Collaborative Research: The Role of Organic-Inorganic Interactions in the Formation, Fate, and Transport of Atmospheric Reactive Carbon

This project will quantitatively assess the influence of salt on the aqueous partitioning of water-soluble organic gases in the atmosphere. The work will be conducted through field and laboratory measurements, reanalysis of prior atmospheric chemistry field campaign data, and the development of parameterizations for implementation in chemical transport models to improve predictions of atmospheric trace gases and aerosols. This work could improve the understanding about how polluting aerosols and gases are formed in the atmosphere. The research has the following objectives: (1) Measure the effects of atmospherically relevant inorganic salt mixtures on partitioning of ambient water-soluble organic gases in diverse environments; (2) Characterize the salting effects on partitioning of key oxygenated organic compounds through detailed laboratory experiments; (3) Explore in detail evidence for salting impacts on organic compound partitioning through reanalysis of atmospheric chemistry field campaign data; and (4) Develop a salt-influence parameterization for organic partitioning based on laboratory findings and conduct simulations of the U.S. This effort will support the training of a postdoctoral scholar and a graduate student at the University of California Irvine and both graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.