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Towards mechanistic representations of SOA from BVOC + NO3 reactions
Citation:
Pye, H., D. Luecken, D. Schwede, AND K. Baker. Towards mechanistic representations of SOA from BVOC + NO3 reactions. Workshop on Nitrate Radicals & BVOC's, Atlanta, GA, June 23 - 24, 2015.
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory’s Atmospheric Modeling Division (AMAD) conducts research in support of EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment. AMAD’s research program is engaged in developing and evaluating predictive atmospheric models on all spatial and temporal scales for forecasting the Nation’s air quality and for assessing changes in air quality and air pollutant exposures, as affected by changes in ecosystem management and regulatory decisions. AMAD is responsible for providing a sound scientific and technical basis for regulatory policies based on air quality models to improve ambient air quality. The models developed by AMAD are being used by EPA, NOAA, and the air pollution community in understanding and forecasting not only the magnitude of the air pollution problem, but also in developing emission control policies and regulations for air quality improvements.
Description:
Monoterpene reaction with nitrate radicals is a significant source of organic aerosol in the southeast United States. This source of organic aerosol represents an anthropogenic control on biogenic organic aerosol since nitrate radicals result from NOx emissions and are generally anthropogenic in nature. In this work, we update the CMAQ model to represent SOA formation from organic nitrates formed from biogenic volatile organic compounds (mostly monoterpenes). We compare model predictions of organic aerosol and particle-phase organic nitrates to observations from the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) conducted in the summer of 2013.
