Climatology and atmospheric chemistry of the non-methane hydrocarbons ethane and propane over the North Atlantic

A record spanning ten years of non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) data from the Pico Mountain Observatory (PMO), Pico Island, Azores, Portugal, was analyzed for seasonal NMHC behavior, atmospheric processing, and trends, focusing on ethane and propane. The location of this site in the central North Atla...

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Published in:Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene
Main Authors: Helmig, Detlev, Muñoz, Mauricio, Hueber, Jacques, Mazzoleni, Claudio, Mazzoleni, Lynn R., Owen, Richard C., Val-Martin, Maria, Fialho, Paulo, Plass-Duelmer, Christian, Palmer, Paul I., Lewis, Alastair C., Pfister, Gabriele
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: University of California Press 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10400.3/4556
https://doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000054
id ftunivacores:oai:repositorio.uac.pt:10400.3/4556
record_format openpolar
institution Open Polar
collection Repositório da Universidade dos Açores
op_collection_id ftunivacores
language English
topic Atmospheric Science
Pico Mountain Observatory
Azores Archipelago
spellingShingle Atmospheric Science
Pico Mountain Observatory
Azores Archipelago
Helmig, Detlev
Muñoz, Mauricio
Hueber, Jacques
Mazzoleni, Claudio
Mazzoleni, Lynn R.
Owen, Richard C.
Val-Martin, Maria
Fialho, Paulo
Plass-Duelmer, Christian
Palmer, Paul I.
Lewis, Alastair C.
Pfister, Gabriele
Climatology and atmospheric chemistry of the non-methane hydrocarbons ethane and propane over the North Atlantic
topic_facet Atmospheric Science
Pico Mountain Observatory
Azores Archipelago
description A record spanning ten years of non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) data from the Pico Mountain Observatory (PMO), Pico Island, Azores, Portugal, was analyzed for seasonal NMHC behavior, atmospheric processing, and trends, focusing on ethane and propane. The location of this site in the central North Atlantic, at an elevation of 2225 m asl, allows these data to be used to investigate the background conditions and pollution transport events occurring in the lower free North Atlantic troposphere. The quantity ln([propane]/[ethane]) was used as an indicator of both photochemical processing and a marker for the occurrence of pollution transport events detected at the station. The Pico data were compared with three other continuous NMHC data sets from sites bordering the North Atlantic, i.e. the Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) stations at Summit, Greenland, Hohenpeisssenberg, Germany, and Cape Verde, using ln([propane]/[ethane]) results as an indicator for the degree of photochemical processing (‘aging’) seen in the data. Comparisons of these three data sets showed some significant differences in the seasonal background and range of observed values. The statistical distribution of binned monthly data was determined, and individual sample events were then scaled to the monthly median observed value. Back trajectories, determined by the HYSPLIT model were used to investigate the geographic origin of the observed trace gases as a function of the degree of photochemical processing. Results show that PMO samples have been subjected to a diversity of air transport and aging, from highly processed air to freshly emitted air throughout the year, and in particular during summer months. The predominant air transport is from North America, with only occasional influence from continental areas located east and southeast (Europe and Africa). The available record was found to be too variable and still too short to allow deciphering NMHC trends from the data. Ethane and propane measurements at the PMO were compared with the MOZART-4 atmospheric chemistry and transport model at the appropriate time and location. The model was found to yield good agreement in the description of the lower range of atmospheric mole fractions observed, of the seasonal cycle, and the regional oxidation chemistry. However, ethane and propane enhancements in transport events were underestimated, indicating that after the ≥ 3 days of synoptic transport to PMO the spatial extent of plumes frequently is smaller than the 2.8° × 2.8° (∼300 km) model grid resolution. FUNDING INFORMATION : The PMO research has been supported by US National Science Foundation Awards #AGS-1011968, #AGS-1109568, #AGS-1110059, the NOAA Climate and Global Change Program grant NA03OAR4310072, and the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Systems Research program, grant #DE-SC0006941. Funding was also received from the UK National Environment Research Council, grant number NE/F017391/1 and from PIP’s Philip Leverhulme Prize. The Regional Government of Azores has supported the Pico Mountain Observatory and operation through the Regional Secretary for Science, Technology and Infrastructures, and the Secretary for the Environment and the Sea. The NMHC monitoring at Summit was supported through the NASA ROSES program, grant number NNX07AR26G. NCAR is operated by the University Corporation of Atmospheric Research under sponsorship of the National Science Foundation. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Helmig, Detlev
Muñoz, Mauricio
Hueber, Jacques
Mazzoleni, Claudio
Mazzoleni, Lynn R.
Owen, Richard C.
Val-Martin, Maria
Fialho, Paulo
Plass-Duelmer, Christian
Palmer, Paul I.
Lewis, Alastair C.
Pfister, Gabriele
author_facet Helmig, Detlev
Muñoz, Mauricio
Hueber, Jacques
Mazzoleni, Claudio
Mazzoleni, Lynn R.
Owen, Richard C.
Val-Martin, Maria
Fialho, Paulo
Plass-Duelmer, Christian
Palmer, Paul I.
Lewis, Alastair C.
Pfister, Gabriele
author_sort Helmig, Detlev
title Climatology and atmospheric chemistry of the non-methane hydrocarbons ethane and propane over the North Atlantic
title_short Climatology and atmospheric chemistry of the non-methane hydrocarbons ethane and propane over the North Atlantic
title_full Climatology and atmospheric chemistry of the non-methane hydrocarbons ethane and propane over the North Atlantic
title_fullStr Climatology and atmospheric chemistry of the non-methane hydrocarbons ethane and propane over the North Atlantic
title_full_unstemmed Climatology and atmospheric chemistry of the non-methane hydrocarbons ethane and propane over the North Atlantic
title_sort climatology and atmospheric chemistry of the non-methane hydrocarbons ethane and propane over the north atlantic
publisher University of California Press
publishDate 2015
url http://hdl.handle.net/10400.3/4556
https://doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000054
geographic Greenland
geographic_facet Greenland
genre Greenland
North Atlantic
genre_facet Greenland
North Atlantic
op_relation Helmig, Detlev; Muñoz, Mauricio; Hueber, Jacques; Mazzoleni, Claudio; Mazzoleni, Lynn; Owen, Richard C.; Val-Martin, Maria; Fialho, Paulo; Plass-Duelmer, Christian; Palmer, Paul I.; Lewis, Alastair C.; Pfister, Gabriele (2015). Climatology and atmospheric chemistry of the non-methane hydrocarbons ethane and propane over the North Atlantic, "Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene", 3:54. DOI:10.12952/journal.elementa.000054
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http://hdl.handle.net/10400.3/4556
doi:10.12952/journal.elementa.000054
op_rights openAccess
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op_doi https://doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000054
container_title Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene
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spelling ftunivacores:oai:repositorio.uac.pt:10400.3/4556 2023-05-15T16:30:44+02:00 Climatology and atmospheric chemistry of the non-methane hydrocarbons ethane and propane over the North Atlantic Helmig, Detlev Muñoz, Mauricio Hueber, Jacques Mazzoleni, Claudio Mazzoleni, Lynn R. Owen, Richard C. Val-Martin, Maria Fialho, Paulo Plass-Duelmer, Christian Palmer, Paul I. Lewis, Alastair C. Pfister, Gabriele 2015-08-03 http://hdl.handle.net/10400.3/4556 https://doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000054 eng eng University of California Press Helmig, Detlev; Muñoz, Mauricio; Hueber, Jacques; Mazzoleni, Claudio; Mazzoleni, Lynn; Owen, Richard C.; Val-Martin, Maria; Fialho, Paulo; Plass-Duelmer, Christian; Palmer, Paul I.; Lewis, Alastair C.; Pfister, Gabriele (2015). Climatology and atmospheric chemistry of the non-methane hydrocarbons ethane and propane over the North Atlantic, "Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene", 3:54. DOI:10.12952/journal.elementa.000054 2325-1026 http://hdl.handle.net/10400.3/4556 doi:10.12952/journal.elementa.000054 openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC-BY Atmospheric Science Pico Mountain Observatory Azores Archipelago article 2015 ftunivacores https://doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000054 2022-05-01T14:31:09Z A record spanning ten years of non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) data from the Pico Mountain Observatory (PMO), Pico Island, Azores, Portugal, was analyzed for seasonal NMHC behavior, atmospheric processing, and trends, focusing on ethane and propane. The location of this site in the central North Atlantic, at an elevation of 2225 m asl, allows these data to be used to investigate the background conditions and pollution transport events occurring in the lower free North Atlantic troposphere. The quantity ln([propane]/[ethane]) was used as an indicator of both photochemical processing and a marker for the occurrence of pollution transport events detected at the station. The Pico data were compared with three other continuous NMHC data sets from sites bordering the North Atlantic, i.e. the Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) stations at Summit, Greenland, Hohenpeisssenberg, Germany, and Cape Verde, using ln([propane]/[ethane]) results as an indicator for the degree of photochemical processing (‘aging’) seen in the data. Comparisons of these three data sets showed some significant differences in the seasonal background and range of observed values. The statistical distribution of binned monthly data was determined, and individual sample events were then scaled to the monthly median observed value. Back trajectories, determined by the HYSPLIT model were used to investigate the geographic origin of the observed trace gases as a function of the degree of photochemical processing. Results show that PMO samples have been subjected to a diversity of air transport and aging, from highly processed air to freshly emitted air throughout the year, and in particular during summer months. The predominant air transport is from North America, with only occasional influence from continental areas located east and southeast (Europe and Africa). The available record was found to be too variable and still too short to allow deciphering NMHC trends from the data. Ethane and propane measurements at the PMO were compared with the MOZART-4 atmospheric chemistry and transport model at the appropriate time and location. The model was found to yield good agreement in the description of the lower range of atmospheric mole fractions observed, of the seasonal cycle, and the regional oxidation chemistry. However, ethane and propane enhancements in transport events were underestimated, indicating that after the ≥ 3 days of synoptic transport to PMO the spatial extent of plumes frequently is smaller than the 2.8° × 2.8° (∼300 km) model grid resolution. FUNDING INFORMATION : The PMO research has been supported by US National Science Foundation Awards #AGS-1011968, #AGS-1109568, #AGS-1110059, the NOAA Climate and Global Change Program grant NA03OAR4310072, and the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Systems Research program, grant #DE-SC0006941. Funding was also received from the UK National Environment Research Council, grant number NE/F017391/1 and from PIP’s Philip Leverhulme Prize. The Regional Government of Azores has supported the Pico Mountain Observatory and operation through the Regional Secretary for Science, Technology and Infrastructures, and the Secretary for the Environment and the Sea. The NMHC monitoring at Summit was supported through the NASA ROSES program, grant number NNX07AR26G. NCAR is operated by the University Corporation of Atmospheric Research under sponsorship of the National Science Foundation. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland North Atlantic Repositório da Universidade dos Açores Greenland Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 3 000054