Over the past few decades, the understanding of atmospheric oxidation mechanisms has been challenged by measurements of free radicals and reaction products. Both proposed mechanisms and measurements have evolved and now demonstrate a general consistency for much of the atmosphere. Still unresolved are the atmospheric chemical mechanisms in forests, which have global impact on atmospheric oxidation and its role in climate change. The key free radical for oxidation in these environments is the hydroxyl radical (OH). For the past decade, measured OH has been two to ten times greater than modeled OH in forests scattered across the Earth. Our recent studies suggest that an unknown interference in our OH measurement could be responsible for the discrepancy that we have seen in two forests, but this view is not shared by others who also have seen measured OH significantly greater than modeled OH in other forests. In this presentation, we will focus on measurements of OH and their consistency with modeled OH from different recently proposed chemical mechanisms.

Atmospheric oxidation mechanisms: What are the measurements telling us?

244th National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.