Abstract
First free tropospheric (0–8 km) peroxyacetyl nitrate (CH3C(O)OONO2, PAN) measurements in the clean marine air of the Pacific (36–40 °N) show that the tropospheric reservoir of nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2) may be 30–50% larger than hitherto believed. We show here that these measurements provide experimental support for the contention that PAN is an important constituent of the natural atmosphere, and a potentially significant reservoir of reactive nitrogen. There is evidence to suggest that higher PAN concentrations exist in the free troposphere over land, as compared with the marine environment. Preliminary indications are that measured PAN was produced through in situ photochemical mechanisms, and was not transported from polluted sources.
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Singh, H., Salas, L. Peroxyacetyl nitrate in the free troposphere. Nature 302, 326–328 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/302326a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/302326a0
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