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Reactive Uptake of Sulfur Dioxide and Ozone on Volcanic Glass and Ash at Ambient Temperature
Author(s) -
Maters Elena C.,
Delmelle Pierre,
Rossi Michel J.,
Ayris Paul M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8996
pISSN - 2169-897X
DOI - 10.1002/2017jd026993
Subject(s) - ozone , sulfur dioxide , plume , volcanic ash , environmental chemistry , trace gas , chemistry , dimethyl sulfide , oxidizing agent , volcano , mineralogy , chemical composition , sulfur , inorganic chemistry , geology , geochemistry , meteorology , organic chemistry , physics
The atmospheric impacts of volcanic ash from explosive eruptions are rarely considered alongside those of volcanogenic gases/aerosols. While airborne particles provide solid surfaces for chemical reactions with trace gases in the atmosphere, the reactivity of airborne ash has seldom been investigated. Here we determine the total uptake capacity (N i M ) and initial uptake coefficient ( γ M ) for sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and ozone (O 3 ) on a compositional array of volcanic ash and glass powders at ~25°C in a Knudsen flow reactor. The measured ranges of N i SO2 and γ SO2 (10 11 –10 13 molecules cm −2 and 10 −3 –10 −2 ) and N i O3 and γ O3 (10 12 –10 13 molecules cm −2 and 10 −3 –10 −2 ) are comparable to values reported for mineral dust. Differences in ash and glass reactivity toward SO 2 and O 3 may relate to varying abundances of, respectively, basic and reducing sites on these materials. The typically lower SO 2 and O 3 uptake on ash compared to glass likely results from prior exposure of ash surfaces to acidic and oxidizing conditions within the volcanic eruption plume/cloud. While sequential uptake experiments overall suggest that these gases do not compete for reactive surface sites, SO 2 uptake forming adsorbed S(IV) species may enhance the capacity for subsequent O 3 uptake via redox reaction forming adsorbed S(VI) species. Our findings imply that ash emissions may represent a hitherto neglected sink for atmospheric SO 2 and O 3 .