Articles | Volume 25, issue 22
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-16945-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-16945-2025
Research article
 | 
27 Nov 2025
Research article |  | 27 Nov 2025

A nitrate photolysis source of tropospheric HONO is incompatible with current understanding of atmospheric chemistry

Matthew J. Rowlinson, Lucy J. Carpenter, Mat J. Evans, James D. Lee, Simone T. Andersen, Tomas Sherwen, Anna B. Callaghan, Roberto Sommariva, William Bloss, Siqi Hou, Leigh R. Crilley, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Benjamin Weyland, Thomas B. Ryerson, Patrick R. Veres, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Hongyu Guo, Benjamin A. Nault, Jose L. Jimenez, and Khanneh Wadinga Fomba

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Cited articles

Alexander, B., Sherwen, T., Holmes, C. D., Fisher, J. A., Chen, Q., Evans, M. J., and Kasibhatla, P.: Global inorganic nitrate production mechanisms: comparison of a global model with nitrate isotope observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3859–3877, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3859-2020, 2020. 
Andersen, S. T., Carpenter, L. J., Nelson, B. S., Neves, L., Read, K. A., Reed, C., Ward, M., Rowlinson, M. J., and Lee, J. D.: Long-term NOx measurements in the remote marine tropical troposphere, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3071–3085, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3071-2021, 2021. 
Atkinson, R., Baulch, D. L., Cox, R. A., Crowley, J. N., Hampson, R. F., Hynes, R. G., Jenkin, M. E., Rossi, M. J., and Troe, J.: Evaluated kinetic and photochemical data for atmospheric chemistry: Volume I – gas phase reactions of Ox, HOx, NOx and SOx species, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 4, 1461–1738, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-4-1461-2004, 2004. 
Badia, A., Iglesias-Suarez, F., Fernandez, R. P., Cuevas, C. A., Kinnison, D. E., Lamarque, J.-F., Griffiths, P. T., Tarasick, D. W., Liu, J., and Saiz-Lopez, A.: The Role of Natural Halogens in Global Tropospheric Ozone Chemistry and Budget Under Different 21st Century Climate Scenarios, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126, e2021JD034859, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD034859, 2021. 
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Short summary
HONO is key to tropospheric chemistry. Observations show high HONO concentrations in remote air, possibly explained by nitrate aerosol photolysis. We use observations to parameterize nitrate photolysis, evaluating simulated HONO against observations from multiple sources. We show improved agreement with observed HONO, but overestimates in NOx and O3, beyond observational constraints. This implies uncertainties in the NOx budget and our understanding of atmospheric chemistry.
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