Articles | Volume 18, issue 16
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11647-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11647-2018
Research article
 | 
16 Aug 2018
Research article |  | 16 Aug 2018

Nitrogen isotope fractionation during gas-to-particle conversion of NOx to NO3 in the atmosphere – implications for isotope-based NOx source apportionment

Yunhua Chang, Yanlin Zhang, Chongguo Tian, Shichun Zhang, Xiaoyan Ma, Fang Cao, Xiaoyan Liu, Wenqi Zhang, Thomas Kuhn, and Moritz F. Lehmann

Related authors

Chemical and optical properties of carbonaceous aerosols in Nanjing, eastern China: regionally transported biomass burning contribution
Xiaoyan Liu, Yan-Lin Zhang, Yiran Peng, Lulu Xu, Chunmao Zhu, Fang Cao, Xiaoyao Zhai, M. Mozammel Haque, Chi Yang, Yunhua Chang, Tong Huang, Zufei Xu, Mengying Bao, Wenqi Zhang, Meiyi Fan, and Xuhui Lee
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 11213–11233, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11213-2019,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11213-2019, 2019
Short summary
First long-term and near real-time measurement of trace elements in China's urban atmosphere: temporal variability, source apportionment and precipitation effect
Yunhua Chang, Kan Huang, Mingjie Xie, Congrui Deng, Zhong Zou, Shoudong Liu, and Yanlin Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11793–11812, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11793-2018,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11793-2018, 2018
Short summary
Assessment of carbonaceous aerosols in Shanghai, China – Part 1: long-term evolution, seasonal variations, and meteorological effects
Yunhua Chang, Congrui Deng, Fang Cao, Chang Cao, Zhong Zou, Shoudong Liu, Xuhui Lee, Jun Li, Gan Zhang, and Yanlin Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 9945–9964, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9945-2017,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9945-2017, 2017
Short summary
Source apportionment of atmospheric ammonia before, during, and after the 2014 APEC summit in Beijing using stable nitrogen isotope signatures
Yunhua Chang, Xuejun Liu, Congrui Deng, Anthony J. Dore, and Guoshun Zhuang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 11635–11647, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11635-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11635-2016, 2016
Short summary
The importance of vehicle emissions as a source of atmospheric ammonia in the megacity of Shanghai
Yunhua Chang, Zhong Zou, Congrui Deng, Kan Huang, Jeffrey L. Collett, Jing Lin, and Guoshun Zhuang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3577–3594, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3577-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3577-2016, 2016
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Field Measurements | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Diverse sources and aging change the mixing state and ice nucleation properties of aerosol particles over the western Pacific and Southern Ocean
Jiao Xue, Tian Zhang, Keyhong Park, Jinpei Yan, Young Jun Yoon, Jiyeon Park, and Bingbing Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7731–7754, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7731-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7731-2024, 2024
Short summary
The water-insoluble organic carbon in PM2.5 of typical Chinese urban areas: light-absorbing properties, potential sources, radiative forcing effects, and a possible light-absorbing continuum
Yangzhi Mo, Jun Li, Guangcai Zhong, Sanyuan Zhu, Shizhen Zhao, Jiao Tang, Hongxing Jiang, Zhineng Cheng, Chongguo Tian, Yingjun Chen, and Gan Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7755–7772, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7755-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7755-2024, 2024
Short summary
Measurement report: Size-resolved secondary organic aerosol formation modulated by aerosol water uptake in wintertime haze
Jing Duan, Ru-Jin Huang, Ying Wang, Wei Xu, Haobin Zhong, Chunshui Lin, Wei Huang, Yifang Gu, Jurgita Ovadnevaite, Darius Ceburnis, and Colin O'Dowd
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7687–7698, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7687-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7687-2024, 2024
Short summary
In situ measurement of organic aerosol molecular markers in urban Hong Kong during a summer period: temporal variations and source apportionment
Hongyong Li, Xiaopu Lyu, Likun Xue, Yunxi Huo, Dawen Yao, Haoxian Lu, and Hai Guo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7085–7100, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7085-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7085-2024, 2024
Short summary
Technical note: Determining chemical composition of atmospheric single particles by a standard-free mass calibration algorithm
Shao Shi, Jinghao Zhai, Xin Yang, Yechun Ruan, Yuanlong Huang, Xujian Chen, Antai Zhang, Jianhuai Ye, Guomao Zheng, Baohua Cai, Yaling Zeng, Yixiang Wang, Chunbo Xing, Yujie Zhang, Tzung-May Fu, Lei Zhu, Huizhong Shen, and Chen Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7001–7012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7001-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7001-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Alexander, B., Hastings, M. G., Allman, D. J., Dachs, J., Thornton, J. A., and Kunasek, S. A.: Quantifying atmospheric nitrate formation pathways based on a global model of the oxygen isotopic composition (Δ17O) of atmospheric nitrate, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 5043–5056, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-9-5043-2009, 2009.
Altieri, K. E., Hastings, M. G., Gobel, A. R., Peters, A. J., and Sigman, D. M.: Isotopic composition of rainwater nitrate at Bermuda: the influence of air mass source and chemistry in the marine boundary layer, J. Geophys. Res., 118, 11304–311316, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50829, 2013.
Anenberg, S. C., Miller, J., Minjares, R., Du, L., Henze, D. K., Lacey, F., Malley, C. S., Emberson, L., Franco, V., Klimont, Z., and Heyes, C.: Impacts and mitigation of excess diesel-related NOx emissions in 11 major vehicle markets, Nature, 545, 467–471, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22086, 2017.
Böhlke, J. K., Mroczkowski, S. J., and Coplen, T. B.: Oxygen isotopes in nitrate: new reference materials for 18O : 17O : 16O measurements and observations on nitrate-water equilibration, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 17, 1835–1846, https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.1123, 2003.
Cao, F., Zhang, S. C., Kawamura, K., and Zhang, Y. L.: Inorganic markers, carbonaceous components and stable carbon isotope from biomass burning aerosols in Northeast China, Sci. Total Environ., 572, 1244–1251, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.09.099, 2016.
Download
Short summary
We demonstrate that it is imperative that future studies, making use of isotope mixing models to gain conclusive constraints on the source partitioning of atmospheric NOx, consider this N isotope fractionation. Future assessments of NOx emissions in China (and elsewhere) should involve simultaneous δ15N and δ18O measurements of atmospheric nitrate and NOx at high spatiotemporal resolution, allowing former N-isotope-based NOx source partitioning estimates to be reevaluated more quantitatively.
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint