Analytical Chemistry Seminar: Ronald C. Cohen
April
11
Mon
2016
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Open to Public
Analytical & Environmental Chemistry Division and Atmospheric Chemistry Program Seminar
Jointly sponsored by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, CIRES, and the Environmental Program
On the Lifetime of Nitrogen Oxides in the Continental Boundary Layer
by Ronald C. Cohen - Miller Professor 2015-2016; Professor, Department of Chemistry; Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Science; University of California, Berkeley
Nitrogen oxides drive the chemistry of the troposphere, catalyzing production of oxidants, ozone and aerosol. Textbooks describe this chemistry as starting with emission of NO and terminating with the gas phase reaction of OH with NO2 to produce HNO3. Here, I will describe approaches to observing and characterizing the lifetime of nitrogen oxides using in situ and space based observations. In contrast to the textbook story we find the lifetime of nitrogen oxides on the continents are primarily controlled by organic nitrate formation.