Comparable Trifluoroacetic Acid Deposition in Guyana and Canada: Evidence of Atmospheric Formation and Remobilization
- 1Department of Chemistry
- 2York University
- 3Department of Chemistry, University of Guyana, Georgetown, Guyana
Abstract
Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is an extremely persistent atmospheric transformation product whose global deposition remains poorly constrained, particularly in tropical regions.We report the first measurements of TFA deposition in the tropics (Georgetown, Guyana) and compare them with concurrent measurements in a mid-latitude region (southern Canada).Although TFA concentrations were significantly lower in Georgetown than in southern Canada, collected sample volumes were significantly greater, resulting in comparable median annualized deposition fluxes of 400-500 µg m⁻² a⁻¹.In southern Canada, seasonal variability and source tracers are consistent with atmospheric precursor oxidation together with regional and remobilization from dust and fire sources.In Georgetown, strong tropical oxidative capacity and high precipitation likely enhance formation and removal of TFA.These findings suggest that substantial TFA deposition can occur across fundamentally different environments and indicating further geographically expanded observations are needed to constrain its global atmospheric burden.
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BibTeX
@misc{persaud2026comparable,
title = {{Comparable Trifluoroacetic Acid Deposition in Guyana and Canada: Evidence of Atmospheric Formation and Remobilization}},
author = {Daniel Persaud and Heetasmin Singh and Trevor C. VandenBoer and Cora J. Young},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15010753/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010753/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Comparable Trifluoroacetic Acid Deposition in Guyana and Canada: Evidence of Atmospheric Formation and Remobilization
AU - Daniel Persaud
AU - Heetasmin Singh
AU - Trevor C. VandenBoer
AU - Cora J. Young
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15010753/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010753/v1
AB - Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is an extremely persistent atmospheric transformation product whose global deposition remains poorly constrained, particularly in tropical regions.We report the first measurements of TFA deposition in the tropics (Georgetown, Guyana) and compare them with concurrent measurements in a mid-latitude region (southern Canada).Although TFA concentrations were significantly lower in Georgetown than in southern Canada, collected sample volumes were significantly greater, resulting in comparable median annualized deposition fluxes of 400-500 µg m⁻² a⁻¹.In southern Canada, seasonal variability and source tracers are consistent with atmospheric precursor oxidation together with regional and remobilization from dust and fire sources.In Georgetown, strong tropical oxidative capacity and high precipitation likely enhance formation and removal of TFA.These findings suggest that substantial TFA deposition can occur across fundamentally different environments and indicating further geographically expanded observations are needed to constrain its global atmospheric burden.
ER -