The atmospheric transport of fixed nitrogen (N) is a critical component of the global N cycle. It has been shown that organic N is an important contributor to atmospheric N, but its sources and compositions are largely unknown. Increases in reactive nitrogen deposition in Rocky Mountain National Park is effecting its fragile alpine ecosystems. It has been shown that organic nitrogen is an important contributor to the reactive nitrogen deposition in this region. Therefore, in an effort to better understand the sources of organic nitrogen we analyzed aerosol samples collected in Rocky Mountain National Park.Weekly aerosol samples were collected using a high volume PM2.5 sampler between April and November of 2008. The aqueous filter extracts were analyzed using Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS), complemented by a range of other measurements. High resolution mass spectrometry allowed unambiguous determination of the elemental formula of the detected species. TOC analyzer was used to get quantitative information about the concentration of the organic nitrogen compounds. This analysis indicated that compounds with reduced nitrogen are the most abundant N-containing organic aerosol species collected in the park.

Speciation of organic nitrogen compounds in aerosols from Rocky Mountain National Park

248th National Meeting (2014)

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