the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
On the presence of high nitrite (NO2-) in coarse particles at Mt. Qomolangma
Abstract. Atmospheric reactive nitrogen cycling is crucial for maintaining the atmospheric oxidation capacity of background atmosphere on the Tibetan Plateau , with nitrous acid (HONO) and particulate nitrite (NO2-) as important intermediates. During an eleven-day field campaign at the Base Camp of Mt. Qomolangma in spring of 2022, we observed significant enrichment of NO2- in total suspended particulate (TSP) with a mean concentration of 375 ± 386 ng m-3, while NO2- was absent in fine particles (PM2.5). The comparison revealed that NO2- predominately exists in coarse particles. Local surface soil at the sampling site also exhibited high levels of NO2-, with δ15N value similar to NO2- in TSP. This similarity suggests that wind-blown soil is probably the primary source of NO2- in TSP, accounting for the background levels. While concentration changes of water-soluble inorganic ions in TSP and PM2.5 in response to shifts in air mass back-trajectories imply that atmospheric pollutants transported from South Asia may further elevate the NO2-, the specific mechanisms of long-range transport resulting in NO2- accumulation in TSP rather than PM2.5 remain unknown and need to be investigated. Our results reveal an overlooked source of atmospheric NO2-, i.e., soil NO2-, and highlight in remote regions such as Tibet where other sources are limited, wind-blown soil may serve as an important source of atmospheric NO2-. Once lofted into the atmosphere, NO2- may readily participate in atmospheric reactive nitrogen cycling through gas-particle partitioning or photolysis, leading to the production of HONO, OH and NO and thereby influencing oxidation chemistry.
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