Grantee Research Project Results

2020 Progress Report: Effects of Ammonia on Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation in a Changing Climate

EPA Grant Number: R835881
Title: Effects of Ammonia on Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation in a Changing Climate
Investigators: Dabdub, Donald , Nizkorodov, Sergey
Institution: University of California - Irvine
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2018 (Extended to December 31, 2021)
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 1, 2020 through December 31,2020
Project Amount: $701,304
RFA: Particulate Matter and Related Pollutants in a Changing World (2014) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Air , Climate Change

Objective:

The goal of this research is to systematically explore the effect of the reactive uptake of ammonia (NH3) by secondary organic aerosols (SOA) on the yield, chemical composition, and optical properties of anthropogenic and biogenic SOA using both experimental and modeling approaches. Targeted laboratory experiments are performed in which SOA are prepared under controlled conditions in a smog chamber, aged by ammonia, and examined with a suite of instruments that measure SOA yield, detailed molecular level composition, and optical absorption coefficient. The results of these observations are implemented in state-of-the-art air pollution models at different scales: (1) urban scale modeling of the South Coast Air Basin of California (SoCAB) with a comprehensive chemical mechanism, (2) modeling at the continental scale using the CMAQ model with a domain that covers the entire contiguous United States, and (3) simulations of future climate scenarios at the regional and continental scale using the CMAQ model to explore the impact of future climate change on SOA formation. These modeling systems help improve our understanding of air pollution and air quality modeling capabilities.

Progress Summary:

The goals of the project have not changed from the original application, and excellent progress has been made on the tasks described in the project proposal. All tasks have been completed and several papers have culminated from this grant. In the fifth period of this project, further data analyses of both experimental and modelling simulations were performed for experiments and simulations that were conducted during the fourth period of this project. The outcomes from the fifth period include updated NH3 and dimethylamine (DMA) uptake coefficients. These uptake coefficients were normalized to account for possible wall loss of NH3 or DMA in the smog chamber which could lead to lower NH3 or DMA uptake coefficients than those reported in the fourth period. These normalized uptake coefficients resulted in about a magnitude lower than the un-normalized uptake coefficients meaning that the extent to which SOA particles uptake NH3 and dimethylamine is likely less extensive than previously reported in period four. However, DMA uptake is still more efficient than that of NH3 by SOA. Although ammonia is more abundant in the atmosphere, amine uptake may be a potential source of organic nitrogen in particulate matter. In addition, when relative humidity was increased, the reactive uptake of DMA by d-limonene and α-cedrene SOA was suppressed. These results have been compiled into a manuscript and are currently in preparation by the authors. It is expected to be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal this year.

Modeling efforts during this period have focused on improving the understanding between the geological factor, climate change and air quality impact, as well as meteorological-air quality feedbacks. A series of simulations were conducted during the fourth period using WRF-CMAQ to investigate the feedback between meteorology-air quality, and how our SOA-NH3 uptake mechanism could impact such feedback (Task 5). The results from tasks five have been compiled into a manuscript and is currently under revision. For this task we find that the meteorological-air quality two-way coupled process has much more impact on air quality than the SOA-NH3 uptake process. In addition, the inclusion of the two-way feedback resulted in some significant impacts on meteorological conditions. In comparison, the meteorological impact caused by the SOA-NH3 uptake through the two-way feedback is very small.

During the fourth period we investigated the potential air quality impact due to SOA based NH3 uptake on China (Task 6). During this period, we found that uptake of NH3 by SOA led to a decrease in gas‐phase NH3 mixing ratio, by as much as 27.5% and 19.0% for the highest uptake coefficient scenario (10‐3) in summer and winter, respectively. The largest reduction of ammonia occurred over the Sichuan Basin and the North China Plain. Overall, NH3 uptake led to a reduction in the average PM2.5 concentration up to 8.9% and 8.7% for the highest uptake coefficient (10‐3) in summer and winter, respectively. These results have been compiled into a manuscript that was recently accepted during the fifth period (Wu et al., 2021).

We investigated NH3 uptake by SOA in a WRF-CMAQ coupled meteorology-air quality model for future scenarios regarding climate change (Task 6). We found that the impact caused by adding the SOA-NH3 uptake was smaller in 2050 when compared to the results of 2014. In general, we found that the NH3-SOA chemistry is probably not significant compared to much larger effects from coupling air quality and meteorology. These results have been put together into a manuscript which is still under revision.

Future Activities:

All tasks were completed by period five of this grant. Following completion of this grant, we expect the remaining manuscripts put together during the fifth period to be submitted and published in peer-reviewed journals for both our modelling and experimental work.

Journal Articles on this Report : 8 Displayed | Download in RIS Format

Publications Views
Other project views:	All 47 publications	12 publications in selected types	All 11 journal articles

Publications
Type	Citation	Project	Document Sources
Journal Article	Hinks ML, Montoya-Aguilera J, Ellison L, Lin P, Laskin A, Laskin J, Shiraiwa M, Dabdub D, Nizkorodov SA. Effect of relative humidity on the composition of secondary organic aerosol from the oxidation of toluene. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 2018;18(3):1643-1652.	R835881 (2017) R835881 (2018) R835881 (2020)	Full-text: ACP-Full Text HTML and PDF Exit Abstract: Harvard University-Abstract Exit
Journal Article	Horne JR, Dabdub D. Impact of global climate change on ozone, particulate matter, and secondary organic aerosol concentrations in California: A model perturbation analysis. Atmospheric Environment 2017;153:1-17.	R835881 (2016) R835881 (2017) R835881 (2020)	Full-text: ScienceDirect-Full Text HTML Exit Abstract: ScienceDirect-Abstract Exit Other: ScienceDirect-Full Text PDF Exit
Journal Article	Montoya-Aguilera J, Horne JR, Hinks ML, Fleming LT, Perraud V, Lin P, Laskin A, Laskin J, Dabdub D, Nizkorodov SA. Secondary organic aerosol from atmospheric photooxidation of indole. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 2017;17(18):11605-11621.	R835881 (2017) R835881 (2020)	Full-text: ACP-Full Text PDF Exit Abstract: ACP-Abstract Exit Other: Harvard Unniversity-Abstract Exit
Journal Article	Zhu S, Horne JR, Montoya-Aguilera J, Hinks ML, Nizkorodov SA, Dabdub D. Modeling reactive ammonia uptake by secondary organic aerosol in CMAQ:application to continental US. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 2018;18(5):3641-3657.	R835881 (2017) R835881 (2018) R835881 (2020) R835881 (Final)	Full-text: ACP-Full Text HTML and PDF Exit Other: Exit
Journal Article	Horne JR, Zhu S, Montoya-Aguilera J, Hinks ML, Wingen L, Nizkorodov SA, Dabdub D. Reactive uptake of ammonia by secondary organic aerosols:implications for air quality. Atmospheric Environment 2018;189:1-8.	R835881 (2018) R835881 (2020)	Full-text: Science Direct - Full text HTML and PDF Exit Other: Atmospheric Environment - Full Text PDF Exit
Journal Article	Zhu S, Mac Kinnon M, Shaffer BP, Samuelsen GS, Brouwer J, Dabdub D. An uncertainty for clean air:Air quality modeling implications of underestimating VOC emissions in urban inventories. Atmospheric Environment 2019;211:256-67.	R835881 (2019) R835881 (2020)	Abstract: Science Direct - Abstract HTML Exit
Journal Article	Zhu S, Horne JR, Mac Kinnon M, Samuelsen GS, Dabdub D. Comprehensively assessing the drivers of future air quality in California. Environment international 2019;125:386-98.	R835881 (2019) R835881 (2020)	Abstract from PubMed Full-text: Science Direct - Full-Text HTML Exit Other: Science Direct - Full Text PDF Exit
Journal Article	Wu K, Zhu S, Liu Y, Wang H, Yang X, Liu L, Dabdub D, Cappa CD. Modeling ammonia and its uptake by secondary organic aerosol over China. Journal of Geophysical Research:Atmospheres 2020:e2020JD034109.	R835881 (2020)	Full-text: AGU Advancing Earth and Space Science Full Text PDF Exit Abstract: AGU Advancing Earth and Space Science Abstract PDF Exit

Supplemental Keywords:

air, ambient air, atmosphere, ozone, global climate, tropospheric, VOC, oxidants, nitrogen oxides, organic, environmental chemistry, engineering, modeling

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.