EAPSI: Chemical reaction of pollutants within fog droplets in the Eastern Yellow Sea

雾滴可以通过提供将空气污染物从大气中去除的介质，或通过化学反应形成影响气候系统、人类健康和生态系统健康的产品，从而影响空气污染物。具体来说，雾滴中水反应形成的固体和液体产物可以聚集在一起，增加形成云或雾滴的颗粒数量，进而增加云或雾的寿命和密度。大气颗粒、雾或云水中存在的化学物质也将决定它们进入人体呼吸系统或沉积到生态系统中的毒性。因此，确定和量化在雾水中发生的化学反应是很重要的，特别是在测量了大量污染物和雾事件频繁发生的地区。此次研究将由韩国外国语大学李泰英博士协助，在白翎岛进行。白翎岛位于黄海东部，夏季经常出现雾霾，同时也有大量的工业、农业、沙漠（沙尘）、海洋等固体或液体污染物。将对在白翎岛收集的雾水进行化学和物理测量，以确定雾中是否发生了预期的化学反应。其他分析将包括对阴离子（包括硫酸盐和硝酸盐）、有机污染物（如硝基酚）和预期反应产物（如小羧酸）的分析。美国国家科学基金会EAPSI奖与韩国国家研究基金会合作资助。

Fog droplets can impact air pollutants by providing a medium for their removal from the atmosphere, or their chemical reaction to form products that impact the climate system, human health, and ecosystem health differently. Specifically, solid and liquid products formed from aqueous reactions in fog droplets can aggregate to increase the number of particles available for cloud or fog droplet formation, and in turn, the lifetime and density of a cloud or fog. The chemicals present in atmospheric particles, fog, or cloud water will also determine their toxicity as they enter human respiratory systems or are deposited into ecosystems. Identifying and quantifying chemical reactions occurring within fog water is therefore important, particularly in regions where large amounts of pollutants have been measured, and fog events are frequent. This research will be conducted at Baengnyeong Island, Korea with the assistance of Dr. Taehyoung Lee of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul. Baengnyeong Island is located in the Eastern Yellow Sea, where frequent fog events during the summer coincide with large amounts of gaseous and suspended solid or liquid pollutants from industrial, agricultural, desert (dust), and sea sources. Chemical and physical measurements of fog water collected at Baengnyeong Island will be made to determine whether expected chemical reactions are occurring within the fog. Additional analyses will include analyses for anions including sulfate and nitrate, organic pollutants such as nitrophenols, and products of expected reactions such as small carboxylic acids. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the National Research Foundation of Korea.