Observations of atmospheric oxidation and ozone production in South Korea

South Korea routinely experiences poor air quality with ozone and small particles exceeding air quality standards. To build a better understanding of this problem, in 2016, the KORea-United States cooperative Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) study collected surface and airborne measurements of many chemical species, including the reactive gases hydroxyl (OH) and hydroperpoxyl (HO2). Several different results are reported here. First, OH and HO2 measured on the NASA DC-8 agree to within uncertainties with values calculated by two different box models, both in statistical comparisons and as a function of altitude from the surface to 8 km. These comparisons show substantial scatter, likely due to both variability in instrument performance and the difficulty in interpolating measurements made with frequencies different from those of the model time step. Second, OH and HO2 calculated by a model including HO2 uptake on aerosol particles in the chemical mechanism are inconsistent with observations. Third, in the planetary boundary layer over both ocean and land, measured and modelcalculated OH reactivity are sometimes different, and this missing OH reactivity, which is as much as ~4 s-1, increased from April to June and originated primarily from the Korean peninsula. Fourth, repeated missed approaches at the Seoul Air Base during several days show that the changes in the sum of ozone and nitrogen dioxide are consistent with ozone production rates calculated from HO2 either observed or modeled by the Langley Research Center model.

Automated summary

South Korea frequently experiences poor air quality with ozone and small particles exceeding standards. The KORUS-AQ study collected measurements of various chemical species, including OH and HO2, in order to better understand this issue. The study found inconsistencies between model calculations and observations, likely due to instrument variability and difficulties in data interpolation. The missing OH reactivity primarily originates from the Korean peninsula.