scholarly journals Modelling molecular iodine emissions in a coastal marine environment: the link to new particle formation

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 5405-5439 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Saiz-Lopez ◽  
J. M. C. Plane ◽  
G. McFiggans ◽  
P. I. Williams ◽  
S. M. Ball ◽  
...  

Abstract. A model of iodine chemistry in the marine boundary layer (MBL) has been used to investigate the impact of daytime coastal emissions of molecular iodine (I2). The model contains a full treatment of gas-phase iodine chemistry, combined with a description of the nucleation and growth, by condensation and coagulation, of iodine oxide nano-particles. In-situ measurements of coastal emissions of I2 made by the broadband cavity ring-down spectroscopy (BBCRDS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) techniques are presented and compared to long path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) observations of I2 at Mace Head, Ireland. Simultaneous measurements of enhanced I2 emissions and particle bursts show that I2 is almost certainly the main precursor of new particles at this coastal location. The ratio of IO to I2 predicted by the model indicates that the iodine species observed by the DOAS are concentrated over a short distance (about 8% of the 4.2 km light path) consistent with the intertidal zone, bringing them into good agreement with the I2 measurements made by the two in-situ techniques. The model is then used to investigate the effect of iodine emission on ozone depletion, and the production of new particles and their evolution to form stable cloud condensation nuclei (CCN).

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 883-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Saiz-Lopez ◽  
J. M. C. Plane ◽  
G. McFiggans ◽  
P. I. Williams ◽  
S. M. Ball ◽  
...  

Abstract. A model of iodine chemistry in the marine boundary layer (MBL) has been used to investigate the impact of daytime coastal emissions of molecular iodine (I2). The model contains a full treatment of gas-phase iodine chemistry, combined with a description of the nucleation and growth, by condensation and coagulation, of iodine oxide nano-particles. In-situ measurements of coastal emissions of I2 made by the broadband cavity ring-down spectroscopy (BBCRDS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) techniques are presented and compared to long path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) observations of I2 at Mace Head, Ireland. Simultaneous measurements of enhanced I2 emissions and particle bursts show that I2 is almost certainly the main precursor of new particles at this coastal location. The ratio of IO to I2 predicted by the model indicates that the iodine species observed by the DOAS are concentrated over a short distance (about 8% of the 4.2 km light path) consistent with the intertidal zone, bringing them into good agreement with the I2 measurements made by the two in-situ techniques. The model is then used to investigate the effect of iodine emission on ozone depletion, and the production of new particles and their evolution to form stable cloud condensation nuclei (CCN).


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 361-390
Author(s):  
R.-J. Huang ◽  
K. Seitz ◽  
J. Buxmann ◽  
D. Poehler ◽  
K. E. Hornsby ◽  
...  

Abstract. "Single-point" in situ measurements of molecular iodine (I2) were carried out in the coastal marine boundary layer (MBL) using diffusion denuders in combination with a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. Comparison measurements were taken at Mace Head and Mweenish Bay, on the West Coast of Ireland. The observed mixing ratios of I2 at Mweenish Bay are much higher than that at Mace Head, indicating the emissions of I2 are correlated with the local algal biomass density and algae species. The concentration levels of I2 were found to correlate inversely with tidal height and correlate positively with the concentration levels of O3 in the surrounding air. However, the released I2 can also lead to O3 destruction via the reaction of O3 with iodine atoms that are formed by the photolysis of I2 during the day and via the reaction of I2 with NOx at night. IO and OIO were measured by long-path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (LP-DOAS). The results show that the concentrations of both daytime and nighttime IO are correlated with the mixing ratios of I2. OIO was observed not only during the day but also, for the first time at both Mace Head and Mweenish Bay, at night. In addition, I2 was measured simultaneously by the LP-DOAS technique and compared with the "single-point" in situ measurement. The results suggest that the local algae sources dominate the inorganic iodine chemistry at Mace Head and Mweenish Bay.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (23) ◽  
pp. 11823-11838 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Leigh ◽  
S. M. Ball ◽  
J. Whitehead ◽  
C. Leblanc ◽  
A. J. L. Shillings ◽  
...  

Abstract. Iodine emissions from the dominant six macroalgal species in the coastal regions around Roscoff, France, have been modelled to support the Reactive Halogens in the Marine Boundary Layer Experiment (RHaMBLe) undertaken in September 2006. A two-dimensional model is used to explore the relationship between geographically resolved regional emissions (based on maps of seaweed beds in the area and seaweed I2 emission rates previously measured in the laboratory) and in situ point and line measurements of I2 performed respectively by a broadband cavity ringdown spectroscopy (BBCRDS) instrument sited on the shoreline and a long-path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (LP-DOAS) instrument sampling over an extended light path to an off-shore island. The modelled point and line I2 concentrations compare quantitatively with BBCRDS and LP-DOAS measurements, and provide a link between emission fields and the different measurement geometries used to quantify atmospheric I2 concentrations during RHaMBLe. Total I2 emissions over the 100 km2 region around Roscoff are calculated to be 1.7×1019 molecules per second during the lowest tides. During the night, the model replicates I2 concentrations up to 50 pptv measured along the LP-DOAS instrument's line of sight, and predicts spikes of several hundred pptv in certain conditions. Point I2 concentrations up to 50 pptv are also calculated at the measurement site, in broad agreement with the BBCRDS observations. Daytime measured concentrations of I2 at the site correlate with modelled production and transport processes. However substantial recycling of the photodissociated I2 is required for the model to quantitatively match measured concentrations. This result corroborates previous modelling of iodine and NOx chemistry in the semi-polluted marine boundary layer which proposed a mechanism for recycling I2 via the formation, transport and subsequent reactions of the IONO2 reservoir compound. The methodology presented in this paper provides a tool for linking spatially distinct measurements to inhomogeneous and temporally varying emission fields.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 4823-4833 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.-J. Huang ◽  
K. Seitz ◽  
J. Buxmann ◽  
D. Pöhler ◽  
K. E. Hornsby ◽  
...  

Abstract. Discrete in situ atmospheric measurements of molecular iodine (I2) were carried out at Mace Head and Mweenish Bay on the west coast of Ireland using diffusion denuders in combination with a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. I2, IO and OIO were also measured by long-path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (LP-DOAS). The simultaneous denuder and LP-DOAS I2 measurements were well correlated (R2=0.80) but the denuder method recorded much higher concentrations. This can be attributed to the fact that the in situ measurements were made near to macroalgal sources of I2 in the intertidal zone, whereas the LP-DOAS technique provides distance-averaged mixing ratios of an inhomogeneous distribution along the light-path. The observed mixing ratios of I2 at Mweenish Bay were significantly higher than that at Mace Head, which is consistent with differences in local algal biomass density and algal species composition. Above algal beds, levels of I2 were found to correlate inversely with tidal height and positively with the concentrations of O3 in the surrounding air, indicating a role for O3 in the production of I2 from macroalgae, as has been previously suggested from laboratory studies. However, measurements made ~150 m away from the algal beds showed a negative correlation between O3 and I2 during both day and night. We interpret these results to indicate that the released I2 can also lead to O3 destruction via the reaction of O3 with I atoms that are formed by the photolysis of I2 during the day and via the reaction of I2 with NO3 radicals at night. The results show that the concentrations of daytime IO are correlated with the mixing ratios of I2, and suggest that the local algae sources dominate the inorganic iodine chemistry at Mace Head and Mweenish Bay.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 14473-14504
Author(s):  
M. Gil-Ojeda ◽  
M. Navarro-Comas ◽  
L. Gómez-Martín ◽  
J. A. Adame ◽  
A. Saiz-Lopez ◽  
...  

Abstract. Three years of Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAXDOAS) measurements (2011–2013) have been used for estimating the NO2 mixing ratio along a horizontal line of sight from the high mountain Subtropical observatory of Izaña, at 2370 m a.s.l. (NDACC station, 28.3° N, 16.5° W). The method is based on horizontal path calculation from the O2–O2 collisional complex at the 477 nm absorption band which is measured simultaneously to the NO2, and is applicable under low aerosols loading conditions. The MAXDOAS technique, applied in horizontal mode in the free troposphere, minimizes the impact of the NO2 contamination resulting from the arrival of MBL airmasses from thermally forced upwelling breeze during central hours of the day. Comparisons with in-situ observations show that during most of measuring period the MAXDOAS is insensitive or very little sensitive to the upwelling breeze. Exceptions are found during pollution events under southern wind conditions. On these occasions, evidence of fast efficient and irreversible transport from the surface to the free troposphere is found. Background NO2 vmr, representative of the remote free troposphere, are in the range of 20–45 pptv. The observed seasonal evolution shows an annual wave where the peak is in phase with the solar radiation. Model simulations with the chemistry-climate CAM-Chem model are in good agreement with the NO2 measurements, and are used to further investigate the possible drivers of the NO2 seasonality observed at Izaña.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 2975-2999 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. McFiggans ◽  
C. S. E. Bale ◽  
S. M. Ball ◽  
J. M. Beames ◽  
W. J. Bloss ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper presents a summary of the measurements made during the heavily-instrumented Reactive Halogens in the Marine Boundary Layer (RHaMBLe) coastal study in Roscoff on the North West coast of France throughout September 2006. It was clearly demonstrated that iodine-mediated coastal particle formation occurs, driven by daytime low tide emission of molecular iodine, I2, by macroalgal species fully or partially exposed by the receding waterline. Ultrafine particle concentrations strongly correlate with the rapidly recycled reactive iodine species, IO, produced at high concentrations following photolysis of I2. The heterogeneous macroalgal I2 sources lead to variable relative concentrations of iodine species observed by path-integrated and in situ measurement techniques. Apparent particle emission fluxes were associated with an enhanced apparent depositional flux of ozone, consistent with both a direct O3 deposition to macroalgae and involvement of O3 in iodine photochemistry and subsequent particle formation below the measurement height. The magnitude of the particle formation events was observed to be greatest at the lowest tides with the highest concentrations of ultrafine particles growing to the largest sizes, probably by the condensation of anthropogenically-formed condensable material. At such sizes the particles should be able to act as cloud condensation nuclei at reasonable atmospheric supersaturations.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 26421-26489 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. McFiggans ◽  
C. S. E. Bale ◽  
S. M. Ball ◽  
J. M. Beames ◽  
W. J. Bloss ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper presents a summary of the measurements that were made during the heavily-instrumented Reactive Halogens in the Marine Boundary Layer (RHaMBLe) coastal study in Roscoff on the North West coast of France. It was clearly demonstrated that iodine-mediated coastal particle formation occurs, driven by daytime low tide emission of molecular iodine, I2, by macroalgal species fully or partially exposed by the receding waterline. Ultrafine particle concentrations strongly correlate with the rapidly recycled reactive iodine species, IO, produced at high concentrations following photolysis of I2. The heterogeneous macroalgal I2 sources lead to variable relative concentrations of iodine species observed by path-integrated and in situ measurement techniques. Apparent particle emission fluxes were associated with an enhanced apparent depositional flux of ozone, consistent with both a direct O3 deposition to macroalgae and involvement of O3 in iodine photochemistry and subsequent particle formation below the measurement height. The magnitude of the particle formation events was observed to be greatest at the lowest tides with higher concentrations of ultrafine particles growing to much larger sizes, probably by the condensation of anthropogenically-formed condensable material. At such sizes the particles should be able to act as cloud condensation nuclei at reasonable atmospheric supersaturations.


2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 701-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. McFiggans ◽  
H. Coe ◽  
R. Burgess ◽  
J. Allan ◽  
M. Cubison ◽  
...  

Abstract. Renewal of ultrafine aerosols in the marine boundary layer may lead to repopulation of the marine distribution and ultimately determine the concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Thus the formation of nanometre-scale particles can lead to enhanced scattering of incoming radiation and a net cooling of the atmosphere. The recent demonstration of the chamber formation of new particles from the photolytic production of condensable iodine-containing compounds from diiodomethane (CH2I2), (O'Dowd et al., 2002; Kolb, 2002; Jimenez et al., 2003a; Burkholder and Ravishankara, 2003), provides an additional mechanism to the gas-to-particle conversion of sulphuric acid formed in the photo-oxidation of dimethylsulphide for marine aerosol repopulation. CH2I2 is emitted from seaweeds (Carpenter et al., 1999, 2000) and has been suggested as an initiator of particle formation. We demonstrate here for the first time that ultrafine iodine-containing particles are produced by intertidal macroalgae exposed to ambient levels of ozone. The particle composition is very similar both to those formed in the chamber photo-oxidation of diiodomethane and in the oxidation of molecular iodine by ozone. The particles formed in all three systems are similarly aspherical. When small, those formed in the molecular iodine system swell only moderately when exposed to increased humidity environments, and swell progressively less with increasing size; this behaviour occurs whether they are formed in dry or humid environments, in contrast to those in the CH2I2 system. Direct coastal boundary layer observations of molecular iodine, ultrafine particle production and iodocarbons are reported. Using a newly measured molecular iodine photolysis rate, it is shown that, if atomic iodine is involved in the observed particle bursts, it is of the order of at least 1000 times more likely to result from molecular iodine photolysis than diiodomethane photolysis. A hypothesis for molecular iodine release from intertidal macroalgae is presented and the potential importance of macroalgal iodine particles in their contribution to CCN and global radiative forcing are discussed.


Author(s):  
Piotr Dziekan ◽  
Jørgen B. Jensen ◽  
Wojciech W. Grabowski ◽  
Hanna Pawlowska

AbstractThe impact of giant sea salt aerosols released from breaking waves on rain formation in marine boundary layer clouds is studied using large eddy simulations (LES). We perform simulations of marine cumuli and stratocumuli for various concentrations of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and giant CCN (GCCN). Cloud microphysics are modeled with a Lagrangian method that provides key improvements in comparison to previous LES of GCCN that used Eulerian bin microphysics. We find that GCCN significantly increase precipitation in stratocumuli. This effect is strongest for low and moderate CCN concentrations. GCCN are found to have a smaller impact on precipitation formation in cumuli. These conclusions are in agreement with field measurements. We develop a simple parameterization of the effect of GCCN on precipitation, accretion, and autoconversion rates in marine stratocumuli.


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