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Science 6 January 2006:
Vol. 311. no. 5757, pp. 67 - 70
DOI: 10.1126/science.1120120
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Reports

Variability in Nocturnal Nitrogen Oxide Processing and Its Role in Regional Air Quality

S. S. Brown,1* T. B. Ryerson,1 A. G. Wollny,1,2 C. A. Brock,1 R. Peltier,3 A. P. Sullivan,3 R. J. Weber,3 W. P. Dubé,1,2 M. Trainer,1 J. F. Meagher,1 F. C. Fehsenfeld,1,2 A. R. Ravishankara1,4

Nitrogen oxides in the lower troposphere catalyze the photochemical production of ozone (O3) pollution during the day but react to form nitric acid, oxidize hydrocarbons, and remove O3 at night. A key nocturnal reaction is the heterogeneous hydrolysis of dinitrogen pentoxide, N2O5. We report aircraft measurements of NO3 and N2O5, which show that the N2O5 uptake coefficient, g(N2O5), on aerosol particles is highly variable and depends strongly on aerosol composition, particularly sulfate content. The results have implications for the quantification of regional-scale O3 production and suggest a stronger interaction between anthropogenic sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions than previously recognized.

1 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Earth System Research Laboratory, R/CSD2, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.
2 Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
3 School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
4 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: steven.s.brown{at}noaa.gov

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