The Use of Ambient Measurements To Identify which Precursor Species Limit Aerosol Nitrate Formation
Abstract
A thermodynamic equilibrium model was used to investigate the response of aerosol NO₃ to changes in concentrations of HNO₃, NH₃, and H₂SO₄. Over a range of temperatures and relative humidities (RHs), two parameters provided sufficient information for indicating the qualitative response of aerosol NO₃. The first was the excess of aerosol NH₄⁺ plus gas-phase NH₃ over the sum of HNO₃, particulate NO₃, and particulate SO₄²⁻ concentrations. The second was the ratio of particulate to total NO₃ concentrations. Computation of these quantities from ambient measurements provides a means to rapidly analyze large numbers of samples and identify cases in which inorganic aerosol NO₃ formation is limited by the availability of NH₃. Example calculations are presented using data from three field studies. The predictions of the indicator variables and the equilibrium model are compared.
Additional Information
© 2000 Air & Waste Management Association. Support for this work was provided by the Western States Petroleum Association.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 102820
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20200427-152233637
- Western States Petroleum Association
- Created
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2020-04-27Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field