Correlation of ozone and meteorology with hydrogen peroxide in urban and rural regions of North Carolina

Abstract

Gas-phase hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and ozone (O3) along with other trace gases and meteorology were monitored in two distinct regimes of high- and low-NOx (urban and rural) areas in North Carolina during the summer of 1991 as part of the Southern Oxidants Study (SOS). The various physical, chemical, and meteorological parameters affecting H2O2 concentrations were examined using observational-based statistical analysis. It was found that in the urban air, H2O2 concentrations increased with increasing temperature, solar radiation, and ozone concentrations but decreased with increasing NOx, carbon monoxide, and relative humidity. The results of a multivariate statistical analysis indicates that the gas-phase H2O2 concentration observed at the sites is dependent on the atmospheric chemistry and the dynamical characteristics of the sites. -from Authors