Mass spectral characterization of submicron aerosol particles in the Amazon rain forest as part of GoAmazon2014
EMSL Project ID
48140
Abstract
GoAmazon2014, a field campaign approved by DOE ARM, focuses on the influence of pollutant outflow from a tropical megacity (Manaus) on the lifecycles of aerosols and clouds, as well as on aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions. In the setting of the surrounding tropical rain forest and located downwind of Manaus, the research site serves as a natural laboratory to allow direct comparisons between periods of pollution influence from the megacity (when the wind conforms to its mean direction) to those of pristine conditions (when the wind diverts from its mean direction). In this context, GoAmazon2014 provides a unique opportunity to understand and quantify the interactions of biogenic and anthropogenic emissions with respect to the production of secondary organic aerosol (SOA).Even though SOA composes a large fraction of aerosol particles worldwide, the processes of SOA formation from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are not well known. Pieces of evidence have pointed at large changes in the dominant chemical pathways that guide the conversion of biogenic VOCs into the production of SOA when there is interaction with anthropogenic emissions. In order to investigate the effects of urban emissions on SOA production, as well as to identify the chemical and physical processes underlying these effects, mass spectral characterization of (non-refractory) submicron atmospheric particles is necessary for the study to be successful.
Through this collaboration with EMSL, a High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) will be deployed to the research site. Several other partner instruments – both from Brazil and U.S. side – will also be at the research site, ranging from on-line sizing, spectrometric and composition measurements to off-line filter sampling to auxiliary radiation measurements. In the context of these multiple data sets, the AMS will be deployed following an approach similar to that successfully employed in AMAZE-08. In conjunction with the other measurements, the AMS data set represents an indispensable asset for answering the posed scientific questions of the project. The instrument will provide information on size-resolved chemical composition of non-refractory submicron particles, and the obtained mass spectra will be used for characterizing particle sources and properties. More specifically, the measurements of molecular tracers that serve as fingerprints of different mechanisms of SOA formation will help to elucidate the production processes of this secondary material, both under pristine and polluted conditions.
In a broader context, the campaign as a whole aims at developing a data-driven knowledge base, for which this joint effort with EMSL plays an essential role, for predicting how the present-day functioning of chemical and energy flows in the Amazon basin might change, especially as related to the effects of aerosols and as influenced by projected demographic changes in the basin. The ultimate goal is to estimate future changes in direct and indirect radiative forcing, energy distributions, regional climate, and feedbacks to global climate.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2013-10-10
End Date
2014-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members
Related Publications
De Sa S.S., L.V. Rizzo, B.B. Palm, P. Campuzano-Jost, D. Day, L.D. Yee, and R. Wernis, et al. 2019. "Contributions of biomass-burning, urban, and biogenic emissions to the concentrations and light-absorbing properties of particulate matter in central Amazonia during the dry season." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 19, no. 12:7973-8001. PNNL-SA-147396. doi:10.5194/acp-19-7973-2019
Hu W, BB Palm, DA Day, P Campuzano-Jost, JE Krechmer, Z Peng, S de Sa, ST Martin, ML Alexander, K Baumann, L Hacker, A Kiendler-Scharr, A Koss, JA de Gouw, AH Goldstein, R Seco, SJ Sjostedt, JH Park, AB Guenther, S Kim, F Canonaco, ASH Prevot, WH Brune, and JL Jimenez. 2016. "Volatility and lifetime against OH heterogeneous reaction of ambient isoprene-epoxydiols-derived secondary organic aerosol (IEPOX-SOA)." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 16(18):11563-11580. doi:10.5194/acp-16-11563-2016
Isaacman-VanWertz G, LD Yee, NM Kreisberg, R Wernis, JA Moss, SV Hering, S de Sa, ST Martin, ML Alexander, BB Palm, W Hu, P Campuzano-Jost, D Day, JL Jimenez, M Riva, JD Surratt, J Viegas, A Manzi, ES Edgerton, K Baumann, RA Souza, P Artaxo, and AH Goldstein. 2016. "Ambient Gas-Particle Partitioning of Tracers for Biogenic Oxidation." Environmental Science & Technology 50(18):9952-9962. doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b01674
Palm BB, S de Sa, DA Day, P Campuzano-Jost, W Hu, R Seco, SJ Sjostedt, JH Park, AB Guenther, S Kim, J Brito, P Artaxo, R Thalman, J Wang, LD Yee, R Wernis, G Isaacman-VanWertz, AH Goldstein, Y Liu, SR Springston, RA Souza, MK Newburn, ML Alexander, ST Martin, and JL Jimenez. 2018. "Secondary organic aerosol formation from ambient air in an oxidation flow reactor in central Amazonia." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 18:467-493. doi:10.5194/acp-18-467-2018
Yee L.D., G. Isaacman-VanWertz, R. Wernis, M. Meng, V. Rivera, N.M. Kreisberg, and S.V. Hering, et al. 2018. "Observations of sesquiterpenes and their oxidation products in central Amazonia during the wet and dry seasons." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 18, no. 14:10433-10457. PNNL-SA-138448. doi:10.5194/acp-18-10433-2018