Authors
Victoria Treadaway (CIRES,NOAA/CSL), Morgan Selby (CIRES,NOAA/CSL), Colby Francoeur (CIRES,NOAA/CSL), Nell Schafer (CIRES,NOAA/CSL), Jeff Peischl (CIRES,NOAA/CSL), Chelsea Stockwell (NOAA/CSL), Matthew Coggon (NOAA/CSL), Lu Xu (Washington University), Kelvin Bates (CIRES,NOAA/CSL), Georgios Gkatzelis (Forschungszentrum Jülich), Carsten Warneke (NOAA/CSL), Jessica Gilman (NOAA/CSL)

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contribute to ground level ozone and particle formation and have both natural and anthropogenic sources. Long-term reductions in urban VOC sources, such as motor vehicles emissions, have resulted in volatile chemical products (VCPs) as the dominant VOC source sector in densely populated areas. VCPs include personal care products, paints, adhesives, cleaning agents, and more. VCP emissions and distributions are not well understood in part due to the diverse product usage. The Atmospheric Emissions and Reactions Observed from Megacities to Marine Areas (AEROMMA) targeted urban and marine emissions with a focus on how tropospheric composition, including VCPs, impacts air quality and climate over North America. The AEROMMA campaign was conducted during Summer 2023 with multiple aircraft and ground sites. This includes the NASA DC-8 outfitted with a large suite of gas and aerosol instrumentation. The integrated Whole Air Sampler (iWAS) was onboard the NASA DC-8 and collected between 72 to 144 whole air samples per flight. The canisters were analyzed on the NOAA GC-MS, a two-channel gas chromatograph coupled to a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The NOAA GC-MS measures 200+ compounds including C2-C11 hydrocarbons, C1-C8 oxygenated VOCs, nitriles, and more. This presentation focuses on New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles NASA DC-8 airborne measurements highlighting VOC distributions and emission characterization over the cities.