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Title: Potential sources of nitrous acid (HONO) and their impacts on ozone : a WRF-Chem study in a polluted subtropical region
Authors: Zhang, L 
Wang, T 
Zhang, Q
Zheng, J
Xu, Z
Lv, M
Issue Date: 16-Apr-2016
Source: Journal of geophysical research. Atmospheres, 16 Apr. 2016, v. 121, no. 7, p. 3645-3662
Abstract: Current chemical transport models commonly undersimulate the atmospheric concentration of nitrous acid (HONO), which plays an important role in atmospheric chemistry, due to the lack or inappropriate representations of some sources in the models. In the present study, we parameterized up-to-date HONO sources into a state-of-the-art three-dimensional chemical transport model (Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry: WRF-Chem). These sources included (1) heterogeneous reactions on ground surfaces with the photoenhanced effect on HONO production, (2) photoenhanced reactions on aerosol surfaces, (3) direct vehicle and vessel emissions, (4) potential conversion of NO2 at the ocean surface, and (5) emissions from soil bacteria. The revised WRF-Chem was applied to explore the sources of the high HONO concentrations (0.45-2.71 ppb) observed at a suburban site located within complex land types (with artificial land covers, ocean, and forests) in Hong Kong. With the addition of these sources, the revised model substantially reproduced the observed HONO levels. The heterogeneous conversions of NO2 on ground surfaces dominated HONO sources contributing about 42% to the observed HONO mixing ratios, with emissions from soil bacterial contributing around 29%, followed by the oceanic source (∼9%), photochemical formation via NO and OH (∼6%), conversion on aerosol surfaces (∼3%), and traffic emissions (∼2%). The results suggest that HONO sources in suburban areas could be more complex and diverse than those in urban or rural areas and that the bacterial and/or ocean processes need to be considered in HONO production in forested and/or coastal areas. Sensitivity tests showed that the simulated HONO was sensitive to the uptake coefficient of NO2 on the surfaces. Incorporation of the aforementioned HONO sources significantly improved the simulations of ozone, resulting in increases of ground-level ozone concentrations by 6-12% over urban areas in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region. This result highlights the importance of accurately representing HONO sources in simulations of secondary pollutants over polluted regions.
Keywords: Heterogeneous conversion
Nitrous acid
Ozone
Soil bacteria
WRF-Chem
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Journal: Journal of geophysical research. Atmospheres 
ISSN: 2169-897X
EISSN: 2169-8996
DOI: 10.1002/2015JD024468
Rights: ©2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Zhang, L., Wang, T., Zhang, Q., Zheng, J., Xu, Z., and Lv, M. (2016), Potential sources of nitrous acid (HONO) and their impacts on ozone: A WRF-Chem study in a polluted subtropical region, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 121, 3645– 3662, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD024468. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.
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