Oxalic acid in clear and cloudy atmospheres: Analysis of data from International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on transport and transformation 2004
Authors
Sorooshian, Armin
Varutbangkul, Varuntida
Brechtel, Fred J.
Ervens, Barbara
Feingold, Graham
Bahreini, Roya
Murphy, Shane M.
Holloway, John S.
Atlas, Elliot L.
Buzorius, Gintas
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Date of Issue
2006
Date
2006
Publisher
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Abstract
Oxalic acid is often the leading contributor to the total dicarboxylic acid mass in
ambient organic aerosol particles. During the 2004 International Consortium for
Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT) field campaign, nine
inorganic ions (including SO4
2!) and five organic acid ions (including oxalate) were
measured on board the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely Piloted Aircraft Studies
(CIRPAS) Twin Otter research aircraft by a particle-into-liquid sampler (PILS) during
flights over Ohio and surrounding areas. Five local atmospheric conditions were
studied: (1) cloud-free air, (2) power plant plume in cloud-free air with precipitation from
scattered clouds overhead, (3) power plant plume in cloud-free air, (4) power plant plume
in cloud, and (5) clouds uninfluenced by local pollution sources. The aircraft sampled
from two inlets: a counterflow virtual impactor (CVI) to isolate droplet residuals in clouds
and a second inlet for sampling total aerosol. A strong correlation was observed between
oxalate and SO4
2! when sampling through both inlets in clouds. Predictions from a
chemical cloud parcel model considering the aqueous-phase production of dicarboxylic
acids and SO4
2! show good agreement for the relative magnitude of SO4
2! and oxalate
growth for two scenarios: power plant plume in clouds and clouds uninfluenced by
local pollution sources. The relative contributions of the two aqueous-phase routes
responsible for oxalic acid formation were examined; the oxidation of glyoxylic acid was
predicted to dominate over the decay of longer-chain dicarboxylic acids. Clear evidence is
presented for aqueous-phase oxalic acid production as the primary mechanism for oxalic
acid formation in ambient aerosols.
Type
Description
Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, D23S45
The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2005D006880.
The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2005D006880.
Series/Report No
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Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS)
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This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.