Volatile organic compounds and their role in secondary aerosol chemistry in a cold and dark urban environment
- 1University of Alaska Fairbanks (Fairbanks, United States of America)
Abstract
The role of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in secondary aerosol chemistry in urban subarctic environments remains poorly understood. Previous studies in wintertime Fairbanks, Alaska suggest that aldehydes may serve as precursors of sulfur(IV) adducts in aerosols, contributing to the high concentrations of wintertime PM 2.5 pollution Fairbanks often experiences. It is unknown to what extent VOCs participate in secondary aerosol chemistry, or what the sources of largely secondary VOCs (like formaldehyde) are in such a cold and dark environment. Here, we explore the sources of VOCs and examine their role in secondary chemistry. We use measurements from an online proton transfer reaction time of flight mass spectrometer, combined with complementary gas and aerosol measurements from the Alaskan Layered Pollution and Chemical Analysis (ALPACA) wintertime field campaign in 2022, to examine VOC sources and their roles in aerosol chemistry in downtown Fairbanks. We find that alcohols, aromatics and carbonyls together account for ∼ 70 % of measured VOCs, with methanol, ethanol, formaldehyde, benzene and toluene as dominant species. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis indicates up to 56 % of VOCs are vehicle-associated, with 29 %-36 % from direct emissions and 21 % from windshield wiper fluid. Wood heating and heating oil together contribute 14 %. Formaldehyde is primarily linked to diesel emissions, as well as primary and secondary sources associated with local aged air masses. By comparing PMF factors with measured PM 2.5 S(IV) species, we find that vehiclerelated emissions of ammonia (which modulates aerosol pH) and formaldehyde could promote the formation of hydroxymethanesulfonate (HMS) in Fairbanks.
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BibTeX
@article{campbell2026volatile,
title = {{Volatile organic compounds and their role in secondary aerosol chemistry in a cold and dark urban environment}},
author = {James R. Campbell and Brice Temime-Roussel and Barbara D'Anna and Kathy S. Law and Weihang Zhang and Rodney J. Weber and Michael Battaglia Jr. and Kayane K. Dingilian and Meeta Cesler-Maloney and Jason M. St. Clair and Benjamin Chazeau and Jingqiu Mao},
journal = {Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.5194/acp-26-15161-2026},
url = {https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-15161-2026},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Volatile organic compounds and their role in secondary aerosol chemistry in a cold and dark urban environment
AU - James R. Campbell
AU - Brice Temime-Roussel
AU - Barbara D'Anna
AU - Kathy S. Law
AU - Weihang Zhang
AU - Rodney J. Weber
AU - Michael Battaglia Jr.
AU - Kayane K. Dingilian
AU - Meeta Cesler-Maloney
AU - Jason M. St. Clair
AU - Benjamin Chazeau
AU - Jingqiu Mao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
DO - 10.5194/acp-26-15161-2026
UR - https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-15161-2026
AB - The role of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in secondary aerosol chemistry in urban subarctic environments remains poorly understood. Previous studies in wintertime Fairbanks, Alaska suggest that aldehydes may serve as precursors of sulfur(IV) adducts in aerosols, contributing to the high concentrations of wintertime PM 2.5 pollution Fairbanks often experiences. It is unknown to what extent VOCs participate in secondary aerosol chemistry, or what the sources of largely secondary VOCs (like formaldehyde) are in such a cold and dark environment. Here, we explore the sources of VOCs and examine their role in secondary chemistry. We use measurements from an online proton transfer reaction time of flight mass spectrometer, combined with complementary gas and aerosol measurements from the Alaskan Layered Pollution and Chemical Analysis (ALPACA) wintertime field campaign in 2022, to examine VOC sources and their roles in aerosol chemistry in downtown Fairbanks. We find that alcohols, aromatics and carbonyls together account for ∼ 70 % of measured VOCs, with methanol, ethanol, formaldehyde, benzene and toluene as dominant species. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis indicates up to 56 % of VOCs are vehicle-associated, with 29 %-36 % from direct emissions and 21 % from windshield wiper fluid. Wood heating and heating oil together contribute 14 %. Formaldehyde is primarily linked to diesel emissions, as well as primary and secondary sources associated with local aged air masses. By comparing PMF factors with measured PM 2.5 S(IV) species, we find that vehiclerelated emissions of ammonia (which modulates aerosol pH) and formaldehyde could promote the formation of hydroxymethanesulfonate (HMS) in Fairbanks.
SN - 1680-7324
SN - 1680-7316
ER -