A large and ubiquitous source of atmospheric formic acid

Millet, D. B.; Baasandorj, M.; Farmer, D. K.; Thornton, J. A.; Baumann, K.; Brophy, P.; Chaliyakunnel, S.; de Gouw, J. A.; Graus, M.; Hu, L.; Koss, A.; Lee, B. H.; Lopez-Hilfiker, F. D.; Neuman, J. A.; Paulot, F.; Peischl, J.; Pollack, I. B.; Ryerson, T. B.; Warneke, C.; Williams, B. J.; Xu, J.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6283-2015

Articles | Volume 15, issue 11

Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 6283–6304, 2015

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6283-2015

© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 6283–6304, 2015

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6283-2015

© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 15, issue 11

Research article 09 Jun 2015

Research article | 09 Jun 2015

A large and ubiquitous source of atmospheric formic acid

D. B. Millet et al.

Download

Final revised paper (published on 09 Jun 2015)
Supplement to the final revised paper
Preprint (discussion started on 18 Feb 2015)
Supplement to the preprint

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment

- Printer-friendly version

- Supplement

RC C995: 'Review on « A large and ubiquitous source of atmospheric formic acid »', Anonymous Referee #1, 23 Mar 2015
- AC C2134: 'Response to Reviewer #1', Dylan Millet, 30 Apr 2015
RC C1917: 'Review', Anonymous Referee #2, 27 Apr 2015
- AC C2138: 'Response to Reviewer #2', Dylan Millet, 30 Apr 2015

Peer-review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision

AR by Dylan Millet on behalf of the Authors (30 Apr 2015) Author's response Manuscript

ED: Publish as is (15 May 2015) by Jonathan Williams

Short summary

Formic acid (HCOOH) is an abundant atmospheric acid that affects precipitation chemistry and acidity. HCOOH measurements over the USA are 2-3× larger than can be explained by known sources and sinks, revealing a key gap in current understanding. Observations indicate a large biogenic source plus chemical production across a range of precursors. Model simulations cannot capture the HCOOH diurnal amplitude or nocturnal profile, implying a deposition bias and possibly even larger missing source.