High-Latitude Springtime Photochemistry. Part Ii: Sensitivity Studies of Ozone Production

A seven-year record of surface ozone measurements from Denali NationalPark, Alaska shows a persistent spring maximum. These data, combined withmeasurements of NO_x, hydrocarbons, O₃, and PANfrom a continental site in Alaska during the spring of 1995 are used as thebasis for a sensitivity study to explore tropospheric photochemistry in thisregion. Because of the relatively high concentrations of NO_x(mean of 116, median of 91 pptv), the net tendency was for photochemicalozone production. The range of net O₃ production for averageconditions measured at this site during spring is between 0.96–3.9ppbv/day depending on the assumptions used; in any case, this productionmust contribute to the observed springtime maximum in O₃.Model calculations showed that of the anthropogenic ozone precursors, onlyNO_x had a strong effect on the rate of ozone production; themeasured concentrations of anthropogenic hydrocarbons did not significantlyaffect the ozone budget. Naturally produced biogenic hydrocarbons, such asisoprene, may also have a significant effect on ozone production, even atconcentrations of a few 10's of pptv. An observed temperature-isoprenerelationship from a boreal site in Canada indicates that isoprene may bepresent during the Alaskan spring. Measurements of isoprene taken duringthe spring of 1996 suggest that reactive biogenic hydrocarbon emissionsbegin before the emergence of leaves on deciduous trees and that theconcentrations were sufficient to accelerate ozone production.