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Abstract. The formation of inorganic nitrate is the main sink for nitrogenoxides (NOx = NO + NO2). Due to the importance of NOx forthe formation of tropospheric oxidants such as the hydroxyl radical (OH) andozone, understanding the mechanisms and rates of nitrate formation isparamount for our ability to predict the atmospheric lifetimes of mostreduced trace gases in the atmosphere. The oxygen isotopic composition ofnitrate (Δ17O(nitrate)) is determined by the relativeimportance of NOx sinks and thus can provide an observationalconstraint for NOx chemistry. Until recently, the ability to utilizeΔ17O(nitrate) observations for this purpose was hindered by ourlack of knowledge about the oxygen isotopic composition of ozone (Δ17O(O3)). Recent and spatially widespread observations of Δ17O(O3) motivate an updated comparison of modeled andobserved Δ17O(nitrate) and a reassessment of modeled nitrateformation pathways. Model updates based on recent laboratory studies ofheterogeneous reactions render dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5)hydrolysis as important as NO2 + OH (both 41 %) for globalinorganic nitrate production near the surface (below 1 km altitude). Allother nitrate production mechanisms individually represent less than 6 %of global nitrate production near the surface but can be dominant locally.Updated reaction rates for aerosol uptake of NO2 result in significantreduction of nitrate and nitrous acid (HONO) formed through this pathway inthe model and render NO2 hydrolysis a negligible pathway for nitrateformation globally. Although photolysis of aerosol nitrate may haveimplications for NOx, HONO, and oxidant abundances, it does notsignificantly impact the relative importance of nitrate formation pathways.Modeled Δ17O(nitrate) (28.6±4.5 ‰)compares well with the average of a global compilation of observations (27.6±5.0 ‰) when assuming Δ17O(O3) = 26 ‰, giving confidence in the model'srepresentation of the relative importance of ozone versus HOx (= OH + HO2 + RO2) in NOx cycling and nitrate formation on theglobal scale. 

Abstract. We use the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model to examine theinfluence of bromine release from blowing-snow sea salt aerosol (SSA) onspringtime bromine activation and O3 depletion events (ODEs) in theArctic lower troposphere. We evaluate our simulation against observations oftropospheric BrO vertical column densities (VCDtropo) from the GOME-2 (second Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment)and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) spaceborne instruments for 3 years (2007–2009), as well asagainst surface observations of O3. We conduct a simulation withblowing-snow SSA emissions from first-year sea ice (FYI; with a surface snowsalinity of 0.1 psu) and multi-year sea ice (MYI; with a surface snowsalinity of 0.05 psu), assuming a factor of 5 bromide enrichment of surfacesnow relative to seawater. This simulation captures the magnitude ofobserved March–April GOME-2 and OMI VCDtropo to within 17 %, as wellas their spatiotemporal variability (r=0.76–0.85). Many of the large-scalebromine explosions are successfully reproduced, with the exception of eventsin May, which are absent or systematically underpredicted in the model. Ifwe assume a lower salinity on MYI (0.01 psu), some of the bromine explosionsevents observed over MYI are not captured, suggesting that blowing snow overMYI is an important source of bromine activation. We find that the modeledatmospheric deposition onto snow-covered sea ice becomes highly enriched inbromide, increasing from enrichment factors of ∼5 inSeptember–February to 10–60 in May, consistent with composition observations of freshly fallen snow. We propose that this progressive enrichment indeposition could enable blowing-snow-induced halogen activation to propagateinto May and might explain our late-spring underestimate in VCDtropo.We estimate that the atmospheric deposition of SSA could increase snow salinityby up to 0.04 psu between February and April, which could be an importantsource of salinity for surface snow on MYI as well as FYI covered by deepsnowpack. Inclusion of halogen release from blowing-snow SSA in oursimulations decreases monthly mean Arctic surface O3 by 4–8 ppbv(15 %–30 %) in March and 8–14 ppbv (30 %–40 %) in April. We reproduce atransport event of depleted O3 Arctic air down to 40∘ Nobserved at many sub-Arctic surface sites in early April 2007. While oursimulation captures 25 %–40 % of the ODEs observed at coastal Arctic surfacesites, it underestimates the magnitude of many of these events and entirelymisses 60 %–75 % of ODEs. This difficulty in reproducing observed surfaceODEs could be related to the coarse horizontal resolution of the model, theknown biases in simulating Arctic boundary layer exchange processes, thelack of detailed chlorine chemistry, and/or the fact that we did not includedirect halogen activation by snowpack chemistry. 

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. 

We present a simulation of the global present-day composition of the troposphere which includes the chemistry of halogens (Cl, Br, I). Building on previous work within the GEOS-Chem model we include emissions of inorganic iodine from the oceans, anthropogenic and biogenic sources of halogenated gases, gas phase chemistry, and a parameterised approach to heterogeneous halogen chemistry. Consistent with Schmidt et al. (2016) we do not include sea-salt debromination. Observations of halogen radicals (BrO, IO) are sparse but the model has some skill in reproducing these. Modelled IO shows both high and low biases when compared to different datasets, but BrO concentrations appear to be modelled low. Comparisons to the very sparse observations dataset of reactive Cl species suggest the model represents a lower limit of the impacts of these species, likely due to underestimates in emissions and therefore burdens. Inclusion of Cl, Br, and I results in a general improvement in simulation of ozone (O₃) concentrations, except in polar regions where the model now underestimates O₃ concentrations. Halogen chemistry reduces the global tropospheric O₃ burden by 18.6 %, with the O₃ lifetime reducing from 26 to 22 days. Global mean OH concentrations of 1.28  ×  10⁶ molecules cm⁻³ are 8.2 % lower than in a simulation without halogens, leading to an increase in the CH₄ lifetime (10.8 %) due to OH oxidation from 7.47 to 8.28 years. Oxidation of CH₄ by Cl is small (∼  2 %) but Cl oxidation of other VOCs (ethane, acetone, and propane) can be significant (∼  15–27 %). Oxidation of VOCs by Br is smaller, representing 3.9 % of the loss of acetaldehyde and 0.9 % of the loss of formaldehyde. 

Abstract Marine cloud brightening (MCB) is proposed to offset global warming by emitting sea salt aerosols to the tropical marine boundary layer, which increases aerosol and cloud albedo. Sea salt aerosol is the main source of tropospheric reactive chlorine (Cl_y) and bromine (Br_y). The effects of additional sea salt on atmospheric chemistry have not been explored. We simulate sea salt aerosol injections for MCB under two scenarios (212–569 Tg/a) in the GEOS‐Chem global chemical transport model, only considering their impacts as a halogen source. Globally, tropospheric Cl_yand Br_yincrease (20–40%), leading to decreased ozone (−3 to −6%). Consequently, OH decreases (−3 to −5%), which increases the methane lifetime (3–6%). Our results suggest that the chemistry of the additional sea salt leads to minor total radiative forcing compared to that of the sea salt aerosol itself (~2%) but may have potential implications for surface ozone pollution in tropical coastal regions.