Contribution of airborne dust particles to HONO sources

HONO is a major precursor for OH radicals in early mornings. Its formation has been mainly attributed to the heterogeneous hydrolysis of NO2 on surfaces such as soot, glass, mineral oxides and aerosol surfaces. In particular, dust events which are loaded with mineral oxide aerosols have been associated with higher HONO concentrations in the gas phase. In order to understand the mechanism of reactions related to this process, samples during dusty and non-dusty days were collected between October 2009 and April 2011. Based on HYSPLIT backward trajectories, data were divided between wind trajectories originating from Arabian or African deserts. In this study an increase of HONO levels was observed during dusty days. The increase in the acidic gas concentrations was accompanied by an increase in the PM nitrate and sulfate ion concentrations. During high relative humidity (African dusty days), it is proposed that the mechanism of NO2 hydrolysis predominates whereas during Arabian dusty days, where the air is relatively dry, a synergistic mechanism of adsorption and reaction between NO2 and SO2 on dust particles to produce HONO and sulfate in the particle phase is suggested. This study implies that the NOx reactivity on mineral oxide surfaces leads to a higher mixing level of OH. An increase in the sulfate forming capacity could account for the underestimation of sulfates in aerosols when the reactive uptake of SO2 alone is considered.