Articles | Volume 20, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4013-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4013-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
02 Apr 2020
Research article |
| 02 Apr 2020
| 02 Apr 2020
Missing OH reactivity in the global marine boundary layer
Alexander B. Thames
Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania
State University, University Park, PA, USA
Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania
State University, University Park, PA, USA
David O. Miller
Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania
State University, University Park, PA, USA
Hannah M. Allen
Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute
of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Eric C. Apel
Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National
Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
Donald R. Blake
Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
T. Paul Bui
Earth Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA,
USA
Roisin Commane
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lamont–Doherty Earth
Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
John D. Crounse
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of
Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Bruce C. Daube
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University,
Cambridge, MA, USA
Glenn S. Diskin
Chemistry and Dynamics Branch, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton,
VA, USA
Joshua P. DiGangi
Chemistry and Dynamics Branch, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton,
VA, USA
James W. Elkins
Global Monitoring Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory,
Boulder, CO, USA
Samuel R. Hall
Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National
Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
Thomas F. Hanisco
Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Reem A. Hannun
Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, University of Maryland,
Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD, USA
Eric Hintsa
Global Monitoring Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory,
Boulder, CO, USA
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Rebecca S. Hornbrook
Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National
Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
Michelle J. Kim
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of
Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Kathryn McKain
Global Monitoring Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory,
Boulder, CO, USA
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Fred L. Moore
Global Monitoring Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory,
Boulder, CO, USA
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Julie M. Nicely
Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of
Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Jeffrey Peischl
Global Monitoring Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory,
Boulder, CO, USA
Chemical Sciences Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory,
Boulder, CO, USA
Thomas B. Ryerson
Chemical Sciences Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory,
Boulder, CO, USA
Jason M. St. Clair
Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, University of Maryland,
Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD, USA
Colm Sweeney
Global Monitoring Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory,
Boulder, CO, USA
Alex Teng
Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute
of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Chelsea R. Thompson
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Chemical Sciences Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory,
Boulder, CO, USA
Kirk Ullmann
Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National
Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
Paul O. Wennberg
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of
Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of
Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Glenn M. Wolfe
Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, University of Maryland,
Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD, USA
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31 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Nitrogen oxides in the free troposphere: implications for tropospheric oxidants and the interpretation of satellite NO2 measurements V. Shah et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1227-2023
- An observation-based, reduced-form model for oxidation in the remote marine troposphere C. Baublitz et al. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2209735120
- Observations of atmospheric oxidation and ozone production in South Korea W. Brune et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2021.118854
- Peroxy radical chemistry during ozone photochemical pollution season at a suburban site in the boundary of Jiangsu–Anhui–Shandong–Henan region, China N. Wei et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166355
- HCHO and NO2 profile characteristics under different synoptic patterns in Shanghai, China Y. Shi et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2025.01.028
- Observational Evidence of Unknown NOx Source and Its Perturbation of Oxidative Capacity in Bermuda's Marine Boundary Layer Y. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JD039582
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- Observation and modeling of atmospheric OH and HO2∗ radicals at a subtropical rural site and implications for secondary pollutants Z. Zou et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8147-2025
- Advances in an OH reactivity instrument for airborne field measurements H. Fuchs et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-881-2025
- Atmospheric OH reactivity in the western United States determined from comprehensive gas-phase measurements during WE-CAN W. Permar et al. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2EA00063F
- Constraining the budget of NOx and volatile organic compounds at a remote tropical island using multi-platform observations and WRF-Chem model simulations C. Poraicu et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6903-2025
- Increasing Urban OH Levels in China over the Past Decade R. Xue et al. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c01598
- Shipping and algae emissions have a major impact on ambient air mixing ratios of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) and methanethiol on Utö Island in the Baltic Sea H. Hellén et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4717-2024
- Marine aerosol feedback on biogeochemical cycles and the climate in the Anthropocene: lessons learned from the Pacific Ocean A. Ito et al. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2EA00156J
- Seasonal dependency of the atmospheric oxidizing capacity of the marine boundary layer of Bermuda Y. Elshorbany et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2022.119326
- Influence of Organized Turbulence on OH Reactivity at a Deciduous Forest O. Clifton et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL102548
- OH measurements in the coastal atmosphere of South China: possible missing OH sinks in aged air masses Z. Zou et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7057-2023
- Reactive VOC Production from Photochemical and Heterogeneous Reactions Occurring at the Air–Ocean Interface G. Novak & T. Bertram https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.0c00095
- Investigating the global OH radical distribution using steady-state approximations and satellite data M. Pimlott et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10467-2022
- Hydroxyl (OH) radical oxidation of surfactant films formed from woodland aerosol particulate material at the air-water interface E. Stuckey et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2025.121690
- Investigating the Understanding of Oxidation Chemistry Using 20 Years of Airborne OH and HO2 Observations D. Miller & W. Brune https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD035368
- Selected Ion Flow Tube – Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS) study of the reactions of H3O+, NO+ and O2+ with a range of oxygenated volatile organic carbons (OVOCs) I. Roberts et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijms.2022.116892
- The Global Budget of Atmospheric Methanol: New Constraints on Secondary, Oceanic, and Terrestrial Sources K. Bates et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033439
- Observed versus simulated OH reactivity during KORUS-AQ campaign: Implications for emission inventory and chemical environment in East Asia H. Kim et al. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2022.00030
- BrHgO• + CO: Analogue of OH + CO and Reduction Path for Hg(II) in the Atmosphere D. Khiri et al. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.0c00171
- Electrical Discharges Produce Prodigious Amounts of Hydroxyl and Hydroperoxyl Radicals J. Jenkins et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD034557
- Constraining remote oxidation capacity with ATom observations K. Travis et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7753-2020
- Fast measurement of OH reactivity utilizing laser photolysis-laser induced fluorescence system based on kOH-NLM algorithm Y. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2024.136798
- UAS Chromatograph for Atmospheric Trace Species (UCATS) – a versatile instrument for trace gas measurements on airborne platforms E. Hintsa et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6795-2021
- MAX-DOAS observation in the midlatitude marine boundary layer: Influences of typhoon forced air mass R. Zhang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2021.12.010
- Climate and Tropospheric Oxidizing Capacity A. Fiore et al. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-032320-090307
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 09 Jun 2026
Short summary
Oceans and the atmosphere exchange volatile gases that react with the hydroxyl radical (OH). During a NASA airborne study, measurements of the total frequency of OH reactions, called the OH reactivity, were made in the marine boundary layer of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The measured OH reactivity often exceeded the OH reactivity calculated from measured chemical species. This missing OH reactivity appears to be from unmeasured volatile organic compounds coming out of the ocean.
Oceans and the atmosphere exchange volatile gases that react with the hydroxyl radical (OH)....
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