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Journal Highlights - September 2005 

Naturally driven variability in the global secondary organic aerosol over a decade
K. Tsigaridis, J. Lathière, M. Kanakidou, D. A. Hauglustaine, Volume 5, Number 7, pp 1891-1904, 2005.

The article by Tsigaridis and colleagues provides an interesting model prediction that “SOAs” (secondary organic aerosols) have increased over the last decade. They are important compared to human-produced SOAs. Much less is known about SOAs than other ‘inorganic’ (e.g. sulphate) aerosols. It is important for global models because their radiative properties are entirely different. Read the full article.

Sources and sinks of acetone, methanol, and acetaldehyde in North Atlantic marine air
A. C. Lewis, J. R. Hopkins, L. J. Carpenter, J. Stanton, K. A. Read, M. J. Pilling, Volume 5, Number 7, pp 1963-1974, 2005.

Little is known about the occurrence of OVOCs (oxygenated VOCs) in the “background” atmosphere. The authors made the startling observation that they account for up to 85% of all non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) measured in marine air conditions, and that they account for 80% of the loss of OH sink due to all organic gases combined. This is something quite unexpected and surprising: OVOCs have not been previously considered to be quite so important in clean marine air. OH is critical in determining the atmospheric lifetime of many gases, including climatically important gases such as methane. Read the full article.