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Highly oxygenated molecules (HOMs) from the atmospheric oxidation of biogenic volatile organic compounds are important contributors to secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Organic peroxy radicals (RO 2) and hydroperoxy radicals (HO 2) are key species influencing the HOM product distribution. In laboratory studies, experimental requirements often result in overemphasis on RO 2 cross-reactions compared to reactions of RO 2 with HO 2. We analyzed the photochemical formation of HOMs from α -pinene and their potential to contribute to SOA formation under high (≈1 /1) and low (≈1 /100) HO2/RO2 conditions. As HO2/RO2 > 1 is prevalent in the daytime atmosphere, sufficiently high HO2/RO2 is crucial to mimic atmospheric conditions and to prevent biases by low HO2/RO2 on the HOM product distribution and thus SOA yield. Experiments were performed under steady-state conditions in the new, continuously stirred tank reactor SAPHIR-STAR at Forschungszentrum Jülich. The HO2/RO2 ratio was increased by adding CO while keeping the OH concentration constant. We determined the HOM's SOA formation potential, considering its fraction remaining in the gas phase after seeding with (NH 4)2 SO 4 aerosol. An increase in HO2/RO2 led to a reduction in SOA formation potential, with the main driver being a ∼ 60 % reduction in HOM-accretion products. We also observed a shift in HOM-monomer functionalization from carbonyl to hydroperoxide groups. We determined a reduction of the HOM's SOA formation potential by ∼ 30 % at HO2/RO2 ≈1 /1 compared to HO2/RO2 ≈ 1/100. Particle-phase observations measured a similar decrease in SOA mass and yield. Our study shows that too low HO2/RO2 ratios compared to the atmosphere can lead to an overestimation of SOA yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North Atlantic Climate System: Integrated Study (ACSIS) was a large multidisciplinary research programme funded by the United Kingdom's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). ACSIS ran from 2016-22 and brought together around 80 scientists from seven leading UK-based environmental research institutes to deliver major advances in understanding North Atlantic climate variability and extremes. Here we present an overview of the data generated by the ACSIS programme. The datasets cover the full North Atlantic System comprising: the North Atlantic Ocean, the atmosphere above it including its composition, Arctic Sea Ice and the Greenland Ice Sheet. Atmospheric composition datasets include measurements from 7 aircraft campaigns (between 3 and 10 flights each, 0-10 km altitude range) in the north eastern Atlantic (~40° W-5° E,~15° N-55° N) made at intervals of from 6 months to 2 years between February 2017 and may 2022. The flights measured chemical species (including greenhouse gases, ozone precursors and VOCs) and aerosols (organic, SO4, NH4, NO3, and nss-Cl) (https://dx.doi.org/10.5285/6285564c34a246fc9ba5ce053d85e5e7 (FAAM et al. (2024)). Ground based stations at the Cape Verde Atmospheric Observatory (CVAO), Penlee Point Atmospheric Observatory (PPAO) and Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) recorded ozone, ozone precursors, halocarbons, as well as greenhouse gases (CO2, methane), SO2 and photolysis rates. (CVAO, http://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/81693aad69409100b1b9a247b9ae75d5, National Centre for Atmospheric Science et al. (2014)), O3 and CH4 (PPAO, https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/8f1ff8ea77534e08b03983685990a9b0 (Plymouth Marine Laboratory and Yang (2024)) and aerosols (PML, https://dx.doi.org/10.5285/e74491c96ef24df29a9342a3d57b5939, Smyth (2024)). Complementary model simulations of atmospheric composition were performed with the UK Earth System Model, UKESM1, for the period 1982 to 2020 using CMIP6 historical forcing up to 2014 and SSP3-7.0 scenario from 2015-2020. Model temperature and winds were relaxed towards ERA reanalysis. Monthly mean model data for ozone, NO, NO2, CO, methane, stratospheric ozone tracers and 30 regionally emitted tracers are available to download (https://data.ceda.ac.uk/badc/acsis/UKESM1-hindcasts, Abraham (2024)). ACSIS also generated new ocean heat content diagnostics https://doi.org/10/g6wm, https://doi.org/10/g8g2, Moat et al. (2021a-b) and gridded temperature and salinity based on objectively mapped Argo measurements https://doi.org/10.5285/fe8e524d-7f04-41f3-e053-6c86abc04d51 (King (2023). An ensemble of atmosphere-forced global ocean-sea ice simulations using the NEMO-CICE model was performed with horizontal resolutions of 1/4° and 1/12° covering the period 1958-2020 using several different atmosphere reanalysis based surface forcing datasets, supplemented by additional global simulations and standalone sea ice model simulations with advanced sea ice physics using the CICE model (http://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/770a885a8bc34d51ad71e87ef346d6a8, Megann et al. (2021e). Output is stored as monthly averages and includes 3D potential temperature, salinity, zonal, meridional and vertical velocity; 2D sea surface height, mixed layer depth, surface heat and freshwater fluxes, ice concentration and thickness and a wide variety of other variables. In addition to the data presented here we provide a brief overview of several other datasets that were generated during ACSIS which have been described previously in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly oxygenated molecules (HOM) from the atmospheric oxidation of biogenic volatile organic compounds are important contributors to secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Organic peroxy radicals (RO2) and hydroperoxy radicals (HO2) are key species influencing the HOM product distribution. In laboratory studies experimental requirements often result in overemphasis of RO2 cross-reactions compared to reactions of RO2 with HO2. We analyzed the photochemical formation of HOMs from α-pinene and their potential to contribute to SOA formation under high (≈1/1) and low (≈1/100) HO2/RO2 conditions. As HO2/RO2 > 1 is prevalent in the daytime atmosphere, sufficiently high HO2/RO2 is crucial to mimic atmospheric conditions and to prevent biases by low HO2/RO2 on the HOM product distribution and thus SOA yield. Experiments were performed under steady-state conditions in the new, continuously stirred tank reactor SAPHIR-STAR at Forschungszentrum Jülich. The HO2/RO2 ratio was increased by adding CO, while keeping the OH concentration constant. We determined the HOM's SOA formation potential, considering their fraction remaining in the gas phase after seeding with (NH4)2SO4 aerosol. Increase of HO2/RO2 led to a reduction in SOA formation potential, with the main driver being a ≈60 % reduction in HOM-accretion products. We also observed a shift in HOM-monomer functionalization from carbonyl to hydroperoxide groups. We determined a reduction of the HOM's SOA formation potential by ≈30 % at HO2/RO2≈1/1. Particle phase observations measured an about according decrease in SOA mass and yield. Our study showed that too low HO2/RO2 ratios compared to the atmosphere can lead to an overestimation of SOA yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of heterogeneous uptake of HO2 onto aerosol surfaces on radical concentrations and the O3 production regime in Beijing summertime was investigated. The uptake coefficient of HO2 onto aerosol surfaces, γHO2, was calculated for the AIRPRO campaign in Beijing, Summer 2017, as a function of measured aerosol soluble copper concentration, [Cu2+]eff, aerosol liquid water content, [ALWC], and particulate matter concentration, [PM]. An average γHO2 across the entire campaign of 0.070 ± 0.035 was calculated, with values ranging from 0.002 to 0.15, and found to be significantly lower than the value of γHO2=0.2, commonly used in modelling studies. Using the calculated γHO2 values for the Summer AIRPRO campaign, OH, HO2 and RO2 radical concentrations were modelled using a box-model incorporating the Master Chemical Mechanism (v3.3.1), with and without the addition of γHO2, and compared to the measured radical concentrations. Rate of destruction analysis showed the dominant HO2 loss pathway to be HO2 + NO for all NO concentrations across the Summer Beijing campaign with HO2 uptake contributing < 0.3 % to the total loss of HO2 on average. This result for Beijing summertime would suggest that under most conditions encountered, HO2 uptake onto aerosol surfaces is not important to consider when investigating increasing O3 production with decreasing [PM] across the North China Plain. At low [NO], however, i.e. < 0.1 ppb, which was often encountered in the afternoons, up to 29% of modelled HO2 loss was due to HO2 uptake on aerosols when calculated γHO2 was included, even with the much lower γHO2 values compared to γHO2=0.2, a results which agrees with the aerosol-inhibited O3 regime recently proposed by Ivatt et al., 2022. As such it can be concluded that in cleaner environments, away from polluted urban centres where HO2 loss chemistry is not dominated by NO but where aerosol surface area is high still, changes in PM concentration and hence aerosol surface area could still have a significant effect on both overall HO2 concentration and the O3 production regime. Using modelled radical concentrations, the absolute O3 sensitivity to NOx and VOC showed that, on average across the summer AIRPRO campaign, the O3 production regime remained VOC-limited, with the exception of a few days in the afternoon when the NO mixing ratio dropped low enough for the O3 regime to shift towards NOx-limited. The O3 sensitivity to VOC, the dominant regime during the summer AIRPRO campaign, was observed to decrease and shift towards a NOx sensitive regime both when NO mixing ratio decreased and with the addition of aerosol uptake. This suggests that if [NOx] continues to decrease in the future, ozone reduction policies focussing solely on NOx reductions may not be as efficient as expected if [PM] and, hence, HO2 uptake to aerosol surfaces, continues to decrease. The addition of aerosol uptake into the model, for both the γHO2 calculated from measured data and when using a fixed value of γHO2=0.2, did not have a significant effect on the overall O3 production regime across the campaign. While not important for this campaign, aerosol uptake could be important for areas of lower NO concentration that are already in a NOx-sensitive regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigate the influence of isoprene on the volatility of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed during the photo-oxidation of mixtures of anthropogenic and biogenic precursors. The SOA particle volatility was quantified using two independent experimental techniques (using a thermal denuder and the Filter Inlet for Gas and Aerosols iodide high-resolution time-of-flight Chemical Ionisation Mass Spectrometer – FIGAERO-CIMS) in mixtures of α -pinene/isoprene, o -cresol/isoprene, and α -pinene/ o -cresol/isoprene. Single-precursor experiments at various initial concentrations and results from previous α -pinene/ o -cresol experiments were used as a reference. The oxidation of isoprene did not result in the formation of detectable SOA particle mass in single-precursor experiments. However, isoprene-derived products were identified in the mixed systems, likely due to the increase in the total absorptive mass. The addition of isoprene resulted in mixture-dependent influence on the SOA particle volatility. Isoprene made no major change to the volatility of α -pinene SOA particles, though changes in the SOA particle composition were observed and the volatility was reasonably predicted based on the additivity. Isoprene addition increased o -cresol SOA particle volatility by ∼5/15 % of the total mass/signal, respectively, indicating a potential to increase the overall volatility that cannot be predicted based on the additivity. The addition of isoprene to the α -pinene/ o -cresol system (i.e. α -pinene/ o -cresol/isoprene) resulted in slightly fewer volatile particles than those measured in the α -pinene/ o -cresol systems. The measured volatility in the α -pinene/ o -cresol/isoprene system had an ∼6 % higher low volatile organic compound (LVOC) mass/signal compared to that predicted assuming additivity with a correspondingly lower semi-volatile organic compound (SVOC) fraction. This suggests that any effects that could increase the SOA volatility from the addition of isoprene are likely outweighed by the formation of lower-volatility compounds in more complex anthropogenic–biogenic precursor mixtures. Detailed chemical composition measurements support the measured volatility distribution changes and showed an abundance of unique-to-the-mixture products appearing in all the mixed systems accounting for around 30 %–40 % of the total particle-phase signal. Our results demonstrate that the SOA particle volatility and its prediction can be affected by the interactions of the oxidized products in mixed-precursor systems, and further mechanistic understanding is required to improve their representation in chemical transport models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigate the influence of isoprene on the volatility of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed during the photo-oxidation of mixtures of anthropogenic and biogenic precursors. The SOA particle volatility was quantified using two independent experimental techniques (use of a thermal denuder and FIGAERO-CIMS) in mixtures of a-pinene/isoprene, o-cresol/isoprene and a-pinene/o-cresol/isoprene. Single-precursor experiments at various initial concentrations and results from previous a-pinene/o-cresol experiments were used as reference. The oxidation of isoprene did not result in the formation of detectable SOA mass in single-precursor experiments, however isoprene-derived products appeared in mixed systems, likely due to the increase in the total absorptive mass. Addition of isoprene resulted in mixturedependent influence on the SOA particle volatility. Isoprene made no major change to the volatility of a-pinene SOA particles though changes in the SOA particle composition were observed, with volatility predicted reasonably based on the additivity. Isoprene addition increased o-cresol SOA particle volatility by ~5/15% of the total mass/signal, respectively, indicating a potential to increase the overall volatility that cannot be predicted based on the additivity. The addition of isoprene to the a-pinene/o-cresol system (i.e., a-pinene/o-cresol/isoprene) resulted in slightly less-volatile particles than those measured in the a-pinene/o-cresol systems. The measured volatility in the a-pinene/o-cresol/isoprene system had ~6% higher LVOC mass/signal compared to that predicted assuming additivity with a correspondingly lower SVOC fraction. This suggests that any effects that could increase the SOA volatility from the addition of isoprene are likely outweighed from the formation of lower volatility compounds in more complex anthropogenic-biogenic precursor mixtures. Detailed chemical composition measurements support the measured volatility distribution changes and showed an abundance of unique-to-themixture products appearing in all the mixed systems accounting for around 30-40% of the total particle phase signal. Our results demonstrate that the SOA particle volatility and its prediction can be affected by the interactions of the oxidised products in mixed precursor systems and further mechanistic understanding is required to improve their representation in chemical transport models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]