| Volumes and Issues Contents of Issue 6 |
www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/27745/2009/
doi:10.5194/acpd-9-27745-2009
© Author(s) 2009. This work is distributed
under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Organic aerosol components observed in worldwide datasets from aerosol mass spectrometry
1Aerodyne Research, Inc. Billerica, MA, USA
2Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA
3CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
4Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
5Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
6Department of Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
7NOAA, Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
8Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
9Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
10Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland
11Department of Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
*now at: Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
Abstract. In this study we present results from the factor analysis of 43 aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) datasets and provide an overview of worldwide organic aerosol (OA) components and their evolution in the atmosphere. At most sites, the OA can be separated into oxygenated OA (OOA), hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), and sometimes other components such as biomass burning OA (BBOA). In many analyses, the OOA can be further deconvolved into low-volatility OOA (LV-OOA) and semi-volatile OOA (SV-OOA). A wide range of f44 (ratio of m/z 44 to total signal in the component mass spectrum) and O:C ratios are observed for both LV-OOA (0.17±0.04, 0.73±0.14) and SV-OOA (0.07±0.04, 0.35±0.14) components, reflecting the fact that there is a continuum of OOA properties in ambient aerosol. Differences in the mass spectra of these components are characterized in terms of the two main ions m/z 44 (CO2+) and m/z 43 (mostly C2H3O+). The LV-OOA component spectra have higher f44 and lower f43 than SV-OOA. The OOA components (OOA, LV-OOA, and SV-OOA) from all sites cluster within a well defined triangular region in the f44 vs. f43 space, which can be used as a standardized means of comparing and characterizing any OOA components (laboratory or ambient) observed with the AMS. Examination of the OOA components in this triangular space indicates that OOA component spectra become increasingly similar to each other and to fulvic acid and HULIS sample spectra as f44 (a surrogate for O:C and an indicator of photochemical aging) increases. This indicates that ambient OA converges towards highly aged LV-OOA with atmospheric oxidation. The common features of the transformation between SV-OOA and LV-OOA at multiple sites potentially enables a simplified description of the oxidation of OA in the atmosphere. Comparison of laboratory SOA data with ambient OOA indicates that laboratory SOA are more similar to SV-OOA, and rarely become as oxidized as ambient LV-OOA, likely due to the higher loadings employed in the experiments and/or limited oxidant exposure in most chamber experiments.
Discussion Paper (PDF, 759 KB) Supplement (52 KB) Interactive Discussion (Closed, 3 Comments) Final Revised Paper (ACP)
Notice on Discussion StatusCitation: Ng, N. L., Canagaratna, M. R., Zhang, Q., Jimenez, J. L., Tian, J., Ulbrich, I. M., Kroll, J. H., Docherty, K. S., Chhabra, P. S., Bahreini, R., Murphy, S. M., Seinfeld, J. H., Hildebrandt, L., DeCarlo, P. F., Lanz, V. A., Prevot, A. S. H., Dinar, E., Rudich, Y., and Worsnop, D. R.: Organic aerosol components observed in worldwide datasets from aerosol mass spectrometry, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 9, 27745-27789, doi:10.5194/acpd-9-27745-2009, 2009. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager XML
