Date of Award

Spring 2015

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Chemistry

First Advisor

Paul B. Shepson

Committee Chair

Paul B. Shepson

Committee Member 1

Mary J. Wirth

Committee Member 2

Garth J. Simpson

Committee Member 3

Peter Kissinger

Abstract

Ozone is a pollutant that causes crop damage, adverse health effects, and is a contributor to global climate change. Ozone concentrations are predicted to rise over the next half-century along with global temperature. Ozone production is controlled by the chemistry between biogenic volatile organic compounds and NOx (NO + NO2), and therefore, a greater understanding of NOx + BVOC chemistry along with their sources and sinks is needed. One large uncertainty in understanding NOx + BVOC chemistry is the production of organic nitrates (RONO2), which act as a radical termination step in the production of O3. In this work, we present two modified instruments built to better understand the sources of NO x and BVOCs. The result of one field campaign to identify the source of early morning NOx plumes is presented. The development of a novel sampling system for a GCxGC system is presented, along with data obtained by the instrument during a field campaign. Finally, a 0-D chemical model is used to identify the BVOC precursors most important to the formation of organic nitrates.

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