Formation of Epoxide Derived SOA and Gas-Phase Acids through Aqueous Aerosol Processing in the Southeastern United States during SOAS

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) contributes to climate and adversely affects human health, but the formation of SOA is poorly understood. Recent studies have proposed that aqueous processing of water-soluble compounds like glyoxal and IEPOX can help explain the abundance of organosulfates, higher oxygen to carbon ratios, and SOA abundance. A comprehensive set of ambient gas- and aerosol-phase data was collected during June and July of 2013 as part of the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) at the Centreville, AL ground site. Both gas-phase photochemistry and aqueous-phase aerosol chemistry were modeled using a zero-dimensional box model. While it has been suggested that glyoxal can contribute to aqueous aerosol through the formation of acids and higher-molecular-weight compounds, it did not produce enhanced aqSOA concentrations. Instead, processing of aqueous glyoxal resulted in the production of gas-phase acids. AqSOA consisted almost entirely of epoxide processing products, mainly from the processing of IEPOX to methyl tetrol, and the organosulfate. In addition, the pinene oxides contributed to the formation of aqSOA, through the formation of organosulfates, diols, and organonitrates. These data are consistent with the abundance of IEPOX and pinene oxide organonitrate derived SOA seen at this site.