Forests emit an array of reactive volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as alpha-pinene (C₁₀H₁₆), to the atmosphere. Atmospheric oxidation can produce low volatility products, which contribute to the formation and growth of atmospheric particles, in turn modulating the amount of sunlight, or precipitation that reaches the surface. The chemistry behind this particle formation process is poorly understood. We present measurements and analysis of the gas- and particle-phase composition produced from alpha-pinene ozonolysis utilizing the University of Washington (UW) Chamber, a 0.7 m³ Teflon bag. The UW Chamber was operated in continuous flow mode, where ~70 ppb of alpha-pinene and excess ozone were constantly input and products constantly sampled with an Iodide adduct High Resolution – Time of Flight – Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-CIMS) coupled to the Filter Inlet for Gases and AEROsols (FIGAERO). This method provides elemental composition for each detected molecule, but does not provide structural information. To address this issue we employ a voltage scanning technique where we increase the electric field strength within the HR-ToF-CIMS to induce the declustering of reagent ion-molecule clusters. This technique causes a decrease in signal for most compounds, as the reagent-ion is no longer clustered to the molecule. It is hypothesized, that if the reagent-ion is clustered to a peroxy acid group, then enhanced declustering can promote reactive charge transfer reactions of the type I-(RC(O)OOH) -> HOI + RC(O)O -. We expect to observe decrease in signal from the parent I -(RC(O)OOH) adducts accompanied by a corresponding increase in carboxylate ion(RC(O)O-) signals. The mass spectrometer is able to resolve ions that do and do not contain an Iodide, and thus we can, for the first time, quantitatively determine online and in real time, how many peroxy acid products are present and their fractional contribution to the total of observed alpha-pinene oxidation products.

 Variations in sea ice extent have a large impact on the energy budget of the artic and, consequentially, temperature variations in the arctic region. It has been proposed that the recent arctic sea ice melt has influenced mid-latitude weather, yet others argue that arctic warming anomalies also respond to influences from other latitudes. The purpose of this project is to examine relationships between temperature fluctuations in the lower troposphere of the arctic and variations in weather at other latitudes. Using NOAA's 20th Century Reanalysis data, a recent analysis involving interpolation and assimilation of past weather observations, we identified global geopotential height trends during warm and cold years in the arctic region. Preliminary conclusions of these results suggest that warm temperatures over the arctic are associated with low 500mb geopotential heights over the northern Pacific Ocean during winter, spring and fall months as well as high 500mb geopotential heights over the southwestern Pacific Ocean in fall months when temperatures in the arctic are warmer than usual. Our next goal will be to compare the 500mb height maps created to El Nino temperature indices to assess the viability of a claim that arctic temperatures are correlated with El Nino events. As of now, the results indicate that a warm arctic temperatures can be associated with sea surface temperature variations. The conclusion that lower tropospheric arctic temperatures are correlated with El Nino events indicates that care must be taken in associating a warmed arctic with weather anomalies over the continental USA. We will attempt to distinguish the effects of historical El Nino variability from the effects of the recent human-induced arctic melting.