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

该项目将调查氯（Cl）在北极冬季大气化学过程中的作用。测量活动将在Oliktok Point Alaska进行，该油田位于阿拉斯加油田北坡附近，由美国能源部大气辐射测量计划（DOE ARM）运营。冬季含盐积雪排放的大气Cl可与油田排放的挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）反应形成二次有机气溶胶（SOA）。将对这一过程的重要性进行评估，其结果可能适用于世界上其他沿海、积雪覆盖、受污染的地区。本研究将验证在含盐积雪的冬季油田附近发生的氯化学反应会导致油田活动排放的VOCs氧化，并形成氧化VOCs和SOA的假设。现场部署包括对大气VOCs、OVOCs和SOA的在线质谱测量，以及基于现场的氧化流反应器（OFR）实验，以研究VOCs的原位Cl氧化以及OVOCs和SOA的生成。这些测量将提供在受污染的冬季环境中由Cl氧化引起的分子组成转化的详细数据集。该项目得到了美国国家科学基金会快速反应研究拨款（Rapid）计划的支持，因为美国能源部宣布，Oliktok Point场址将于2021年关闭，并从2020年秋季开始取消补充大气测量。没有重新开放这个网站的计划；因此，迫切需要在该站点关闭之前进行研究。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.