posted on 2020-06-12, 12:09authored byZechen Yu, Myoseon Jang, Soontae Kim, Changhan Bae, Bonyoung Koo, Ross Beardsley, Jinsoo Park, Lim Seok Chang, Hee Choon Lee, Yun-Kyu Lim, Jeong Hoon Cho
The atmospheric mineral
aerosol reaction (AMAR) model, which was
developed to simulate dust-driven heterogeneous chemistry of SO2 and NOx, was combined with the
comprehensive air quality model with extensions (CAMx). The resulting
model was then applied to simulate the influence of the long-range-transported
dust particles on the formation of sulfate and nitrate during the
Korean-United States Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) campaign from May 19 to
30, 2016. In the mechanisms, dust particles promoted the oxidation
of SO2 and NOx through heterogeneous
photocatalytic reactions and autoxidation. The predicted concentrations
of sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium ions were compared with ground-based
observations obtained at a monitoring site in Olympic Park, Seoul,
Korea. The predicted sulfate increased by 29% in the high dust period
of this campaign, while the sulfate produced via nondust aqueous reactions
decreased by 66%. The model captured the impact of dust on the sulfate
formation in that particulate sulfate increased with increasing dust
loads. The model also predicted the formation of a large quantity
of particulate nitrate during the cold and wet periods in the presence
of abundant ammonia in East Asia. The trajectory simulations showed
that dust particles were rapidly buffered by sulfate when dust parcels
passed urban and industrial areas in Asia and then heavily coated
with sulfate and nitrate during long-range transport. The KORUS-AQ
campaign was conducted after passing the dust season (i.e., springtime),
although dust concentrations were still higher than those in ordinary
seasons. Thus, the impact of dust particles on the formation of sulfate
and nitrate will be more significant during dust events.