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[Last updated: August 8, 2008]
Mapping volatile organic compound emissions using formaldehyde measurements from satellites
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Volatile organic compounds (VOC) is an
important class of atmospheric constituents, impacting the production of
ozone, the oxidation power of the atmosphere, the lifetime of other green
house gases and pollutants, and the production of organic aerosols.
VOCs are emitted into the atmosphere from both natural and anthropogenic activities, and quantifying these many overlapping sources can be a challenge. We use satellite observations of formaldehyde (HCHO), an oxidation product of many VOCs, to make 'top-down' estimates of VOC emissions from each source. Publication: Fu et al. [2007], Millet et al. [2007], Palmer et al. [2006] |
Sources and production mechanisms of organic aerosols
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Secondary organic aerosols (SOA) are the
organic mass transferred into the particulate phase in the atmosphere.
Many recent observations have found SOA concentrations to be much higher
than can be explained by current models in most parts of the atmosphere. Using a global 3-D atmospheric chemistry model, we investigate the missing source of SOA. In particular, we find that the heteorogeneous uptake of dicarbonyls in aeorsols and clouds can help explained the observed SOA concentrations and variability. Publication: Fu et al., [2008b], Fu et al. [2008a], Henze et al. [2008] |
Global budget of atmospheric oxygenated organics
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Oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs), including
acetone, methanol, etc, are present in high concentrations throughout the
atmosphere. Their abundance and distribution have large impacts on the
oxidation power of the troposphere, particularly in remote regions.
The budgets of OVOCs are not well understood. One of the major sources of uncertainty is whether the ocean acts as a source or a sink to the atmosphere. The air/sea exchange is complexly regulated by both physical and biological conditions at the interface. We propose a new air/sea transfer module to account for these physical and biological processes, including the presence of microfilms, production/consumption of organic matter by marine life, and other photochemical processes. |
[Last updated: August 8, 2008]