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Lake spray aerosol emissions alter nitrogen partitioning in the Great Lakes region
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  • Allison L. Steiner,
  • Andrew Phillip Ault,
  • Nicole E Olson,
  • David Neubauer,
  • Behrooz Roozitalab,
  • Anahita Amiri-Farahani
Allison L. Steiner
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Andrew Phillip Ault
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Nicole E Olson
University of Michigan
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David Neubauer
ETH Zurich
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Behrooz Roozitalab
University of Iowa
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Anahita Amiri-Farahani
University of Michigan

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

We develop a new, wind-driven lake spray aerosol (LSA) emissions parameterization that resolves both particle size and chemical composition, and investigate the impact of these emissions on regional chemistry in the Great Lakes region. We conduct WRF-Chem simulations for November 2015, a time period with high LSA emissions. LSA particles emitted from the surface of the Great Lakes increase particulate NO$_{3}^{-}$ by 46\% over the Great Lakes and by 16\% over land, primarily due to heterogeneous reactions between CaCO$_{3}$ and HNO$_{3}$. Cations emitted from lake spray affect the thermodynamic equilibrium, reducing particulate NH$_{4}^{+}$ by 42\% over the Great Lakes and by 6\% over the surrounding land. This also influences gas-phase species in the region, decreasing nitric acid by up to 71\% over lakes. Overall, these simulations suggest that understanding LSA and its impact on other air pollutants is important for determining health and climate effects in the Great Lakes region.