We will develop a new instrument to measure atmospheric chemical reactivity in remote environments and so better constrain chemistry occurring in the background atmosphere and its impact on air pollutants.
  • Dates2023-2025
  • SponsorNatural Environment Research Council (NERC)
  • Funded£950,000 (100% FEC)
  • PartnersDr Valerio Ferracci, National Physical Laboratory
    Dr Lisa Whalley, Professor Dwayne Heard, Professor Paul Seaton, University of Leeds

The hydroxyl radical (OH) is a key oxidant responsible for breaking down many greenhouse gases and pollutants in the atmosphere. As a measure of the processes contributing to OH removal, OH reactivity is an important metric for assessing atmospheric chemistry. Existing methods to measure OH reactivity involve complex instruments which require significant support in the field.

This project aims to produce a low-maintenance instrument capable of measuring OH reactivity at the levels found in the background atmosphere for use at multiple remote measurement sites around the world for months to years. Collecting long-term measurements of OH reactivity will provide a valuable data set to test the representation of OH chemistry in global climate models and hence the removal of methane and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.