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Simultaneous measurements of particulate and gas-phase water-soluble organic carbon concentrations at remote and urban-influenced locations

Publication ,  Journal Article
Anderson, C; Dibb, JE; Griffin, RJ; Bergin, MH
Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
July 16, 2008

The sources, sinks, and overall importance of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in the atmosphere are not well understood. Although the primary historical focus has been on particulate WSOC (WSOCp), here we also present results obtained using a newly developed technique that additionally measures gas-phase water-soluble organic carbon (WSOCG). These first-of-their-kind measurements show that WSOCG can often be more than ten times larger than WSOCp at both urban and remote locations. The average fraction of WSOC residing in the gas phase (fg = WSOCG/(WSOCG + WSOCp)) at five various field sites ranged from 0.64 to 0.93, implying significant differences in WSOC phase partitioning between locations. At Houston, TX, and Summit, Greenland, a repeatable diurnal pattern was observed, with minimum, values for fg occurring at night. These trends likely are due, at least in part, to temperature and/ or relative humidity related gas-to-particle partitioning. These coincident measurements of WSOC in both the gas and particle phases indicate that a relatively large reservoir of water-soluble organic mass is not taken into account by measurements focused only on WSOCp. In addition, a significant amount Of WSOCG is available to form WSOCp or enter cloud droplets depending on the chemical and physical properties of the droplets and/or aerosols present. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Geophysical Research Letters

DOI

ISSN

0094-8276

Publication Date

July 16, 2008

Volume

35

Issue

13

Related Subject Headings

  • Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
 

Citation

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Anderson, C., Dibb, J. E., Griffin, R. J., & Bergin, M. H. (2008). Simultaneous measurements of particulate and gas-phase water-soluble organic carbon concentrations at remote and urban-influenced locations. Geophysical Research Letters, 35(13). https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL033966
Anderson, C., J. E. Dibb, R. J. Griffin, and M. H. Bergin. “Simultaneous measurements of particulate and gas-phase water-soluble organic carbon concentrations at remote and urban-influenced locations.” Geophysical Research Letters 35, no. 13 (July 16, 2008). https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL033966.
Anderson C, Dibb JE, Griffin RJ, Bergin MH. Simultaneous measurements of particulate and gas-phase water-soluble organic carbon concentrations at remote and urban-influenced locations. Geophysical Research Letters. 2008 Jul 16;35(13).
Anderson, C., et al. “Simultaneous measurements of particulate and gas-phase water-soluble organic carbon concentrations at remote and urban-influenced locations.” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 35, no. 13, July 2008. Scopus, doi:10.1029/2008GL033966.
Anderson C, Dibb JE, Griffin RJ, Bergin MH. Simultaneous measurements of particulate and gas-phase water-soluble organic carbon concentrations at remote and urban-influenced locations. Geophysical Research Letters. 2008 Jul 16;35(13).
Journal cover image

Published In

Geophysical Research Letters

DOI

ISSN

0094-8276

Publication Date

July 16, 2008

Volume

35

Issue

13

Related Subject Headings

  • Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences