Articles | Volume 18, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8293-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8293-2018
Research article
 | 
14 Jun 2018
Research article |  | 14 Jun 2018

Sources and characteristics of summertime organic aerosol in the Colorado Front Range: perspective from measurements and WRF-Chem modeling

Roya Bahreini, Ravan Ahmadov, Stu A. McKeen, Kennedy T. Vu, Justin H. Dingle, Eric C. Apel, Donald R. Blake, Nicola Blake, Teresa L. Campos, Chris Cantrell, Frank Flocke, Alan Fried, Jessica B. Gilman, Alan J. Hills, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Greg Huey, Lisa Kaser, Brian M. Lerner, Roy L. Mauldin, Simone Meinardi, Denise D. Montzka, Dirk Richter, Jason R. Schroeder, Meghan Stell, David Tanner, James Walega, Peter Weibring, and Andrew Weinheimer

Related authors

An evaluation of global organic aerosol schemes using airborne observations
Sidhant J. Pai, Colette L. Heald, Jeffrey R. Pierce, Salvatore C. Farina, Eloise A. Marais, Jose L. Jimenez, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Benjamin A. Nault, Ann M. Middlebrook, Hugh Coe, John E. Shilling, Roya Bahreini, Justin H. Dingle, and Kennedy Vu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 2637–2665, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2637-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2637-2020, 2020
Short summary
Modeling the diurnal variability of agricultural ammonia in Bakersfield, California, during the CalNex campaign
Chantelle R. Lonsdale, Jennifer D. Hegarty, Karen E. Cady-Pereira, Matthew J. Alvarado, Daven K. Henze, Matthew D. Turner, Shannon L. Capps, John B. Nowak, J. Andy Neuman, Ann M. Middlebrook, Roya Bahreini, Jennifer G. Murphy, Milos Z. Markovic, Trevor C. VandenBoer, Lynn M. Russell, and Amy Jo Scarino
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 2721–2739, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2721-2017,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2721-2017, 2017
Short summary
Impacts of the Denver Cyclone on regional air quality and aerosol formation in the Colorado Front Range during FRAPPÉ 2014
Kennedy T. Vu, Justin H. Dingle, Roya Bahreini, Patrick J. Reddy, Eric C. Apel, Teresa L. Campos, Joshua P. DiGangi, Glenn S. Diskin, Alan Fried, Scott C. Herndon, Alan J. Hills, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Greg Huey, Lisa Kaser, Denise D. Montzka, John B. Nowak, Sally E. Pusede, Dirk Richter, Joseph R. Roscioli, Glen W. Sachse, Stephen Shertz, Meghan Stell, David Tanner, Geoffrey S. Tyndall, James Walega, Peter Weibring, Andrew J. Weinheimer, Gabriele Pfister, and Frank Flocke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 12039–12058, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-12039-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-12039-2016, 2016
Short summary
Aerosol optical extinction during the Front Range Air Pollution and Photochemistry Éxperiment (FRAPPÉ) 2014 summertime field campaign, Colorado, USA
Justin H. Dingle, Kennedy Vu, Roya Bahreini, Eric C. Apel, Teresa L. Campos, Frank Flocke, Alan Fried, Scott Herndon, Alan J. Hills, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Greg Huey, Lisa Kaser, Denise D. Montzka, John B. Nowak, Mike Reeves, Dirk Richter, Joseph R. Roscioli, Stephen Shertz, Meghan Stell, David Tanner, Geoff Tyndall, James Walega, Petter Weibring, and Andrew Weinheimer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 11207–11217, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11207-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11207-2016, 2016
Short summary
Biogenic VOC oxidation and organic aerosol formation in an urban nocturnal boundary layer: aircraft vertical profiles in Houston, TX
S. S. Brown, W. P. Dubé, R. Bahreini, A. M. Middlebrook, C. A. Brock, C. Warneke, J. A. de Gouw, R. A. Washenfelder, E. Atlas, J. Peischl, T. B. Ryerson, J. S. Holloway, J. P. Schwarz, R. Spackman, M. Trainer, D. D. Parrish, F. C. Fehshenfeld, and A. R. Ravishankara
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11317–11337, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11317-2013,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11317-2013, 2013

Related subject area

Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Field Measurements | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Opinion: How will advances in aerosol science inform our understanding of the health impacts of outdoor particulate pollution?
Imad El Haddad, Danielle Vienneau, Kaspar R. Daellenbach, Robin Modini, Jay G. Slowik, Abhishek Upadhyay, Petros N. Vasilakos, David Bell, Kees de Hoogh, and Andre S. H. Prevot
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11981–12011, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11981-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11981-2024, 2024
Short summary
Measurement report: Intra-annual variability of black carbon and brown carbon and their interrelation with meteorological conditions over Gangtok, Sikkim
Pramod Kumar, Khushboo Sharma, Ankita Malu, Rajeev Rajak, Aparna Gupta, Bidyutjyoti Baruah, Shailesh Yadav, Thupstan Angchuk, Jayant Sharma, Rakesh Kumar Ranjan, Anil Kumar Misra, and Nishchal Wanjari
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11585–11601, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11585-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11585-2024, 2024
Short summary
Long-range transport of air pollutants increases the concentration of hazardous components of PM2.5 in northern South America
Maria P. Velásquez-García, K. Santiago Hernández, James A. Vergara-Correa, Richard J. Pope, Miriam Gómez-Marín, and Angela M. Rendón
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11497–11520, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11497-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11497-2024, 2024
Short summary
Dominant influence of biomass combustion and cross-border transport on nitrogen-containing organic compound levels in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau
Meng Wang, Qiyuan Wang, Steven Sai Hang Ho, Jie Tian, Yong Zhang, Shun-cheng Lee, and Junji Cao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11175–11189, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11175-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11175-2024, 2024
Short summary
Impacts of elevated anthropogenic emissions on physicochemical characteristics of black-carbon-containing particles over the Tibetan Plateau
Jinbo Wang, Jiaping Wang, Yuxuan Zhang, Tengyu Liu, Xuguang Chi, Xin Huang, Dafeng Ge, Shiyi Lai, Caijun Zhu, Lei Wang, Qiaozhi Zha, Ximeng Qi, Wei Nie, Congbin Fu, and Aijun Ding
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11063–11080, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11063-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11063-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Abeleira, A., Pollack, I. B., Sive, B., Zhou, Y., Fischer, E. V., and Farmer, D. K.: Source characterization of volatile organic compounds in the Colorado Northern Front Range Metropolitan Area during spring and summer 2015, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 122, 3595–3613, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016jd026227, 2017.
Adgate, J. L., Goldstein, B. D., and McKenzie, L. M.: Potential Public Health Hazards, Exposures and Health Effects from Unconventional Natural Gas Development, Environ. Sci. Technol., 48, 8307–8320, https://doi.org/10.1021/es404621d, 2014.
Ahmadov, R., McKeen, S. A., Robinson, A. L., Bahreini, R., Middlebrook, A. M., de Gouw, J. A., Meagher, J., Hsie, E.-Y., Edgerton, E., Shaw, S., and Trainer, M.: A volatility basis set model for summertime secondary organic aerosols over the eastern United States in 2006, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 117, D06301, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016831, 2012.
Download
Short summary
We measured organic aerosol (OA) and relevant trace gases during FRAPPÉ in the Colorado Front Range, with the goal of characterizing summertime OA formation. Our results indicate a significant production of secondary OA (SOA) in this region. About 2 μg m−3 of OA was present at background CO levels, suggesting contribution of non-combustion sources to SOA. Contribution of oil- and gas-related activities to anthropogenic SOA was modeled to be ~38 %. Biogenic SOA contributed to >40 % of OA.
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint