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Fluxes of reactive organic gases seasonal intercomparison of chemical lifetimes and emissions

De Groodt, Adam1; Franklin, Emily2; Vermeuel, Michael3; Maddaleno, Trey4; Zhao, Yuewi5; Hallward-Driemeier, Andrew5; Ko, Joseph5; Commane, Róisín5; Millet, Dylan4; Farmer, Delphine1

Published Apr 16, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.7sqv9s564

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Apr 16, 2026 version files 4.27 MB

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Abstract

Sub–micron particulate matter (PM1) in the New York (NY) metropolitan area impacts air quality and human health. We characterized refractory black carbon (BC) and non–refractory (NR) PM1 in Mineola, NY during winter 2024 and NR-PM1 during summer 2023. This study investigated seasonal differences in PM1, drivers of wintertime PM1 elevated events, and potential health effects on local communities. Organic aerosol (OA) dominates both winter (63 %) and summer (86 %) NR–PM1. Primary OA dominates winter PM1 (57 %) with cooking organic aerosol (COA) contributing on average 29 %, but up to 81 % of elevated PM1 events. In summer, OA was impacted by wildfire smoke and biogenic sources; COA averaged only 9 % of OA, but sporadically enhanced OA and drove several PM1 events. BC accounted for 6 % of winter PM1. BC coating thickness increased during wintertime events relative to the campaign average, although modeled respiratory deposition showed that accompanying size changes did not shift respiratory deposition away from the alveolar region. Overall, urban PM1 primarily deposited to the sensitive alveolar region, with BC–containing particles exacerbating this effect relative to their uncoated cores. Canadian wildfire events during summer 2023 enhanced total deposition to the lungs when weighted by mass, with relative deposition favoring the head airways more than other summer periods. Our observations demonstrate that cooking is an important local source of PM1 in urban regions throughout the year, and that BC and NR-PM1 from multiple sources remain a threat to respiratory deposition and community health.