Articles | Volume 24, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3421-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3421-2024
Research article
 | Highlight paper
 | 
20 Mar 2024
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 20 Mar 2024

Observations of cyanogen bromide (BrCN) in the global troposphere and their relation to polar surface O3 destruction

James M. Roberts, Siyuan Wang, Patrick R. Veres, J. Andrew Neuman, Michael A. Robinson, Ilann Bourgeois, Jeff Peischl, Thomas B. Ryerson, Chelsea R. Thompson, Hannah M. Allen, John D. Crounse, Paul O. Wennberg, Samuel R. Hall, Kirk Ullmann, Simone Meinardi, Isobel J. Simpson, and Donald Blake

Related authors

Calibration of Hydroxyacetonitrile (HOCH2CN) and Methyl isocyanate (CH3NCO) Isomers using I- Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry (CIMS)
Zachary Finewax, Aparajeo Chattopadhyay, J. Andrew Neuman, James Roberts, and James Burkholder
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-94,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-94, 2024
Preprint under review for AMT
Short summary
Temperature-dependent sensitivity of iodide chemical ionization mass spectrometers
Michael A. Robinson, J. Andrew Neuman, L. Gregory Huey, James M. Roberts, Steven S. Brown, and Patrick R. Veres
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4295–4305, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4295-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4295-2022, 2022
Short summary
Comment on “Isotopic evidence for dominant secondary production of HONO in near-ground wildfire plumes” by Chai et al. (2021)
James M. Roberts
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16793–16795, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16793-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16793-2021, 2021
Short summary
Secondary organic aerosols from anthropogenic volatile organic compounds contribute substantially to air pollution mortality
Benjamin A. Nault, Duseong S. Jo, Brian C. McDonald, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Douglas A. Day, Weiwei Hu, Jason C. Schroder, James Allan, Donald R. Blake, Manjula R. Canagaratna, Hugh Coe, Matthew M. Coggon, Peter F. DeCarlo, Glenn S. Diskin, Rachel Dunmore, Frank Flocke, Alan Fried, Jessica B. Gilman, Georgios Gkatzelis, Jacqui F. Hamilton, Thomas F. Hanisco, Patrick L. Hayes, Daven K. Henze, Alma Hodzic, James Hopkins, Min Hu, L. Greggory Huey, B. Thomas Jobson, William C. Kuster, Alastair Lewis, Meng Li, Jin Liao, M. Omar Nawaz, Ilana B. Pollack, Jeffrey Peischl, Bernhard Rappenglück, Claire E. Reeves, Dirk Richter, James M. Roberts, Thomas B. Ryerson, Min Shao, Jacob M. Sommers, James Walega, Carsten Warneke, Petter Weibring, Glenn M. Wolfe, Dominique E. Young, Bin Yuan, Qiang Zhang, Joost A. de Gouw, and Jose L. Jimenez
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11201–11224, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11201-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11201-2021, 2021
Short summary
The nitrogen budget of laboratory-simulated western US wildfires during the FIREX 2016 Fire Lab study
James M. Roberts, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Robert J. Yokelson, Joost de Gouw, Yong Liu, Vanessa Selimovic, Abigail R. Koss, Kanako Sekimoto, Matthew M. Coggon, Bin Yuan, Kyle J. Zarzana, Steven S. Brown, Cristina Santin, Stefan H. Doerr, and Carsten Warneke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8807–8826, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8807-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8807-2020, 2020
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Gases | Research Activity: Field Measurements | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Deciphering anthropogenic and biogenic contributions to selected non-methane volatile organic compound emissions in an urban area
Arianna Peron, Martin Graus, Marcus Striednig, Christian Lamprecht, Georg Wohlfahrt, and Thomas Karl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7063–7083, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7063-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7063-2024, 2024
Short summary
Emission characteristics of reactive organic gases (ROGs) from industrial volatile chemical products (VCPs) in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China
Sihang Wang, Bin Yuan, Xianjun He, Ru Cui, Xin Song, Yubin Chen, Caihong Wu, Chaomin Wang, Yibo Huangfu, Xiao-Bing Li, Boguang Wang, and Min Shao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7101–7121, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7101-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7101-2024, 2024
Short summary
Measurement report: Enhanced photochemical formation of formic and isocyanic acids in urban regions aloft – insights from tower-based online gradient measurements
Qing Yang, Xiao-Bing Li, Bin Yuan, Xiaoxiao Zhang, Yibo Huangfu, Lei Yang, Xianjun He, Jipeng Qi, and Min Shao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 6865–6882, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6865-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6865-2024, 2024
Short summary
Sources of organic gases and aerosol particles and their roles in nighttime particle growth at a rural forested site in southwest Germany
Junwei Song, Harald Saathoff, Feng Jiang, Linyu Gao, Hengheng Zhang, and Thomas Leisner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 6699–6717, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6699-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6699-2024, 2024
Short summary
Surface snow bromide and nitrate at Eureka, Canada, in early spring and implications for polar boundary layer chemistry
Xin Yang, Kimberly Strong, Alison S. Criscitiello, Marta Santos-Garcia, Kristof Bognar, Xiaoyi Zhao, Pierre Fogal, Kaley A. Walker, Sara M. Morris, and Peter Effertz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5863–5886, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5863-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5863-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Abbatt, J. P. D., Thomas, J. L., Abrahamsson, K., Boxe, C., Granfors, A., Jones, A. E., King, M. D., Saiz-Lopez, A., Shepson, P. B., Sodeau, J., Toohey, D. W., Toubin, C., von Glasow, R., Wren, S. N., and Yang, X.: Halogen activation via interactions with environmental ice and snow in the polar lower troposphere and other regions, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 6237–6271, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-6237-2012, 2012. 
Abrahamsson, K., Granfors, A., Ahnoff, M., Cuevas, C. A., and Saiz-Lopez, A.: Organic bromine compounds produced in sea ice in Antarctic winter, Nature Commun., 9, 5291, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07062-8, 2018. 
Allen, H. M., Crounse, J. D., Kim, M. J., Teng, A. P., Ray, E. A., McKain, K., Sweeny, C., and Wennberg, P. O.: H2O2 and CH3OOH(MHP) in the remote atmosphere: 1. Global distribution and regional influences, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 127, e2021JD035701, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD035701, 2022. 
Anderson, P. S. and Neff, W. D.: Boundary layer physics over snow and ice, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 3563–3582, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-3563-2008, 2008. 
Artiglia, L., Edebeli, J., Orlando, F., Chen, S., Lee, M.-T., Arroyo, P. C., Gilgen, A., Bartels-Rausch, T., Kleibert, A., Vazdar, M., Carignano, M. A., Francisco, J. S., Shepson, P. B., Gladich, I., and Ammann, M.: A surface-stabilized ozonide triggers bromide oxidation at the aqueous solution-vapour interface, Nat. Commun., 8, 700, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00823-x, 2017. 
Download
Executive editor
Bromine chemistry in polar regions is important for the composition of the atmosphere as well as climate. Reactive bromine strongly affects the oxidation capacity and the local ozone budget, and through the export to lower latitudes, it affects the ozone budget and the atmosphere's radiative properties outside polar regions. The newly identified bromine reservoir changes our understanding of the chemical budgets of polar halogens which will have implications for the ozone and mercury removal cycles.
Short summary
We measured cyanogen bromide (BrCN) in the troposphere for the first time. BrCN is a product of the same active bromine chemistry that destroys ozone and removes mercury in polar surface environments and is a previously unrecognized sink for active Br compounds. BrCN has an apparent lifetime against heterogeneous loss in the range 1–10 d, so it serves as a cumulative marker of Br-radical chemistry. Accounting for BrCN chemistry is an important part of understanding polar Br cycling.
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint