VOC Observations over the Southern Ocean during ORCAS Mid O …€¦ · VOC Observations over the...

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402401400399398397

CO2, ppm

2487912461

110

108

206

231

162

164

490

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Altitu

de

, km

-620 -600 -580 -560 -540

O2, per meg

2387912356

108

94

178

176

133

148

409

605040302010

CO, ppb

1996910447

89

92

178

195

121

139

378

VOC Observations over the Southern Ocean during ORCAS

Rebecca Hornbrook1,*, Eric Apel1, Nicola Blake2, Alan Hills1, Elliot Atlas3, Britton Stephens1, Colm Sweeney4, Eric Kort5, Martin Hoeker-Martinez5, and the ORCAS science team

1NCAR, Boulder, CO; 2University of California, Irvine, CA; 3University of Miami, Miami, FL; 4NOAA, Boulder, CO; 5University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; *rsh@ucar.edu;

Overview The NCAR/NSF G-V O2/N2 Ratio and CO2 Airborne Southern Ocean Study (ORCAS) took place in Jan-Feb 2016 and was based in Punta Arenas, Chile. The primary goal of the study was to investigate the air-sea exchange of O2 and CO2 over the Southern Ocean where the uptake of anthropogenic carbon is a key process that is poorly represented by models.

In addition to many long-lived gases, measurements of reactive volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured using the Trace Organic Gas Analyzer (TOGA) and advanced whole air canisters (AWAS), and are used to better understand and constrain air-sea exchange in the southern ocean region.

VOC tracers from several sources/types:

• Biogenic VOCs and oxidation products • Anthropogenic VOCs • Oil and Gas Tracers • Long-lived Halogenated VOCs • Short-lived Halogenated VOCs • OVOCs, including HCHO • DMS • Alkyl Nitrates • Biomass burning tracers (HCN, CH3CN)

TOGA The NCAR Trace Organic Gas Analyzer is a fast online gas chromatograph/ mass spectrometer (GC/MS) that makes simultaneous measurements of 50+ VOCs every 2 minutes.

Summary The air over the Southern Ocean is extremely clean, with very low mixing ratios of anthropogenic VOCs, and indications of losses of soluble OVOCs and nitriles to the ocean surface. CHBr3 and CH2Br2 are correlated with O2 emissions from the Southern Ocean, suggesting a common source with similar enhanced atmospheric lifetimes. DMS is not correlated with O2, however, and emissions of DMS decreased significantly between January and February.

2.094

Jan Feb

Figure 1. ORCAS flights during January and February 2016, overlaid on the monthly average chlorophyll concentrations from AQUA/MODIS. (AQUA/MODIS imagery produced by the Earth Observatory Group in coordination with Gene Feldman and Norman Kuring, NASA Goddard Ocean Color Group.)

25201510

CH2Cl2, pptv

9822326

9

4

3

127497839

58

43

54

18

3

138

1311

41

47

121

146

123

137

350 High O2

Mid O2

Low O2

6420

Benzene, pptv

9822326

9

4

3

127497839

58

43

54

18

3

27410314490

135

132

269

278

217

229

522

High O2

Mid O2

Low O2

200150100500

CH3CN, pptv

9521296

9

4

3

116467439

58

43

54

18

3

138

1311

41

47

121

146

123

137

350

High O2

Mid O2

Low O2

200150100500

DMS, pptv

9822326

9

4

3

127497839

58

43

54

18

3

15131524

53

59

156

191

172

193

400

High O2

Mid O2

Low O2

1.21.00.80.60.40.20.0

CH3I, pptv

9822326

9

4

3

127497839

58

43

54

18

3

138

1311

41

47

121

146

123

137

350

High O2

Mid O2

Low O2

3.02.01.00.0

CHBr3, pptv

9822326

9

4

3

127497839

58

43

53

18

3

138

1311

41

47

120

145

122

137

338

High O2

Mid O2

Low O2

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Altitu

de

, km

3002001000

CH3COCH3, pptv

9822326

9

4

3

127497839

58

43

52

18

3

138

1311

41

47

120

142

122

137

348 High O2

Mid O2

Low O2

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Altitu

de

, km

1.61.20.8

CH2Br2, pptv

9619294

6

117507537

59

43

52

17

198

1714

38

49

122

142

105

131

336

High O2

Mid O2

Low O2

VOC correlations with O2

Figure 4. VOCs observed over oceans binned by altitude and O2 (high O2>-540 per meg>mid O2>-560 per meg>low O2.) Several ocean-emitted halogenated VOCs were correlated with O2 in the marine boundary layer (MBL) and mid-troposphere (CH2Br2, CHBr3 and CH3I). DMS was not correlated with O2 in the MBL, but was slightly correlated with O2 in the mid-troposphere, consistent with air more recently in the MBL. Several OVOCs and nitriles were anti-correlated with O2 in the MBL and mid-troposphere (e.g., acetone, CH3CN), consistent with more polluted air having less ocean influence, while less-soluble anthropogenic species (e.g., benzene, CH2Cl2) were not correlated with O2 in the lower troposphere.

VOC correlations with CO2 and CO

Figure 5. Observed VOCs binned by altitude and CO2 and CO (high CO2>399 ppm>low CO2; high CO>43 ppb>low CO). CH2Br2 and CHBr3 were anti-correlated with CO2 in MBL and mid-troposphere, while CH3I was correlated with CO2 in the MBL. This is due to elevated CH3I west of Chile, where CO2 is elevated (see Fig. 6). Several OVOCs and nitriles were correlated with CO2 and CO in the MBL and mid-troposphere (e.g., acetone, CH3CN), suggesting losses to the ocean surface. Less soluble anthropogenic species (e.g., CH2Cl2, benzene) and DMS have no clear correlation with CO2 in the lower troposphere, although benzene is correlated with CO, even at very low benzene mixing ratios, consistent with elevated SH CO.

Figure 6. Observed mixing ratios of selected VOCs and CO2, sized by altitude.

-90 -80 -70 -60 -50

Longitude

1.2

1.0

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CH

3 I, pptv

-90 -80 -70 -60 -50

Longitude

402

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398

397

396

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CO

2 , ppm

-70

-60

-50

-40

La

titu

de

-90 -80 -70 -60 -50

Longitude

5

4

3

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1

CH

Br3 , p

ptv

-90 -80 -70 -60 -50

Longitude

300

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0

DM

S, p

ptv

ORCAS Flights

Transport of VOCs from NH to SH Figure 3. From several Jan-Feb studies over the Pacific/Southern Ocean (TORERO 2012; CONTRAST 2014, ORCAS 2016), composites of VOCs from -75°S to 40°N show significant interhemispheric differences, and indicate transport pathways from the NH and tropics to the SH. Longer-lived CH2Cl2 is transported from the NH to the SH via the UTLS, while CH3COCH3 and CH3OH are transported to high southern latitudes via the mid-troposphere from the tropics.

806040200

pptv CH2Cl216

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Altitu

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, km

2.52.01.51.00.50.0pptv

C2Cl4161284

pptv CHCl3

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Altitu

de

, km

-60 -40 -20 0 20 40

Latitude

50403020100

pptv Benzene

-60 -40 -20 0 20 40

Latitude

8004000

pptv CH3COCH3

-60 -40 -20 0 20 40

Latitude

10000

pptvCH3OH

Figure 2. Observed O2, CO2 and CO from the ORCAS project, binned by altitude. Shown on each plot as box and whiskers are the median, 10th, 25th, 75th and 90th percentiles of these data from a TOGA time base merge, with the number of data points in each bin shown on the plots.

O2, CO2, CO

14

12

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Altitu

de

, km

1.41.21.00.80.6

CH2Br2, pptv

149

1720

52

69

181

208

135

45

169

2347010741

58

39

22

15

104

259

High CO2

Low CO2

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12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Altitu

de

, km

3002001000

CH3COCH3, pptv

149

1720

52

69

178

205

134

45

169

2347010741

58

39

22

15

104

256 High CO2

Low CO2

1601208040

CH3CN, pptv

149

1720

52

69

180

208

135

45

167

222669941

57

38

22

15

104

259

High CO2

Low CO2

43210

Benzene, pptv

149

1720

52

69

180

207

134

44

167

2347010741

58

39

22

15

104

258

High CO2

Low CO2

3.02.01.00.0

CHBr3, pptv

149

1720

52

69

180

207

134

45

165

2347010741

58

39

21

15

104

248

High CO2

Low CO2

1.20.80.40.0

CH3I, pptv

149

1720

52

69

181

208

135

45

169

2347010741

58

39

22

15

104

259

High CO2

Low CO2

300200100

CH3COCH3, pptv

63203122

44

56

142

145

90

22

60

135497325

45

36

31

29

21

106

270 High CO Low CO

43210

Benzene, pptv

63203122

44

56

145

147

90

21

60

135497325

45

36

31

29

21

106

271

High CO Low CO