The annual course of TCA formation in the lower troposphere: a modeling study

• Published in: Environmental Pollution
• Main Authors: Folberth, G., Pfister, G., Baumgartner, D., Putz, E., Weißflog, Ludwig, Elansky, N.P.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2003
• Subjects: Kola Peninsula; kola peninsula
• Online Access: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=4816; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0269-7491(03)00048-4

We present a modeling study investigating the influence of climate conditions and solar radiation intensity on gas-phase trichloroacetic acid (TCA) formation. As part of the ECCA-project (Ecotoxicological Risk in the Caspian Catchment Area), this modeling study uses climate data specific for the two individual climate regimes, namely "Kalmykia" and "Kola Peninsula". A third regime has also been included in this study, namely "Central Europe", which serves as a reference to somehow more moderate climate conditions. The simulations have been performed with a box modeling package (SBOX, photoRACM), which uses Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism (RACM) as its chemistry scheme. For this model a mechanism supplement has been developed including the reaction pathways of methyl chloroform photooxidation. The investigations are completed by a detailed sensitivity study addressing the impact of temperature and relative humidity. Atmospheric OH and HO2 concentrations and the NOx/HO2 ratio were identified as the governing quantities controlling the TCA formation trough methyl chloroform oxidation in the gas phase. Model calculations show a TCA production rate ranging between almost zero and 6.5 x 10(3) molecules cm(-3) day(-1) depending on location and season. In the Kalmykia regime the model predicts mean TCA production rates of 1.3x10(-4) and 5.4 x 10(-5) mug m(-3) year(-1) for the urban and rural environment, respectively. From the comparison of model calculations with measured TCA burdens in the soil ranging between 130 mug m(-3) and 1750 mug m(-3) we conclude that TCA formation through methyl chloroform photooxidation in the gas-phase is probably not the principal atmospheric TCA source in this region.