Concentrations of OH and HO 2 radicals during NAMBLEX: measurements and steady state analysis

• Main Authors: S. C. Smith, J. D. Lee, W. J. Bloss, G. P. Johnson, T. Ingham, D. E. Heard
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2006
• Subjects: Physics; QC1-999; Chemistry; QD1-999; Mace; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/1c3e67edb2044598bfbd0a2f18101bc8

OH and HO 2 concentrations were measured simultaneously at the Mace Head Atmospheric Research Station in the summer of 2002 during the NAMBLEX (North Atlantic Marine Boundary Layer EXperiment) field campaign. OH was measured by laser-induced fluorescence employing the FAGE (Fluorescence Assay by Gas Expansion) technique, with a mean daytime detection limit of 2.7×10 5 molecule cm −3 (5 min acquisition period; signal-to-noise ratio = 1). HO 2 was detected as OH following its chemical conversion through addition of NO, with a mean detection limit of 4.4×10 6 molecule cm −3 . The diurnal variation of OH was measured on 24 days, and that of HO 2 on 17 days. The local solar noon OH concentrations ranged between (3–8)×10 6 molecule cm −3 , with a 24 h mean concentration of 9.1×10 5 molecule cm −3 . The local solar noon HO 2 concentrations were (0.9–2.1)×10 8 molecule cm −3 (3.5–8.2 pptv), with a 24 h mean concentration of 4.2×10 7 molecule cm −3 (1.6 pptv). HO 2 radicals in the range (2–3)×10 7 molecule cm −3 were observed at night. During NAMBLEX, a comprehensive suite of supporting measurements enabled a detailed study of the behaviour of HO x radicals under primarily clean marine conditions. Steady state expressions are used to calculate OH and HO 2 concentrations and to evaluate the effect of different free-radical sources and sinks. The diurnally averaged calculated to measured OH ratio was 1.04±0.36, but the ratio displays a distinct diurnal variation, being less than 1 during the early morning and late afternoon/evening, and greater than 1 in the middle of the day. For HO 2 there was an overprediction, with the agreement between calculated and measured concentrations improved by including reaction with measured IO and BrO radicals and uptake to aerosols. Increasing the concentration of IO radicals included in the calculations to above that measured by a DOAS instrument with an absorption path located mainly over the ocean, reflecting the domination of the inter-tidal region as an iodine source at Mace Head, led ...