Seasonal and geographical variability of nitryl chloride and its precursors in Northern Europe

Sommariva, R, Hollis, LDJ, Sherwen, T, Baker, AR, Ball, SM, Bandy, BJ, Bell, TG, Chowdhury, M, Cordell, R, Evans, M, Lee, JD, Reed, C, Reeves, CE, Roberts, JM, Yang, M and Monks, PS 2018 Seasonal and geographical variability of nitryl chloride and its precursors in Northern Europe. Atmospheric Science Letters, 19 (8). e844. https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.844

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Abstract/Summary

Measurements of nitryl chloride (ClNO2) and its precursors (O3, NO2, particulate chloride) were made in 2014-2016 at three contrasting locations in the UK: Leicester, Penlee Point and Weybourne. ClNO2 was observed at all sites and in every season, with highest concentrations between 00:00 and 04:00 GMT. The median nocturnal concentration of ClNO2 ranged between the detection limit (4.2 ppt) and 139 ppt. A clear seasonal cycle, with maxima in spring and winter, and significant differences between locations in the same season were observed. The main source of particulate chloride was sea-salt aerosol (including at Leicester, ∼200 km from the coast). In general,ClNO2 levels were controlled by the concentrations of O3 and NO2, rather than by the uptake and reaction of N2O5 with particulate chloride. Under these conditions, the seasonality and geographical distribution of ClNO2 can be explained in terms of O3-limited and NO2-limited regimes affecting the formation of the N2O5 precursor. A global version of the GEOS-Chem model at medium resolution (2x2.5 deg) was not able to fully capture the ob- served seasonality of ClNO2, mostly because the model overestimated the concentrations of the precursors, particularly of nocturnal O3. A higher resolution (0.25x0.3125 deg) version of GEOS-Chem showed better agreement with the observations, although it still overestimated ClNO2 concentrations during summer.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Subjects:	Atmospheric Sciences Chemistry
Divisions:	Plymouth Marine Laboratory > National Capability categories > Long-term Multi-Centre ACSIS Plymouth Marine Laboratory > Science Areas > Marine Biochemistry and Observations
Depositing User:	Mingxi Yang
Date made live:	09 Aug 2018 10:50
Last Modified:	25 Apr 2020 09:59
URI:	https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/7975

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