ディープウォーター・ホライゾン (Deepwater Horizon) 石油流出事故のダウンウィンドで発生した有機気溶液の形成
J A de Gouw1, A M Middlebrook, C Warneke
1Chemical Sciences Division, Earth System Research Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO 80305, USA. joost.degouw@noaa.gov
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|March 12, 2011
まとめ
空中測定により,ディープウォーター・ホライゾン石油流出事故で,揮発性の低い炭化水素から発生した二次有機エアロゾール (SOA) が広範囲に広がり,メキシコ湾上空の空気の質に重大な影響を与えていることが明らかになった.
科学分野:
- 大気化学 大気化学
- 環境科学 環境科学
- エアロゾール科学は,
背景:
- 有機化合物は,大気中のエアロゾールの重要な部分を占めています.
- ディープウォーター・ホライゾン (DWH) 石油流出事故は,大気中に大量の炭化水素を放出しました.
- 石油流出によるエアロゾール形成を理解することは,空気の質の評価に不可欠です.
研究 の 目的:
- DWHの石油流出事故の空気のガスおよびエアロゾール組成を調べる.
- 炭化水素の羽根と有機エアロゾール形成の源と範囲を決定する.
- 石油流出による二次有機エアロゾール (SOA) の形成の証拠を提供するため.
主な方法:
- 国立海洋大気管理局 (NOAA) のWP-3D研究用航空機を使用した空中測定.
- メキシコ湾上空の大気中のガスおよびエアロゾール組成の分析.
- 炭化水素の羽ばたきと,DWHの現場のダウンウィンドの有機エアロゾール濃度の観測.
主要な成果:
- 新鮮油の蒸発に起因する炭化水素の狭い羽根が観察されました.
- オーガニックエアロゾール濃度 (>25μg/m3) が高いより広い羽根が検出されました.
- 広範囲に広がった有機エアロゾール羽根は,二次的な有機エアロゾール (SOA) の形成と関連していた.
結論:
- この研究は,DWHの石油流出で放出された気性低い炭化水素から,有意な二次有機エアロゾール (SOA) 形成の直接的な証拠を提供している.
- 空中での測定は,大気中の有機エアロゾール負荷に石油流出が大きく寄与していることを示しています.
- これらの発見は,大規模な炭化水素放出イベントの後の空気質モデルにおいてSOA形成を考慮することの重要性を強調しています.
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