Daytime Oxidized Reactive Nitrogen Partitioning in Western U.S. Wildfire Smoke Plumes

Julieta F. Juncosa Calahorrano; Jakob Lindaas; Katelyn O'Dell; Brett B. Palm; Qiaoyun Peng; Frank Flocke; Ilana B. Pollack; Lauren A. Garofalo; Delphine K. Farmer; Jeffrey R. Pierce; Jeffrey L. Collett; Andrew Weinheimer; Teresa Campos; Rebecca S. Hornbrook; Samuel R. Hall; Kirk Ullmann; Matson A. Pothier; Eric C. Apel; Wade Permar; Lu Hu; Alan J. Hills; Deedee Montzka; Geoff Tyndall; Joel A. Thornton; Emily V. Fischer

doi:10.1029/2020JD033484

Daytime Oxidized Reactive Nitrogen Partitioning in Western U.S. Wildfire Smoke Plumes

Julieta F. Juncosa Calahorrano, Jakob Lindaas, Katelyn O'Dell, Brett B. Palm, Qiaoyun Peng, Frank Flocke, Ilana B. Pollack, Lauren A. Garofalo, Delphine K. Farmer, Jeffrey R. Pierce, Jeffrey L. Collett, Andrew Weinheimer, Teresa Campos, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Samuel R. Hall, Kirk Ullmann, Matson A. Pothier, Eric C. Apel, Wade Permar, Lu HuAlan J. Hills, Deedee Montzka, Geoff Tyndall, Joel A. Thornton, Emily V. Fischer

Chemistry and Biochemistry

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Abstract

The Western Wildfire Experiment for Cloud Chemistry, Aerosol Absorption, and Nitrogen (WE-CAN) deployed the NSF/NCAR C-130 aircraft in summer 2018 across the western U.S. to sample wildfire smoke during its first days of atmospheric evolution. We present a summary of a subset of reactive oxidized nitrogen species (NO_y) in plumes sampled in a pseudo-Lagrangian fashion. Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x = NO + NO₂) and nitrous acid (HONO) are rapidly converted to more oxidized forms. Within 4 h, ∼86% of the ΣNO_y is in the form of peroxy acyl nitrates (PANs) (∼37%), particulate nitrate (pNO₃) (∼27%), and gas-phase organic nitrates (Org N_(g)) (∼23%). The average e-folding time and distance for NO_x are ∼90 min and ∼40 km, respectively. Nearly no enhancements in nitric acid (HNO₃) were observed in plumes sampled in a pseudo-Lagrangian fashion, implying HNO₃-limited ammonium nitrate (NH₄NO₃) formation, with one notable exception that we highlight as a case study. We also summarize the observed partitioning of NO_y in all the smoke samples intercepted during WE-CAN. In smoke samples intercepted above 3 km above sea level (ASL), the contributions of PANs and pNO₃ to ΣNO_y increase with altitude. WE-CAN also sampled smoke from multiple fires mixed with anthropogenic emissions over the California Central Valley. We distinguish samples where anthropogenic NO_x emissions appear to lead to an increase in NO_x abundances by a factor of four and contribute to additional PAN formation.

Original language	English
Article number	e2020JD033484
Journal	Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Volume	126
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033484
State	Published - Feb 27 2021

Funding

Funding for this work was provided by the US National Science Foundation (NSF award numbers: AGS‐1650786, AGS‐1650275, AGS‐1950327, and AGS‐1652688) and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under award number NA17OAR4310010. This material is based upon work supported by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is a major facility sponsored by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement No. 1852977.

Funders	Funder number
AGS‐1650786, 1852977, AGS‐1652688, AGS‐1950327, AGS‐1650275, 1650786, 1652688
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration	NA17OAR4310010
National Center for Atmospheric Research

Keywords

biomass burning
oxidized reactive nitrogen
smoke plumes

Access to Document

10.1029/2020JD033484

Cite this

Juncosa Calahorrano, J. F., Lindaas, J., O'Dell, K., Palm, B. B., Peng, Q., Flocke, F., Pollack, I. B., Garofalo, L. A., Farmer, D. K., Pierce, J. R., Collett, J. L., Weinheimer, A., Campos, T., Hornbrook, R. S., Hall, S. R., Ullmann, K., Pothier, M. A., Apel, E. C., Permar, W., ... Fischer, E. V. (2021). Daytime Oxidized Reactive Nitrogen Partitioning in Western U.S. Wildfire Smoke Plumes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126(4), Article e2020JD033484. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033484

@article{9299d58cbb1e41ba9e2078666f11e4e6,

title = "Daytime Oxidized Reactive Nitrogen Partitioning in Western U.S. Wildfire Smoke Plumes",

abstract = "The Western Wildfire Experiment for Cloud Chemistry, Aerosol Absorption, and Nitrogen (WE-CAN) deployed the NSF/NCAR C-130 aircraft in summer 2018 across the western U.S. to sample wildfire smoke during its first days of atmospheric evolution. We present a summary of a subset of reactive oxidized nitrogen species (NOy) in plumes sampled in a pseudo-Lagrangian fashion. Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) and nitrous acid (HONO) are rapidly converted to more oxidized forms. Within 4 h, ∼86\% of the ΣNOy is in the form of peroxy acyl nitrates (PANs) (∼37\%), particulate nitrate (pNO3) (∼27\%), and gas-phase organic nitrates (Org N(g)) (∼23\%). The average e-folding time and distance for NOx are ∼90 min and ∼40 km, respectively. Nearly no enhancements in nitric acid (HNO3) were observed in plumes sampled in a pseudo-Lagrangian fashion, implying HNO3-limited ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) formation, with one notable exception that we highlight as a case study. We also summarize the observed partitioning of NOy in all the smoke samples intercepted during WE-CAN. In smoke samples intercepted above 3 km above sea level (ASL), the contributions of PANs and pNO3 to ΣNOy increase with altitude. WE-CAN also sampled smoke from multiple fires mixed with anthropogenic emissions over the California Central Valley. We distinguish samples where anthropogenic NOx emissions appear to lead to an increase in NOx abundances by a factor of four and contribute to additional PAN formation.",

keywords = "biomass burning, oxidized reactive nitrogen, smoke plumes",

author = "\{Juncosa Calahorrano\}, \{Julieta F.\} and Jakob Lindaas and Katelyn O'Dell and Palm, \{Brett B.\} and Qiaoyun Peng and Frank Flocke and Pollack, \{Ilana B.\} and Garofalo, \{Lauren A.\} and Farmer, \{Delphine K.\} and Pierce, \{Jeffrey R.\} and Collett, \{Jeffrey L.\} and Andrew Weinheimer and Teresa Campos and Hornbrook, \{Rebecca S.\} and Hall, \{Samuel R.\} and Kirk Ullmann and Pothier, \{Matson A.\} and Apel, \{Eric C.\} and Wade Permar and Lu Hu and Hills, \{Alan J.\} and Deedee Montzka and Geoff Tyndall and Thornton, \{Joel A.\} and Fischer, \{Emily V.\}",

year = "2021",

month = feb,

day = "27",

doi = "10.1029/2020JD033484",

language = "English",

volume = "126",

journal = "Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres",

issn = "2169-897X",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd",

number = "4",

}

Juncosa Calahorrano, JF, Lindaas, J, O'Dell, K, Palm, BB, Peng, Q, Flocke, F, Pollack, IB, Garofalo, LA, Farmer, DK, Pierce, JR, Collett, JL, Weinheimer, A, Campos, T, Hornbrook, RS, Hall, SR, Ullmann, K, Pothier, MA, Apel, EC, Permar, W, Hu, L, Hills, AJ, Montzka, D, Tyndall, G, Thornton, JA & Fischer, EV 2021, 'Daytime Oxidized Reactive Nitrogen Partitioning in Western U.S. Wildfire Smoke Plumes', Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, vol. 126, no. 4, e2020JD033484. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033484

TY - JOUR

T1 - Daytime Oxidized Reactive Nitrogen Partitioning in Western U.S. Wildfire Smoke Plumes

AU - Juncosa Calahorrano, Julieta F.

AU - Lindaas, Jakob

AU - O'Dell, Katelyn

AU - Palm, Brett B.

AU - Peng, Qiaoyun

AU - Flocke, Frank

AU - Pollack, Ilana B.

AU - Garofalo, Lauren A.

AU - Farmer, Delphine K.

AU - Pierce, Jeffrey R.

AU - Collett, Jeffrey L.

AU - Weinheimer, Andrew

AU - Campos, Teresa

AU - Hornbrook, Rebecca S.

AU - Hall, Samuel R.

AU - Ullmann, Kirk

AU - Pothier, Matson A.

AU - Apel, Eric C.

AU - Permar, Wade

AU - Hu, Lu

AU - Hills, Alan J.

AU - Montzka, Deedee

AU - Tyndall, Geoff

AU - Thornton, Joel A.

AU - Fischer, Emily V.

PY - 2021/2/27

Y1 - 2021/2/27

N2 - The Western Wildfire Experiment for Cloud Chemistry, Aerosol Absorption, and Nitrogen (WE-CAN) deployed the NSF/NCAR C-130 aircraft in summer 2018 across the western U.S. to sample wildfire smoke during its first days of atmospheric evolution. We present a summary of a subset of reactive oxidized nitrogen species (NOy) in plumes sampled in a pseudo-Lagrangian fashion. Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) and nitrous acid (HONO) are rapidly converted to more oxidized forms. Within 4 h, ∼86% of the ΣNOy is in the form of peroxy acyl nitrates (PANs) (∼37%), particulate nitrate (pNO3) (∼27%), and gas-phase organic nitrates (Org N(g)) (∼23%). The average e-folding time and distance for NOx are ∼90 min and ∼40 km, respectively. Nearly no enhancements in nitric acid (HNO3) were observed in plumes sampled in a pseudo-Lagrangian fashion, implying HNO3-limited ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) formation, with one notable exception that we highlight as a case study. We also summarize the observed partitioning of NOy in all the smoke samples intercepted during WE-CAN. In smoke samples intercepted above 3 km above sea level (ASL), the contributions of PANs and pNO3 to ΣNOy increase with altitude. WE-CAN also sampled smoke from multiple fires mixed with anthropogenic emissions over the California Central Valley. We distinguish samples where anthropogenic NOx emissions appear to lead to an increase in NOx abundances by a factor of four and contribute to additional PAN formation.

AB - The Western Wildfire Experiment for Cloud Chemistry, Aerosol Absorption, and Nitrogen (WE-CAN) deployed the NSF/NCAR C-130 aircraft in summer 2018 across the western U.S. to sample wildfire smoke during its first days of atmospheric evolution. We present a summary of a subset of reactive oxidized nitrogen species (NOy) in plumes sampled in a pseudo-Lagrangian fashion. Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) and nitrous acid (HONO) are rapidly converted to more oxidized forms. Within 4 h, ∼86% of the ΣNOy is in the form of peroxy acyl nitrates (PANs) (∼37%), particulate nitrate (pNO3) (∼27%), and gas-phase organic nitrates (Org N(g)) (∼23%). The average e-folding time and distance for NOx are ∼90 min and ∼40 km, respectively. Nearly no enhancements in nitric acid (HNO3) were observed in plumes sampled in a pseudo-Lagrangian fashion, implying HNO3-limited ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) formation, with one notable exception that we highlight as a case study. We also summarize the observed partitioning of NOy in all the smoke samples intercepted during WE-CAN. In smoke samples intercepted above 3 km above sea level (ASL), the contributions of PANs and pNO3 to ΣNOy increase with altitude. WE-CAN also sampled smoke from multiple fires mixed with anthropogenic emissions over the California Central Valley. We distinguish samples where anthropogenic NOx emissions appear to lead to an increase in NOx abundances by a factor of four and contribute to additional PAN formation.

KW - biomass burning

KW - oxidized reactive nitrogen

KW - smoke plumes

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85101751651

U2 - 10.1029/2020JD033484

DO - 10.1029/2020JD033484

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85101751651

SN - 2169-897X

VL - 126

JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

IS - 4

M1 - e2020JD033484

ER -

Daytime Oxidized Reactive Nitrogen Partitioning in Western U.S. Wildfire Smoke Plumes

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Keywords

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