A Chemical Climatology of Photochemical Oxidants Part B: Research and Training Program

目前对低层大气化学的了解表明，各种各样的生物和地质过程是地球表面气体排放到大气中的原因。这些排放物对大气的化学成分产生重大影响，因此也对地球生命维持系统的总体质量产生重大影响。排放到大气中的绝大多数微量气体都处于化学还原氧化态。相比之下，通过雨水或干燥沉积从大气中返回地表的物质被高度氧化。这些还原物和氧化物之间的联系是由大气光化学反应提供的。这样，就建立了一个化学循环，通过这个循环，还原性气体被排放到大气中进行光化学氧化，并最终从大气中除去。该项目是亚特兰大大学中心（WUC）在快速发展的大气化学领域开展的一项研究/培训计划的开端。该计划的研究重点是“与光化学氧化剂相关的化学趋势和过程的研究”。在接下来的三年里，主要关注的光化学物质将是O3、H2O2（水相）和H2O2（气相）。迄今为止，文献中还没有系统的调查报告显示这三种关键光化学氧化剂之间的昼夜或长期相关性。在短期内，这个新的数据库还应该有助于阐明SO2等环境重要物种的转化率，特别是因为它与水相氧化过程有关。从长远来看，该数据库也将证明在探索光化学氧化剂水平与生物敏感植物群落损害之间的相关关系方面具有相当大的信息。这个项目的一个主要目标是制定一个面向少数民族的培训/教育方案，这将大大有助于合格的黑人科学家进入化学领域。

Current understanding of the chemistry of the lower atmosphere indicates that a wide variety of biological and geological processes are responsible for the release of gaseous emissions from the earth's surface into the atmosphere. These emissions have a major impact on the chemical composition of the atmosphere and therefore, on the overall quality of the planetary life-support system. The vast majority of the trace gases emitted into the atmosphere are in chemically reduced oxidation states. By contrast, materials returned to the surface from the atmosphere, via rain or dry deposition, are highly oxidized. The link between these reduced and oxidized species is provided by atmospheric photochemical reactions. Thus, a chemical cycle is set up by which reduced gases are emitted into the atmosphere photochemically oxidized and finally removed from the atmosphere. This project is the initiation of a research/training program at Atlanta University Center (WUC) in the rapidly growing field of atmospheric chemistry. The program will have as its research focus, "A Study of Chemical Trends and Processes as Related to Photochemical Oxidants." During the next three years the photochemical species of primary interest will be O3, H2O2 (aqueous phase) and H2O2 (gas phase). To date there have been no systematic investigations reported in the literature showing diurnal or longer term correlations between these three key photochemical oxidants. In the short term, this new data base should also help elucidate the transformation rates of such environmentally important species as SO2, particularly as it relates to aqueous phase oxidation processes. In the long term this data base should also prove quite informative in efforts to explore correlative relationships between photochemical oxidant levels and damage to biologically sensitive plant communities. This project also has as a primary objective in the development of a minority oriented training/educational program that will contribute significantly to the number of qualified Black scientists entering the field of chemistry.