Collaborative Research: RAPID--Atmospheric Chlorine Oxidation of Hydrocarbons Emitted from the North Slope of Alaska Oil Fields

该项目将研究氯在北极冬季大气化学过程中的作用。一项测量活动将在阿拉斯加的Oliktok Point进行，这是一个由美国能源部大气辐射测量计划(DOE ARM)运营的现场，位于阿拉斯加油田北坡附近。冬季盐湖排放的大气氯可与油田排放的挥发性有机化合物(VOCs)反应生成二次有机气溶胶(SOA)。将评估这一过程的重要性，其结果可能适用于世界各地其他沿海、被雪覆盖、受污染的地点。这项研究将检验这样一种假设，即冬季含盐积雪油田附近发生的氯化学可以导致油田活动中排放的VOCs被氧化，形成氧化的VOCs(OVOCs)和SOA。现场部署包括对大气VOCs、OVOCs和SOA的在线质谱仪测量，以及现场氧化流动反应器(OFR)实验，以研究VOCs的原位氯氧化和由此产生的OVOCs和SOA。这些测量将提供在受污染的冬季环境中由氯氧化引发的分子组成变化的详细数据集。该项目得到了美国国家科学基金会快速反应研究补助金(RAPID)计划的支持，因为美国能源部已经宣布，Oliktok点现场将于2021年关闭，从2020年秋季开始取消补充的大气测量。目前还没有重新开放该网站的计划；因此，迫切需要在关闭之前在该网站进行研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will investigate the role of chlorine (Cl) in atmospheric chemical processes in the wintertime Arctic. A measurement campaign will be conducted at Oliktok Point Alaska, a field site that is operated by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (DOE ARM) and is located in the vicinity of the north slope of Alaska oilfields. Atmospheric Cl emitted from wintertime saline snowpacks can react with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from the oil fields to form secondary organic aerosol (SOA). The importance of this process will be evaluated and the results may have application to other coastal, snow-covered, polluted locations around the world.This research will test the hypothesis that chlorine chemistry occurring in the vicinity of wintertime oil fields with saline snowpacks can result in the oxidation of VOCs emitted from oil field activities and the formation of oxidized VOCs (OVOCs) and SOA. The field deployment includes online mass spectrometry measurements of atmospheric VOCs, OVOCs, and SOA, and field-based oxidation flow reactor (OFR) experiments to investigate in situ Cl oxidation of VOCs and the resulting production of OVOCs and SOA. These measurements will provide detailed datasets of molecular composition transformations initiated by Cl oxidation in the polluted wintertime environment.This project was supported under the NSF Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) program because the U.S. Department of Energy has announced that the Oliktok Point field site will be closing in 2021, with the removal of complementary atmospheric measurements starting in the fall of 2020. There are no plans to reopen this site; thus, there is an urgent need to conduct the research at this site before it is closed.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.