Chemical and Physical Properties of Biomass Burning Aerosol
EMSL Project ID
19793
Abstract
Biomass burning is one of the most important single sources of carbonaceous particles emitted into atmosphere mostly as a result of wilderness fires. Biomass burning aerosols (BBA) have dramatic effects on regional and global climate via interactions with incoming solar radiation and through their ability to serve as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Understanding of the role of BBA on climate is limited by numerous uncertainties. Specifically, little is known about chemical composition and physical properties of BBA and their evolution in the atmospheric environment. Current methods of identification and chemical characterization of organic constituents of aerosols such as GS-MS and infrared spectroscopy are well-suited for identification of small organic molecules. However, recent studies suggested that a significant fraction of organic aerosols in general, and of BBA in particular, contains long-chain polymers and polymer fragments with molecular weight (MW) of 1000 amu and higher. The proposed research will apply state-of-the-art mass spectrometric approaches developed for large complex molecules (e.g. biomolecules and synthetic polymers) to interrogate chemical composition of BBA. Specifically, we will utilize high mass resolution and accuracy of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) for accurate determination of the molecular weight of the molecules, while molecular structure will be determined from fragmentation patterns obtained using MS/MS experiments in FT-ICR MS.
Project Details
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Start Date
2006-08-18
End Date
2009-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members
Related Publications
Hand JL, DE Day, GM McMeeking, E Levin, CM Carrico, SM Kreidenweis, WC Malm, A Laskin, and Y Desyaterik. 2010. "Measured and Modeled Humidification Factors of Fresh Smoke Particles From Biomass Burning: Role of Inorganic Constituents." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 10(13):6179-6194. doi:10.5194/acp-10-6179-2010
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Laskin A, JS Smith, and J Laskin. 2009. "Molecular Characterization of Nitrogen Containing Organic Compounds in Biomass Burning Aerosols Using High Resolution Mass Spectrometry." Environmental Science & Technology 43(10):3764-3771. doi:10.1021/es803456n
Smith JS, A Laskin, and J Laskin. 2009. "Molecular Characterization of Biomass Burning Aerosols Using High Resolution Mass Spectrometry." Analytical Chemistry 81(4):1512-1521. doi:10.1021/ac8020664