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Abstract
Hydroxymethanesulfonate (HMS) in fine aerosol particles has been reported at significant concentrations along with sulfate under extreme cold conditions (-35 °C) in Fairbanks, Alaska, a high latitude city. HMS, a component of S(IV) and an adduct of formaldehyde and sulfur dioxide, forms in liquid water. Previous studies may have overestimated HMS concentrations by grouping it with other S(IV) species. In this work, we further investigate HMS and the speciation of S(IV) through the Alaskan Layered Pollution and Chemical Analysis (ALPACA) intensive study in Fairbanks. We developed a method utilizing hydrogen peroxide to isolate HMS and found that approximately 50% of S(IV) is HMS for total suspended particulates and 70% for PM2.5. The remaining unidentified S(IV) species are closely linked to HMS during cold polluted periods, showing strong increases in concentration relative to sulfate with decreasing temperature, a weak dependence on particle water, and similar particle size distributions, suggesting a common aqueous formation process. A portion of the unidentified S(IV) may originate from additional aldehyde-S(IV) adducts that are unstable in the water-based chemical analysis process, but further chemical characterization is needed. These results show the importance of organic S(IV) species in extreme cold environments that promote unique aqueous chemistry in supercooled liquid particles.
Department
Earth Systems Research Center
Publication Date
3-15-2024
Journal Title
ACS ES&T Air
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Dingilian, K., E. Hebert, M. Battaglia, J. R. Campbell, M. Cesler-Maloney, W. Simpson, J. St. Clair, J. Dibb, B. Temime-Roussel, B. D'Anna, A. Moon, B. Alexander, Y. Yang, A. Nenes, J. Mao, and R. Weber (2024), Hydroxymethanesulfonate and Sulfur (IV) in Fairbanks winter during the ALPACA study, Environmental Science and Technology Air, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestair.4c00012.
Rights
© 2024 The Authors.
Comments
This is an open access article published by ACS Publications in ACS ES&T Air in 2024, available online: https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsestair.4c00012