Authors
Christopher Jernigan (CIRES,NOAA/CSL), Michael Robinson (CIRES,NOAA/CSL), Patrick Veres (NCAR/UCAR), Gordon Novak (NOAA/CSL), Steve Brown ()
Abstract
The photochemical oxidation of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) by the hydroxyl radical (OH) or a reactive halogen species (BrO) contributes to the production and growth of particles and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in the marine boundary layer (MBL). DMS oxidized by OH can go on to form a stable intermediate, hydroperoxymethyl thioformate (HPMTF), which is both globally ubiquitous and efficiently lost to multiphase processes in the marine atmosphere. Recent work has shown that clouds act as a significant and irreversible loss path for HPMTF, sequestering sulfur and greatly reducing the production of long-lived climate relevant species (e.g. SO2 and OCS). Until recently, there have been few observational constraints on the role of cloud type and abundance on the spatiotemporal distribution of HPMTF in the MBL. Additionally, oxidant type plays an important role in the product yield and distribution from DMS oxidation, necessitating direct observations of BrO and inferred OH mixing ratios within the MBL.
Here we present aircraft observations from the NASA DC-8 of important sulfur and reactive halogen species utilizing an Iodide (I-) Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer (CIMS). In situ measurements were made in the MBL off the coast of California under clear sky and various cloud types as a part of the Atmospheric Emissions and Reactions Observed from Megacities to Marine Areas (AEROMMA) in June-July 2023. We present results from an analysis of HPMTF cloud loss to varying cloud fraction and type, as well as observations of reactive halogen species and continental air tracers to better constrain the distribution of sulfur in the MBL.