Nitrous Acid (HONO) Chemistry in the Non-Urban Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Health Research Incorporated/New York State Department Of Health, Menands NY

Investigators

Abstract

This project includes a comprehensive field and laboratory measurement program to study nitrous acid (HONO) in the boundary layer of non-urban environments. Two hypotheses will be tested. The first will examine the possibility that nitric acid photolysis on surfaces constitutes a major daytime source of HONO and serves as a remobilization pathway for nitrogen oxides in the non-urban environment. The second will evaluate the potential for the ground/vegetation surfaces to influence both temporal and spatial HONO distributions in the atmosphere. The field measurements will be conducted at the University of Michigan Biological Station, the location of the Program for Research on Oxidants: PHotochemistry, Emissions, and Transport (PROPHET).