Influence of crustal dust and sea spray supermicron particle concentrations and acidity on inorganic NO₃⁻ aerosol during the 2013 Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study

Abstract. Inorganic aerosol composition was measured in the southeastern United States, a region that exhibits high aerosol mass loading during the summer, as part of the 2013 Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) campaign. Measurements using a Monitor for AeRosols and GAses (MARGA) revealed two periods of high aerosol nitrate (NO₃⁻) concentrations during the campaign. These periods of high nitrate were correlated with increased concentrations of supermicron crustal and sea spray aerosol species, particularly Na⁺ and Ca²⁺, and with a shift towards aerosol with larger (1 to 2.5 μm) diameters. We suggest this nitrate aerosol forms by multiphase reactions of HNO₃ and particles, reactions that are facilitated by transport of crustal dust and sea spray aerosol from a source within the United States. The observed high aerosol acidity prevents the formation of NH₄NO₃, the inorganic nitrogen species often dominant in fine-mode aerosol at higher pH. Calculation of the rate of the heterogeneous uptake of HNO₃ on mineral aerosol supports the conclusion that aerosol NO₃⁻ is produced primarily by this process, and is likely limited by the availability of mineral cation-containing aerosol surface area. Modeling of NO₃⁻ and HNO₃ by thermodynamic equilibrium models (ISORROPIA II and E-AIM) reveals the importance of including mineral cations in the southeastern United States to accurately balance ion species and predict gas–aerosol phase partitioning.