trace metals including Ti, V, Fe, Mn, Co, Zn, Ni, Cu, As, Sr, Rb, Pb, Cr, and Se were investigated during four full cloud events (FCEs) that fulfilled the conditions of a continuous air mass flow through the three stations. Aerosol particle trace metal concentrations were found to be lower than those observed in the same region during previous field experiments but were within a similar range to those observed in other rural regions in Europe. Fe and Zn were the most abundant elements with concentration ranges of 0.2–111.6 and 1.1–32.1 ng m−3, respectively. Fe, Mn, and Ti were mainly found in coarse mode aerosols while Zn, Pb, and As were mostly found in the fine mode. Correlation and enrichment factor analysis of trace metals revealed that trace metals such as Ti and Rb were mostly of crustal origin while trace metals such as Zn, Pb, As, Cr, Ni, V, and Cu were of anthropogenic origin. Trace metals such as Fe and Mn were of mixed origins including crustal and combustion sources. Trace metal cloud water concentration decreased from Ti, Mn, Cr, to Co with average concentrations of 9.18, 5.59, 5.54, and 0.46 μg L−1, respectively. A non-uniform distribution of soluble Fe, Cu, and Mn was observed across the cloud drop sizes. Soluble Fe and Cu were found mainly in cloud droplets with diameters between 16 and 22 μm, while Mn was found mostly in larger drops greater than 22 μm. Fe(III) was the main form of soluble Fe especially in the small and larger drops with concentrations ranging from 2.2 to 37.1 μg L−1. In contrast to other studies, Fe(II) was observed mainly in the evening hours, implying its presence was not directly related to photochemical processes. Aerosol–cloud interaction did not lead to a marked increase in soluble trace metal concentrations; rather it led to differences in the chemical composition of the aerosol due to preferential loss of aerosol particles through physical processes including cloud drop deposition to vegetative surfaces.
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    Characterisation and optimisation of a sample preparation method for the detection and quantification of atmospherically relevant carbonyl compounds in aqueous medium
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2015) Rodigast, M.; Mutzel, A.; Iinuma, Y.; Haferkorn, S.; Herrmann, H.
    Carbonyl compounds are ubiquitous in the atmosphere and either emitted primarily from anthropogenic and biogenic sources or they are produced secondarily from the oxidation of volatile organic compounds. Despite a number of studies about the quantification of carbonyl compounds a comprehensive description of optimised methods is scarce for the quantification of atmospherically relevant carbonyl compounds. The method optimisation was conducted for seven atmospherically relevant carbonyl compounds including acrolein, benzaldehyde, glyoxal, methyl glyoxal, methacrolein, methyl vinyl ketone and 2,3-butanedione. O-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine hydrochloride (PFBHA) was used as derivatisation reagent and the formed oximes were detected by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). With the present method quantification can be carried out for each carbonyl compound originating from fog, cloud and rain or sampled from the gas- and particle phase in water. Detection limits between 0.01 and 0.17 μmol L−1 were found, depending on carbonyl compounds. Furthermore, best results were found for the derivatisation with a PFBHA concentration of 0.43 mg mL−1 for 24 h followed by a subsequent extraction with dichloromethane for 30 min at pH = 1. The optimised method was evaluated in the present study by the OH radical initiated oxidation of 3-methylbutanone in the aqueous phase. Methyl glyoxal and 2,3-butanedione were found to be oxidation products in the samples with a yield of 2% for methyl glyoxal and 14% for 2,3-butanedione after a reaction time of 5 h.
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    Influence of relative humidity and temperature on the production of pinonaldehyde and OH radicals from the ozonolysis of α-pinene
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2010) Tillmann, R.; Hallquist, M.; Jonsson, Å.M.; Kiendler-Scharr, A.; Saathoff, H.; Iinuma, Y.; Mentel, Th.F.
    The ozonolysis of α-pinene has been investigated under dry and humid conditions in the temperature range of 243–303 K. The results provided new insight into the role of water and temperature in the degradation mechanism of α-pinene and in the formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA). The SOA yields were higher at humid conditions than at dry conditions. The water induced gain was largest for the lowest temperatures investigated (243 and 253 K). The increase in the SOA yields was dominated by water (and temperature) effects on the organic product distribution, whilst physical uptake of water was negligible. This will be demonstrated for the example of pinonaldehyde (PA) which was formed as a major product in the humid experiments with total molar yields of 0.30±0.06 at 303 K and 0.15±0.03 at 243 K. In the dry experiments the molar yields of PA were only 0.07±0.02 at 303 K and 0.02±0.02 at 253 K. The observed partitioning of PA as a function of the SOA mass present at 303 K limited the effective vapour pressure of pure PA pPA0 to the range of 0.01–0.001 Pa, 3–4 orders of magnitude lower than literature values. The corresponding mass partitioning coefficient was determined to KPA=0.005±0.004 m3 μg−1 and the total mass yield αPAtotal=0.37±0.08. At 303 K PA preferably stayed in the gas-phase, whereas at 253 K and 243 K it exclusively partitioned into the particulate phase. PA could thus account at least for half of the water induced gain in SOA mass at 253 K. The corresponding effect was negligible at 303 K because the PA preferably remained in the gas-phase. The yield of OH radicals, which were produced in the ozonolysis, was indirectly determined by means of the yield of cyclohexanone formed in the reaction of OH radicals with cyclohexane. OH yields of the α-pinene ozonolysis were determined to 0.67±0.17 for humid and 0.54±0.13 for dry conditions at 303 K, indicating a water dependent path of OH radical formation. For 253 and 243 K OH yields could be estimated to 0.5 with no significant difference between the dry and humid experiments. This is the first clear indication for OH radical formation by α-pinene ozonolysis at such low temperatures.
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    Water uptake by biomass burning aerosol at sub- and supersaturated conditions: closure studies and implications for the role of organics
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2011) Dusek, U.; Frank, G.P.; Massling, A.; Zeromskiene, K.; Iinuma, Y.; Schmid, O.; Helas, G.; Hennig, T.; Wiedensohler, A.; Andreae, M.O.
    We investigate the CCN activity of freshly emitted biomass burning particles and their hygroscopic growth at a relative humidity (RH) of 85%. The particles were produced in the Mainz combustion laboratory by controlled burning of various wood types. The water uptake at sub- and supersaturations is parameterized by the hygroscopicity parameter, κ (c.f. Petters and Kreidenweis, 2007). For the wood burns, κ is low, generally around 0.06. The main emphasis of this study is a comparison of κ derived from measurements at sub- and supersaturated conditions (κG and κCCN), in order to see whether the water uptake at 85% RH can predict the CCN properties of the biomass burning particles. Differences in κGand κCCN can arise through solution non-idealities, the presence of slightly soluble or surface active compounds, or non-spherical particle shape. We find that κG and κCCN agree within experimental uncertainties (of around 30%) for particle sizes of 100 and 150 nm; only for 50 nm particles is κCCN larger than κG by a factor of 2. The magnitude of this difference and its dependence on particle size is consistent with the presence of surface active organic compounds. These compounds mainly facilitate the CCN activation of small particles, which form the most concentrated solution droplets at the point of activation. The 50 nm particles, however, are only activated at supersaturations higher than 1% and are therefore of minor importance as CCN in ambient clouds. By comparison with the actual chemical composition of the biomass burning particles, we estimate that the hygroscopicity of the water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) fraction can be represented by a κWSOC value of approximately 0.2. The effective hygroscopicity of a typical wood burning particle can therefore be represented by a linear mixture of an inorganic component with κ ≅ 0.6, a WSOC component with κ ≅ 0.2, and an insoluble component with κ = 0.
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    General overview: European Integrated project on Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality interactions (EUCAARI) – integrating aerosol research from nano to global scales
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2011) Kulmala, M.; Asmi, A.; Lappalainen, H.K.; Carslaw, K.S.; Pöschl, U.; Baltensperger, U.; Hov, Ø.; Brenquier, J.-L.; Pandis, S.N.; Facchini, M.C.; Hansson, H.-C.; Wiedensohler, A.; O'Dowd, C.D.; Boers, R.; Boucher, O.; de Leeuw, G.; Denier van der Gon, H.A.C.; Feichter, J.; Krejci, R.; Laj, P.; Lihavainen, H.; Lohmann, U.; McFiggans, G.; Mentel, T.; Pilinis, C.; Riipinen, I.; Schulz, M.; Stohl, A.; Swietlicki, E.; Vignati, E.; Alves, C.; Amann, M.; Ammann, M.; Arabas, S.; Artaxo, P.; Baars, H.; Beddows, D.C.S.; Bergström, R.; Beukes, J.P.; Bilde, M.; Burkhart, J.F.; Canonaco, F.; Clegg, S.L.; Coe, H.; Crumeyrolle, S.; D'Anna, B.; Decesari, S.; Gilardoni, S.; Fischer, M.; Fjaeraa, A.M.; Fountoukis, C.; George, C.; Gomes, L.; Halloran, P.; Hamburger, T.; Harrison, R.M.; Herrmann, H.; Hoffmann, T.; Hoose, C.; Hu, M.; Hyvärinen, A.; Hõrrak, U.; Iinuma, Y.; Iversen, T.; Josipovic, M.; Kanakidou, M.; Kiendler-Scharr, A.; Kirkevåg, A.; Kiss, G.; Klimont, Z.; Kolmonen, P.; Komppula, M.; Kristjánsson, J.-E.; Laakso, L.; Laaksonen, A.; Labonnote, L.; Lanz, V.A.; Lehtinen, K.E.J.; Rizzo, L.V.; Makkonen, R.; Manninen, H.E.; McMeeking, G.; Merikanto, J.; Minikin, A.; Mirme, S.; Morgan, W.T.; Nemitz, E.; O'Donnell, D.; Panwar, T.S.; Pawlowska, H.; Petzold, A.; Pienaar, J.J.; Pio, C.; Plass-Duelmer, C.; Prévôt, A.S.H.; Pryor, S.; Reddington, C.L.; Roberts, G.; Rosenfeld, D.; Schwarz, J.; Seland, Ø.; Sellegri, K.; Shen, X.J.; Shiraiwa, M.; Siebert, H.; Sierau, B.; Simpson, D.; Sun, J.Y.; Topping, D.; Tunved, P.; Vaattovaara, P.; Vakkari, V.; Veefkind, J.P.; Visschedijk, A.; Vuollekoski, H.; Vuolo, R.; Wehner, B.; Wildt, J.; Woodward, S.; Worsnop, D.R.; van Zadelhoff, G.-J.; Zardini, A.A.; Zhang, K.; van Zyl, P.G.; Kerminen, V.-M.
    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.
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    Modelling the optical properties of fresh biomass burning aerosol produced in a smoke chamber: Results from the EFEU campaign
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2008) Hungershoefer, K.; Zeromskiene, K.; Iinuma, Y.; Helas, G.; Trentmann, J.; Trautmann, T.; Parmar, R.S.; Wiedensohler, A.; Andreae, M.O.; Schmid, O.
    A better characterisation of the optical properties of biomass burning aerosol as a function of the burning conditions is required in order to quantify their effects on climate and atmospheric chemistry. Controlled laboratory combustion experiments with different fuel types were carried out at the combustion facility of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (Mainz, Germany) as part of the "Impact of Vegetation Fires on the Composition and Circulation of the Atmosphere" (EFEU) project. The combustion conditions were monitored with concomitant CO2 and CO measurements. The mass scattering efficiencies of 8.9±0.2 m2 g−1 and 9.3±0.3 m2 g−1 obtained for aerosol particles from the combustion of savanna grass and an African hardwood (musasa), respectively, are larger than typically reported mainly due to differences in particle size distribution. The photoacoustically measured mass absorption efficiencies of 0.51±0.02 m2 g−1 and 0.50±0.02 m2 g−1 were at the lower end of the literature values. Using the measured size distributions as well as the mass scattering and absorption efficiencies, Mie calculations provided effective refractive indices of 1.60−0.010i (savanna grass) and 1.56−0.010i (musasa) (λ=0.55 μm). The apparent discrepancy between the low imaginary part of the refractive index and the high apparent elemental carbon (ECa) fractions (8 to 15%) obtained from the thermographic analysis of impactor samples can be explained by a positive bias in the elemental carbon data due to the presence of high molecular weight organic substances. Potential artefacts in optical properties due to instrument bias, non-natural burning conditions and unrealistic dilution history of the laboratory smoke cannot be ruled out and are also discussed in this study.
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    Seasonal variation of aliphatic amines in marine sub-micrometer particles at the Cape Verde islands
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2009) Müller, C.; Iinuma, Y.; Karstensen, J.; van Pinxteren, D.; Lehmann, S.; Gnauk, T.; Herrmann, H.
    Monomethylamine (MA), dimethylamine (DMA) and diethylamine (DEA) were detected at non-negligible concentrations in sub-micrometer particles at the Cap Verde Atmospheric Observatory (CVAO) located on the island of São Vicente in Cape Verde during algal blooms in 2007. The concentrations of these amines in five stage impactor samples ranged from 0–30 pg m−3 for MA, 130–360 pg m−3 for DMA and 5–110 pg m−3 for DEA during the spring bloom in May 2007 and 2–520 pg m−3 for MA, 100–1400 pg m−3 for DMA and 90–760 pg m−3 for DEA during an unexpected winter algal bloom in December 2007. Anomalously high Saharan dust deposition and intensive ocean layer deepening were found at the Atmospheric Observatory and the associated Ocean Observatory during algal bloom periods. The highest amine concentrations in fine particles (impactor stage 2, 0.14–0.42 μm) indicate that amines are likely taken up from the gas phase into the acidic sub-micrometer particles. The contribution of amines to the organic carbon (OC) content ranged from 0.2–2.5% C in the winter months, indicating the importance of this class of compounds to the carbon cycle in the marine environment. Furthermore, aliphatic amines originating from marine biological sources likely contribute significantly to the nitrogen content in the marine atmosphere. The average contribution of the amines to the detected nitrogen species in sub-micrometer particles can be non-negligible, especially in the winter months (0.1% N–1.5% N in the sum of nitrate, ammonium and amines). This indicates that these smaller aliphatic amines can be important for the carbon and the nitrogen cycles in the remote marine environment.