SECONDARY ORGANIC AEROSOLS - FORMATION POTENTIAL AND AMBIENT DATA

Organic aerosols comprise a significant fraction of the total atmosphe ric particle loading and are associated with radiative forcing and hea lth impacts. Ambient organic aerosol concentrations contain both a pri mary and secondary component. Herein, fractional aerosol coefficients (FAC) are used in conjunction with measurements of volatile organic co mpounds (VOC) to predict the formation potential of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) in the Lower Fraser Valley (LEV) of British Columbia. T he predicted concentrations of SOA show reasonable accord with ambient aerosol measurements and indicate considerable seasonal variability i n SOA potential. Particulate carbon contributes only approx. 3% of tot al carbon concentrations in the LFV, and it is shown that variability in total carbon concentrations is significantly larger than variabilit y in gas/particle partitioning. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.