Aqueous-Phase Chemistry of In-Cloud Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation

Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Brunswick NJ

Investigators

Abstract

This project focuses on secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation by reactions of organic precursors (including glyoxal, methylglyoxal, and acetic acid) in the aqueous phase. The central hypothesis is that cloud processing of small organics is a substantial source of SOA in the atmosphere. The PIs will 1) conduct aqueous phase photochemical batch reactions to investigate the products, pathways and kinetics of key aqueous-phase reactions likely to produce SOA, 2) evaporate droplets of reaction solutions over the course of timed experiments to provide data on SOA yields, 3) incorporate the results into an in-cloud chemical model, and 4) provide an improved estimate of the global contribution of SOA formed through cloud processing. The resulting chemical model will be available to others for incorporation into global or regional models designed to study climate change, visibility, and regional air quality. The broader impacts of this work include a "faculty internship opportunity" for a postdoctoral researcher, support and mentoring for a graduate student, and an introduction to research for a minority undergraduate student. This work will also make publicly available an in-cloud "chemical module" for use by modelers. Ultimately, this work will aid air quality management, both globally and regionally.