Organosulfates and Carboxylic Acids in Secondary Organic Aerosols in Coniferous Forests in Rocky Mountains (USA), Sierra Nevada Mountains (USA) and Northern Europe (Finland and Denmark)

Abstract:

Levels and chemical composition of secondary organic aerosols affect their climate effects and properties. Organosulfates (OS) are formed through heterogeneous reactions involving oxidized sulfur compounds, primarily originating from anthropogenic sources. Availability of authentic standards have until now been an obstacle to quantitative investigations of OS in atmospheric aerosols. We have developed a new, facile method for synthesis and purification of OS standards. Here we have used 7 standards to quantify OS and nitrooxy organosulfates (NOS) observed in aerosols collected at four sites in coniferous forests in USA and Europe during spring or summer. The two American sites were Storm Peak Laboratory, Colorado (Rocky Mountains, elevation 3220 m a.s.l) and Sierra Nevada Mountains, California (as part of BEARPEX 2007 and 2009). The European sites were Hyytiälä Forest Station, Finland (in the boreal zone) and Silkeborg, Denmark (temperate forest). Aerosol filter samples were extracted and analyzed using a high performance liquid chromatograph coupled through an electrospray inlet to a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (HPLC-QTOF-MS). We identified 11 carboxylic acids using authentic standards, while 16 different OS and 8 NOS were identified based on their molecular mass and MS fragmentation patterns, as well as comparison with available standards. OS were ubiquitous in the atmospheric aerosol samples, even at the high elevation mountain station. Levels of carboxylic acids from oxidation of monoterpenes were 8-25 ng m^-3 at Silkeborg and Storm Peak Laboratory, while concentrations at the sites with strong regional monoterpene emissions (Sierra Nevada Mountains and Hyytiälä) were much higher (10-200 ng m^-3). At all sites, the dominant group of OS were derived from isoprene (IEPOX) and related compounds, while OS of monoterpenes showed lower concentrations, except at Hyytiälä during periods of north-westerly winds when monoterpene OS were at similar or higher levels than isoprene-derived OS. This indicates that isoprene OS were long-range transported to Hyytiälä from southerly regions with high emissions of isoprene and related compounds. Influence of formation mechanisms and long-range transport on concentrations of OS, NOS and carboxylic acids will be discussed in the presentation.