Comprehensive Characterization of Atmospheric Organic Carbon Over Multiple Generations of Oxidation

This project supports laboratory studies of the chemical evolution of organic carbon in the atmosphere. Research is ongoing to investigate how key properties of organic compounds change as they undergo multiple generations of atmospheric aging. This effort will provide significant insight into the distribution of carbon across species and into the formation of organic aerosol in the atmosphere. This research will help improve current models of air quality and climate change.

The specific scientific objectives of this project are as follows: (1) The development of laboratory approaches and capabilities for chemically characterizing all carbon within a laboratory aging context, using a range of speciated and ensemble techniques; and (2) Application of these approaches to key atmospheric aging systems in order to track the evolution of organic carbon within both the gas and particle phases. Recent advances in the characterization of atmospheric organic species, including traditionally difficult-to-measure species such as multifunctional oxidized VOCs (OVOCs) and semivolatile and intermediate-volatility organic compounds (S/IVOCs), enable carbon closure studies to be carried out in the laboratory for the first time.