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Abstract. We present an updated mechanism for tropospheric halogen (Cl + Br + I) chemistry in the GEOS-Chem global atmospheric chemical transportmodel and apply it to investigate halogen radical cycling and implications for tropospheric oxidants. Improved representation of HOBr heterogeneouschemistry and its pH dependence in our simulation leads to less efficient recycling and mobilization of bromine radicals and enables the model toinclude mechanistic sea salt aerosol debromination without generating excessive BrO. The resulting global mean tropospheric BrO mixingratio is 0.19 ppt (parts per trillion), lower than previous versions of GEOS-Chem. Model BrO shows variable consistency and biases in comparison tosurface and aircraft observations in marine air, which are often near or below the detection limit. The model underestimates the daytimemeasurements of Cl2 and BrCl from the ATom aircraft campaign over the Pacific and Atlantic, which if correct would imply a very largemissing primary source of chlorine radicals. Model IO is highest in the marine boundary layer and uniform in the free troposphere, with a globalmean tropospheric mixing ratio of 0.08 ppt, and shows consistency with surface and aircraft observations. The modeled global meantropospheric concentration of Cl atoms is 630 cm−3, contributing 0.8 % of the global oxidation of methane, 14 % of ethane,8 % of propane, and 7 % of higher alkanes. Halogen chemistry decreases the global tropospheric burden of ozone by 11 %,NOx by 6 %, and OH by 4 %. Most of the ozone decrease is driven by iodine-catalyzed loss. The resulting GEOS-Chem ozonesimulation is unbiased in the Southern Hemisphere but too low in the Northern Hemisphere. 

Abstract. Bromine radicals influence global tropospheric chemistryby depleting ozone and by oxidizing elemental mercury and reduced sulfurspecies. Observations typically indicate a 50 % depletion of sea saltaerosol (SSA) bromide relative to seawater composition, implying that SSAdebromination could be the dominant global source of tropospheric bromine.However, it has been difficult to reconcile this large source with therelatively low bromine monoxide (BrO) mixing ratios observed in the marineboundary layer (MBL). Here we present a new mechanistic description of SSAdebromination in the GEOS-Chem global atmospheric chemistry model with adetailed representation of halogen (Cl, Br, and I) chemistry. We show thatobserved levels of SSA debromination can be reproduced in a mannerconsistent with observed BrO mixing ratios. Bromine radical sinks from theHOBr + S(IV) heterogeneous reactions and from ocean emission ofacetaldehyde are critical in moderating tropospheric BrO levels. Theresulting HBr is rapidly taken up by SSA and also deposited. Observations of SSA debromination at southern midlatitudes in summer suggest that modeluptake of HBr by SSA may be too fast. The model provides a successfulsimulation of free-tropospheric BrO in the tropics and midlatitudes in summer,where the bromine radical sink from the HOBr + S(IV) reactions iscompensated for by more efficient HOBr-driven recycling in clouds compared toprevious GEOS-Chem versions. Simulated BrO in the MBL is generally muchhigher in winter than in summer due to a combination of greater SSA emissionand slower conversion of bromine radicals to HBr. An outstanding issue inthe model is the overestimate of free-tropospheric BrO in extratropicalwinter–spring, possibly reflecting an overestimate of the HOBr∕HBr ratiounder these conditions where the dominant HOBr source is hydrolysis ofBrNO₃.

 

Abstract. Isoprene-derived secondary organic aerosol (iSOA) is a significantcontributor to organic carbon (OC) in some forested regions, such astropical rainforests and the Southeastern US. However, its contribution toorganic aerosol in urban areas that have high levels of anthropogenicpollutants is poorly understood. In this study, we examined the formation ofanthropogenically influenced iSOA during summer in Beijing, China. Localisoprene emissions and high levels of anthropogenic pollutants, inparticular NOx and particulate SO42-, led to the formation ofiSOA under both high- and low-NO oxidation conditions, with significantheterogeneous transformations of isoprene-derived oxidation products toparticulate organosulfates (OSs) and nitrooxy-organosulfates (NOSs).Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution massspectrometry was combined with a rapid automated data processing techniqueto quantify 31 proposed iSOA tracers in offline PM2.5 filterextracts. The co-elution of the inorganic ions in the extracts caused matrixeffects that impacted two authentic standards differently. The averageconcentration of iSOA OSs and NOSs was 82.5 ng m−3, which was around 3 timeshigher than the observed concentrations of their oxygenated precursors(2-methyltetrols and 2-methylglyceric acid). OS formation was dependant onboth photochemistry and the sulfate available for reactive uptake, as shown by astrong correlation with the product of ozone (O3) and particulatesulfate (SO42-). A greater proportion of high-NO OS products wereobserved in Beijing compared with previous studies in less pollutedenvironments. The iSOA-derived OSs and NOSs represented 0.62 %of the oxidized organic aerosol measured by aerosol mass spectrometry on average, butthis increased to ∼3 % on certain days. These resultsindicate for the first time that iSOA formation in urban Beijing is stronglycontrolled by anthropogenic emissions and results in extensive conversion toOS products from heterogenous reactions.