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This paper examines the spatiotemporal impact of changing local precursor emissions on a subset of air quality monitors in the coastal Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada, over a 25-year ...

Routine monitoring stations on the west coast of North America serve to monitor baseline levels of criteria pollutants such as ozone (O3) arriving from the Pacific Ocean. In Canada, the Amphitrite Point Observatory (APO) on Vancouver Island has been added to this network to provide regional baseline measurements. In 2014, McKendry, I. G., Christensen, E., Schiller, C., Vingarzan, R., Macdonald, A. M., & Li, Y. (2014) reported frequent nocturnal O3 depletion events (ODEs) at APO that generally correlated with alongshore winds, elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), and stable boundary layer conditions but the cause (causes) for this remains (remain) unclear.This manuscript presents results from the Ozone-depleting Reactions in a Coastal Atmosphere (ORCA) campaign, which took place in July 2015 to further investigate ODEs at APO. In addition to the long-term measurements at the site (e.g., CO2 and O3 mixing ratios), abundances of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) and aerosol size ...

This study addresses, through two types of experiments, the potential for the oceans to act as a source of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles (INPs). The INP concentration via deposition mode nucleation was measured in situ at a coastal site in British Columbia in August 2013. The INP concentration at conditions relevant to cirrus clouds (i.e., −40 °C and relative humidity with respect to ice, RH ice = 139%) ranged from 0.2 L −1 to 3.3 L −1 . Correlations of the INP concentrations with levels of anthropogenic tracers (i.e., CO, SO 2 , NO x , and black carbon) and numbers of fluorescent particles do not indicate a significant influence from anthropogenic sources or submicron bioaerosols, respectively. Additionally, the INPs measured in the deposition mode showed a poor correlation with the concentration of particles with sizes larger than 500 nm, which is in contrast with observations made in the immersion freezing mode. To investigate the nature of particles that could have acted as deposition INP, laboratory experiments with potential marine aerosol particles were conducted under the ice-nucleating conditions used in the field. At −40 °C, no deposition activity was observed with salt aerosol particles (sodium chloride and two forms of commercial sea salt: Sigma-Aldrich and Instant Ocean), particles composed of a commercial source of natural organic matter (Suwannee River humic material), or particle mixtures of sea salt and humic material. In contrast, exudates from three phytoplankton ( Thalassiosira pseudonana, Nanochloris atomus, and Emiliania huxleyi ) and one marine bacterium ( Vibrio harveyi ) exhibited INP activity at low RH ice values, down to below 110%. This suggests that the INPs measured at the field site were of marine biological origins, although we cannot rule out other sources, including mineral dust.

Despite the importance of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) for climate and precipitation, our understanding of these particles is far from complete. Here, we investigated INPs at three coastal marine sites in Canada, two at mid-latitude (Amphitrite Point and Labrador Sea) and one in the Arctic (Lancaster Sound). For Amphitrite Point, 23 sets of samples were analyzed, and for Labrador Sea and Lancaster Sound, one set of samples was analyzed for each location. At all three sites, the ice-nucleating ability on a per number basis (expressed as the fraction of aerosol particles acting as an INP) was strongly dependent on the particle size. For example, at diameters of around 0.2 µm, approximately 1 in 106 particles acted as an INP at −25 ∘C, while at diameters of around 8 µm, approximately 1 in 10 particles acted as an INP at −25 ∘C. The ice-nucleating ability on a per surface-area basis (expressed as the surface active site density, ns) was also dependent on the particle size, with larger particles being more efficient at nucleating ice. The ns values of supermicron particles at Amphitrite Point and Labrador Sea were larger than previously measured ns values of sea spray aerosols, suggesting that sea spray aerosols were not a major contributor to the supermicron INP population at these two sites. Consistent with this observation, a global model of INP concentrations under-predicted the INP concentrations when assuming only marine organics as INPs. On the other hand, assuming only K-feldspar as INPs, the same model was able to reproduce the measurements at a freezing temperature of −25 ∘C, but under-predicted INP concentrations at −15 ∘C, suggesting that the model is missing a source of INPs active at a freezing temperature of −15 ∘C.

Information on what aerosol particle types are the major sources of ice nucleating particles (INPs) in the atmosphere is needed for climate predictions. To determine which aerosol particles are the major sources of immersion-mode INPs at a coastal site in Western Canada, we investigated correlations between INP number concentrations and both concentrations of different atmospheric particles and meteorological conditions. We show that INP number concentrations are strongly correlated with the number concentrations of fluorescent bioparticles between −15 and −25 °C, and that the size distribution of INPs is most consistent with the size distribution of fluorescent bioparticles. We conclude that biological particles were likely the major source of ice nuclei at freezing temperatures between −15 and −25 °C at this site for the time period studied. At −30 °C, INP number concentrations are also well correlated with number concentrations of the total aerosol particles ≥ 0.5 μm, suggesting that non-biological particles may have an important contribution to the population of INPs active at this temperature. As we found that black carbon particles were unlikely to be a major source of ice nuclei during this study, these non-biological INPs may include mineral dust. Furthermore, correlations involving chemical tracers of marine aerosols and marine biological activity, sodium and methanesulfonic acid, indicate that the majority of INPs measured at the coastal site likely originated from terrestrial rather than marine sources. Finally, six existing empirical parameterizations of ice nucleation were tested to determine if they accurately predict the measured INP number concentrations. We found that none of the parameterizations selected are capable of predicting INP number concentrations with high accuracy over the entire temperature range investigated. This finding illustrates that additional measurements are needed to improve parameterizations of INPs and their subsequent climatic impacts.

The nocturnal nitrogen oxides, which include the nitrate radical (NO 3 ), dinitrogen pentoxide (N 2 O 5 ), and its uptake product on chloride containing aerosol, nitryl chloride (ClNO 2 ), can have profound impacts on the lifetime of NO x (= NO + NO 2 ), radical budgets, and next-day photochemical ozone (O 3 ) production, yet their abundances and chemistry are only sparsely constrained by ambient air measurements. Here, we present a measurement data set collected at a routine monitoring site near the Abbotsford International Airport (YXX) located approximately 30 km from the Pacific Ocean in the Lower Fraser Valley (LFV) on the West coast of British Columbia. Measurements were made from July 20 to August 4, 2012, and included mixing ratios of ClNO 2 , N 2 O 5 , NO, NO 2 , total odd nitrogen (NO y ), O 3 , photolysis frequencies, and size distribution and composition of non-refractory submicron aerosol. At night, O 3 was rapidly and often completely removed by dry deposition and by titration with NO of anthropogenic origin and unsaturated biogenic hydrocarbons in a shallow nocturnal inversion surface layer. The low nocturnal O 3 mixing ratios and presence of strong chemical sinks for NO 3 limited the extent of nocturnal nitrogen oxide chemistry at ground level. Consequently, mixing ratios of N 2 O 5 and ClNO 2 were low ( 2 frequently peaked 1–2 hours after sunrise rationalized by more efficient formation of ClNO 2 in the nocturnal residual layer aloft than at the surface and the breakup of the nocturnal boundary layer structure in the morning. When quantifiable, production of ClNO 2 from N 2 O 5 was efficient and likely occurred predominantly on unquantified supermicron sized or refractory sea salt derived aerosol. After sunrise, production of Cl radicals from photolysis of ClNO 2 was negligible compared to production of OH from the reaction of O( 1 D) + H 2 O except for a short period after sunrise.

At Amphitrite Point, ozone (O3) mixing ratios are observed to drop steadily to 5–15 ppb over a period of 12 hours or less with a frequency approaching one event per week (with highest frequencies occurring in summer and fall). Analysis of 47 such O3 depletion events reveals that low O3 episodes are a predominantly nocturnal phenomenon associated with anticyclonic conditions characterized by light onshore or alongshore winds and an absence of fog and mist. Back-trajectories show air carried to the Amphitrite Point Observatory (APO) during depletion events remains in the marine boundary layer and is not brought to the surface from aloft. There is no strong correlation with other “criteria” pollutants (CO, NOx, SO2, PM2.5) that might be indicative of a mechanism for O3 destruction linked to human, terrestrial, or marine pollutant sources. However, CO2 mixing ratios are observed to increase, coincident with O3 depletion. Together, these results point to a natural marine boundary layer phenomenon in wh...

Biomass burning emissions emit a significant amount of trace gases and aerosols and can affect atmospheric chemistry and radiative forcing for hundreds or thousands of kilometres downwind. They can also contribute to exceedances of air quality standards and have negative impacts on human health. We present a case study of an intense wildfire plume from Siberia that affected the air quality across the Pacific Northwest on 6–10 July 2012. Using satellite measurements (MODIS True Colour RGB imagery and MODIS AOD), we track the wildfire smoke plume from its origin in Siberia to the Pacific Northwest where subsidence ahead of a subtropical Pacific High made the plume settle over the region. The normalized enhancement ratios of O3 and PM1 relative to CO of 0.26 and 0.08 are consistent with a plume aged 6–10 days. The aerosol mass in the plume was mainly submicron in diameter (PM1 ∕ PM2.5 = 0.96) and the part of the plume sampled at the Whistler High Elevation Monitoring Site (2182 m a.s.l.) was 88 % organic material. Stable atmospheric conditions along the coast limited the initial entrainment of the plume and caused local anthropogenic emissions to build up. A synthesis of air quality from the regional surface monitoring networks describes changes in ambient O3 and PM2.5 during the event and contrasts them to baseline air quality estimates from the AURAMS chemical transport model without wildfire emissions. Overall, the smoke plume contributed significantly to the exceedances in O3 and PM2.5 air quality standards and objectives that occurred at several communities in the region during the event. Peak enhancements in 8 h O3 of 34–44 ppbv and 24 h PM2.5 of 10–32 µg m−3 were attributed to the effects of the smoke plume across the Interior of British Columbia and at the Whistler Peak High Elevation Site. Lesser enhancements of 10–12 ppbv for 8 h O3 and of 4–9 µg m−3 for 24 h PM2.5 occurred across coastal British Columbia and Washington State. The findings suggest that the large air quality impacts seen during this event were a combination of the efficient transport of the plume across the Pacific, favourable entrainment conditions across the BC interior, and the large scale of the Siberian wildfire emissions. A warming climate increases the risk of increased wildfire activity and events of this scale reoccurring under appropriate meteorological conditions.

We describe here a sensitive quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometer (QCLAS) employed for aircraft based measurements during the GABRIEL 2005 and HOOVER 2006 and 2007 campaigns. This 3-channel instrument measures CO, HCHO, CH4 and N2O using a 64-m path double corner cube White cell. Performance of the instrument was examined for the four species and precisions for CO, N2O and CH4 were measured in the field to be 0.5, 0.5 and 0.7% respectively (2σ). The 1σ detection limit for HCHO was ∼500 pptv for a 2 s average, while signal averaging of the HCHO over a 2 min time interval resulted in a 150 pptv detection limit with a duty cycle of 60%.

Detailed information on the size of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) may be useful in source identification, modeling their transport in the atmosphere to improve climate predictions, and determining how effectively or ineffectively instrumentation used for quantifying INPs in the atmosphere captures the full INP population. In this study we report immersion-mode INP number concentrations as a function of size at six ground sites in North America and one in Europe using the micro-orifice uniform-deposit impactor droplet freezing technique (MOUDI-DFT), which combines particle size-segregation by inertial impaction and a microscope-based immersion freezing apparatus. The lowest INP number concentrations were observed at Arctic and alpine locations and the highest at suburban and agricultural locations, consistent with previous studies of INP concentrations in similar environments. We found that 91 ± 9, 79 ± 17, and 63 ± 21 % of INPs had an aerodynamic diameter > 1 µm at ice activation temperatures of −15, −20, and −25 °C, respectively, when averaging over all sampling locations. In addition, 62 ± 20, 55 ± 18, and 42 ± 17 % of INPs were in the coarse mode (> 2.5 µm) at ice activation temperatures of −15, −20, and −25 °C, respectively, when averaging over all sampling locations. These results are consistent with six out of the nine studies in the literature that have focused on the size distribution of INPs in the atmosphere. Taken together, these findings strongly suggest that supermicron and coarse-mode aerosol particles are a significant component of the INP population in many different ground-level environments. Further size-resolved studies of INPs as a function of altitude are required since the size distribution of INPs may be different at high altitudes due to size-dependent removal processes of atmospheric particles.

Measurements of the photodissociation constant for nitrous acid (j HONO) were made at an urban site in Toronto, Canada, during the months of May–July 2005, using an optically thin actinometer. Operating details of the j HONO monitor are reported, along with laboratory tests. Measurements of j HONO were obtained for solar zenith angles ranging from 20–75∘, under clear and cloudy skies. Maximum error estimates on j HONO under clear skies range from 11% at sunrise, to 4% at solar noon, with a minimum detection limit of 5.7 × 10−4/sec for our actinometer. Measured clear-sky values of j HONO were compared with values calculated by a four-stream discrete ordinate radiative transfer (RT) model (ACD TUV version 4.1), and were found to be within better than 10% agreement for solar zenith angles < 65∘. For conditions of scattered cloud, enhancement and suppression of the j HONO values occurred by as much as 16%–70%, and 59%–80%, respectively. The integrated band area of the nπ∗ transition for gas-phase nitrous acid yields an oscillator strength, f = (1.06 ± 0.044)×10−3 (based on clear-sky data), 19.1% higher than the value reported by Bongartz et al. (1991).

We present high resolution measurements of ammonia (NH3) and particle-ammonium (NH4+) collected during the Pacific 2001 experiment at an urban, sub-urban and high elevation site. These data are used to conduct a detailed instrument inter-comparison and to characterize the sites. The data are interpreted with respect to; the degree to which the sites are representative, the degree of sensitivity to inorganic particle burdens to NH3 availability and controls on reduced nitrogen (NHx) variability and partitioning. Ammonia measurements from wet effluent diffusion denuders (WEDD), annular diffusion denuders and a tunable diode laser spectrometer generally lie within a factor of 1.5 across a range of observed concentrations of 0–0.25 μmol m−3, although individual observations differed by more than a factor of two. The high resolution (2 min average) data from the WEDD systems are used to calculate a coefficient of variability which is used to assess the degree to which the measurement sites are spatially representative. The results indicate the sub-urban site is the most spatially representative. Ammonia concentrations at this site exhibit variability on time scales of less than 4 h that is comparable to that of ozone. Data collected in the urban setting indicate persistent measurable NH3 concentrations and that NH4+ dominates NHx. Conversely, the high elevation site shows a much greater degree of variability due in part to the influence of meteorological coupling and decoupling from the underlying valley, domination of NHx by NH3 and a stronger coupling of NH3 and NH4+.

A novel method has been examined for monitoring tropospheric hydroxyl radicals (OH), the most important oxidant in tropospheric chemistry. Aqueous phase salicylic acid reacts with atmospheric OH to produce 2,5-dihydroxy benzoic acid (2,5-DHBA) and other products. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is used to separate the post-reaction solution and the products are quantified using fluorescence detection. Unlike other methods, it has been reported to be inexpensive, portable and relatively simple. Although the sensitivity was sufficient to measure typical daytime OH concentrations of 0.04–0.4 ppt., the method was hindered by numerous interferences. Successive identification and elimination of these still resulted in a signal that was much larger than expected. Tests showed that this was not likely to be due to ozone, HO2, NOx, H2O2, aerosols, light or bacteria. Experimental and numerical studies suggest that the interference could be due to methyl peroxy radicals. The effect of many other components in the atmosphere, both individual and combined, must also be tested before the method can be used reliably in the field. The validity of previous reports of ambient hydroxyl measurements using this technique is therefore brought into question.

The amount of ice present in clouds can affect cloud lifetime, precipitation and radiative properties. The formation of ice in clouds is facilitated by the presence of airborne ice-nucleating particles. Sea spray is one of the major global sources of atmospheric particles, but it is unclear to what extent these particles are capable of nucleating ice. Sea-spray aerosol contains large amounts of organic material that is ejected into the atmosphere during bubble bursting at the organically enriched sea-air interface or sea surface microlayer. Here we show that organic material in the sea surface microlayer nucleates ice under conditions relevant for mixed-phase cloud and high-altitude ice cloud formation. The ice-nucleating material is probably biogenic and less than approximately 0.2 micrometres in size. We find that exudates separated from cells of the marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana nucleate ice, and propose that organic material associated with phytoplankton cell exudates is a likely candidate for the observed ice-nucleating ability of the microlayer samples. Global model simulations of marine organic aerosol, in combination with our measurements, suggest that marine organic material may be an important source of ice-nucleating particles in remote marine environments such as the Southern Ocean, North Pacific Ocean and North Atlantic Ocean.

As one aspect of the NETwork on Climate and Aerosols: Addressing Key Uncertainties in Remote Canadian Environments (NETCARE), measurements of the cloud condensation nucleation properties of 50 and 100 nm aerosol particles were conducted at Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island in August 2013. Additionally, the size-resolved chemical speciation of two particle size ranges (42–75 nm and 78–141nm) was inferred using a combination of ion chromatography and particle size distributions. Together, this information was used to estimate the hygroscopicity parameter of the organic species contained within the ambient aerosol particles (κorg). The overall hygroscopicity parameter of the aerosol (κambient) exhibited a wide variation, ranging from 0.14 to 1.08, with the highest values arising when the organic to sulfate ratio of the aerosol composition was lowest and when the winds were from the west, i.e. off the ocean. Correspondingly, the aerosol's two-day average chemical speciation also showed variation but was consistently dominated by its organic (60 to 86% by mass) and sulfate (10 to 34% by mass) components. With derived values of κorg from 0.3 to 0.5, it is illustrated that the organic component of marine-influenced aerosol can be viewed as quite hygroscopic, somewhat more than typical continental organics but not as much as soluble inorganic components.

During FIELDVOC'94, isoprene and its main degradation products, methyl vinyl ketone (MVK), methacrolein (MAC) and formaldehyde (HCHO) were measured in a Portuguese eucalyptus forest. All compounds were analyzed by two or three different techniques. Isoprene mixing ratios were highest on sunny days (8 to 12 ppbv) correlating with temperature, and lowest at night (

Ambient gas phase nitrous acid (HONO) has been measured by Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy with sub-ppbv detection limits. An R-branch line in the 1263.4 cm−1 ν3 band was found tobe free of interference and suitable for ambient HONO measurements. Nitrous acid was measured during the night and early morning at an urban site in Toronto, Canada, during the summer of 1998. Average mixing ratios, integrated over 30 minutes, ranged from below the minimum detection limit of 300 pptv to 1.9 ppbv, with the highest concentrations observed during the early morning hours. During the night of 19 June 1998, the concentration of HONO increased by as much as 0.5 ppbv/hr. The usual decrease in HONO after sunrise was delayed by a few hours, possibly due to a combination of an increase in the production rate of HONO with rush hour, and attenuation of the early morning light by high NO2 within the aerosol fog/haze.

Very rapid increases in the concentrations of ozone and ozone precursors, in the late afternoon, have been observed at a rural and an urban site in southern Ontario. Ozone concentration increases of 30 ppbv in a few minutes have been observed. These increases occur simultaneously with the arrival of a Lake Ontario lake breeze front as identified from meteorological measurements and visible satellite imagery. This indicates that polluted air masses from over Lake Ontario are being transported inland by the lake breeze. Aircraft measurements of ozone, NOx, and hydrocarbons show such an air mass moving inland. Chemical measurements at the sites show that the polluted air masses are not of local origin, but are of similar age to those regularly encountered in rural areas.

Boreal forests cover approximately 11% of the terrestrial surface of the world or 14.7 million km2 in the circumpolar region of the northern hemisphere. Of this total, approximately one third of these forests are found in Canada. This accounts for on the order of 50% of the total land area in Canada. A static chamber technique was used to determine the fluxes of nitrous oxide and methane from four Boreal forest sites near Cochrane, Ontario (49°03′N,80°40′W), during the summer of 1992. The four sites included a lowland forest, a drained lowland forest, a clear-cut and drained lowland forest, as well as an upland forest. The N2O fluxes ranged from an uptake of 7.7 μg(N2O)/m2/hr from a drainage ditch to an emission of 3.1 μg(N2O)/m2/hr from an unvegetated clear-cut region. The CH4 fluxes ranged from an uptake of 23 μg(CH4)/m2/hr from an upland forest site, to an emission of 2900 μg(CH4)/m2/hr from a drainage ditch. Drainage ditches which contained a large amount of algae exhibited large CH4 production and large N2O uptake.

Measurements of nitrous acid (HONO) were performed as part of the 2007 Border Air Quality and Meteorology Study (BAQS-Met) at the Harrow, Ontario, Canada supersite between 20 June and 10 July 2007. Nitrous acid is an important precursor of the hydroxyl radical and understanding its chemistry is important to understanding daytime oxidation chemistry. The HONO measurements were made using a custom built Long Path Absorption Photometer (LOPAP). The goal of this work was to shed light on sources of daytime HONO in the border region. During the course of the campaign HONO mixing ratios consistently exceeded expected daytime values by more than a factor of 6. Mean daytime mixing ratios of 61 pptv were observed. While HONO decay began at sunrise, minimum HONO values were measured during the late afternoon. There was little difference between the daytime (mean = 1.5%) and night-time (mean = 1.7%) ratios of HONO/NO2, thus there was a very strong daytime source of HONO which is consistent with other recent studies. Correlations of daytime HONO production with a variety of chemical and meteorological parameters indicate that production is dependent on UV radiation, NO2 and water vapour but is not consistent with a simple gas phase process. Apparent rate constants for the production of HONO from photolyticaly excited NO2 and water vapour vary from 2.8–7.8×10−13 cm3 molec−1 s−1, during the campaign. These results appear to be consistent with the heterogeneous conversion of NO2 enhanced by photo-excitation.

We present a comparison of different Lagrangian and chemical box model calculations with measurement data obtained during the GABRIEL campaign over the tropical Atlantic Ocean and the Amazon rainforest in the Guyanas, October 2005. Lagrangian modelling of boundary layer (BL) air constrained by measurements is used to derive a horizontal gradient (≈5.6 pmol/mol km−1) of CO from the ocean to the rainforest (east to west). This is significantly smaller than that derived from the measurements (16–48 pmol/mol km−1), indicating that photochemical production from organic precursors alone cannot explain the observed strong gradient. It appears that HCHO is overestimated by the Lagrangian and chemical box models, which include dry deposition but not exchange with the free troposphere (FT). The relatively short lifetime of HCHO implies substantial BL-FT exchange. The mixing-in of FT air affected by African and South American biomass burning at an estimated rate of 0.12 h−1 increases the CO and decreases the HCHO mixing ratios, improving agreement with measurements. A mean deposition velocity of 1.35 cm/s for H2O2 over the ocean as well as over the rainforest is deduced assuming BL-FT exchange adequate to the results for CO. The measured increase of the organic peroxides from the ocean to the rainforest (≈0.66 nmol/mol d−1) is significantly overestimated by the Lagrangian model, even when using high values for the deposition velocity and the entrainment rate. Our results point at either heterogeneous loss of organic peroxides and/or their radical precursors, underestimated photodissociation or missing reaction paths of peroxy radicals not forming peroxides in isoprene chemistry. We calculate a mean integrated daytime net ozone production (NOP) in the BL of (0.2±5.9) nmol/mol (ocean) and (2.4±2.1) nmol/mol (rainforest). The NOP strongly correlates with NO and has a positive tendency in the boundary layer over the rainforest.

The source strength of atmospheric trace gases from natural ecosystems must be quantified in order to assess the effect of such inputs on the background tropospheric chemistry. A static chamber technique and a gas exchange technique were used to determine the emissions of nitrous oxide from five sites within the Hudson Bay Lowland, as part of the Northern Wetland Study. Two mechanisms, one diffusive and the other episodic, were found likely to be responsible for the emissions of nitrous oxide. The annual diffusive flux ranged from -3.8 mg(N2O)/sq m in a treed bog to 7.9 mg(N2O)/sq m in an open fen. The addition of the episodic flux, increased this range to -2.1 mg(N2O)/sq m and 18.5 mg(N2O)/sq m respectively. These episodic emissions occurred in from 2.5% to 16.7% of the samples during the late summer peak emission period. Since the gas exchange rate could not detect the episodic emissions, it was found to be a poor method for water emission rate determination within the wetland. LANDSAT-Thermatic Mapper (TM) imagery was used to scale the emissions, from the chamber level to an integrated average over the entire Hudson Bay Lowland. The total emission rate of N2O from the Hudson Bay Lowland, was determined to be 1.2 Gg(N2O)/year, of which 80% was attributed to episodic emissions.

As part of the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX), measurements of CH2O were carried out with a tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer on board the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel Ronald H. Brown during spring 1999. The average CH2O concentration measured in pristine southern hemispheric air over the Indian Ocean (IO) was 210 parts per trillion by volume (pptv). CH2O levels measured in the Northern Hemisphere show a strong dependence upon the air mass origin. North of the Intertropical Convergence Zone a mean concentration of 430 pptv was found in surface air over the IO. When the origin of the air masses did not change during the day and the air was not influenced by anthropogenic emissions, a clear diurnal cycle was observed with a minimum in the late morning and a maximum in the late afternoon. The amplitude of the mean diurnal pattern is around 150 pptv in the Southern Hemisphere and around 200 pptv in the Northern Hemisphere. In polluted air masses of the Northern Hemisphere, CH2O is positively correlated with CO. The ratio CH2O/CO is 3.2 × 10−3 indicating well aged air with only a reduced amount of CH2O precursors left. To date, the reason for the observed correlation remains open to speculation.