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This study examines the general characteristics of reactive nitrogen oxides (NOy) at urban and rural sites in terms of measurement- and modeling-based analyses. In this field study, NOx at urban and rural sites were 92 and 89% of NOy on average, respectively. HONO levels (e.g., 1.8 ppbv) at the urban site were significantly higher than those at the rural site by a factor of 4.5. HONO concentrations at the urban site during the night were clearly higher than those during the day, which were likely to result from heterogeneous reactions on the surfaces of airborne aerosols and/or grounds. In contrast, there were no significant differences of PAN concentrations in either the temporal or spatial distributions. The significantly low ratios of NOz/NOy at both sampling sites indicated a more limited chemical aging process in air mass. O3 levels were weakly related to NOx oxidation at both sites, especially at the rural site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambient gas phase nitrous acid (HONO) has been measured by Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy with sub-ppbv detection limits. An R-branch line in the 1263.4 cm-1 ν3 band was found to be free of interference and suitable for ambient HONO measurements. Nitrous acid was measured during the night and early morning at an urban site in Toronto, Canada, during the summer of 1998. Average mixing ratios, integrated over 30 minutes, ranged from below the minimum detection limit of 300 pptv to 1.9 ppbv, with the highest concentrations observed during the early morning hours. During the night of 19 June 1998, the concentration of HONO increased by as much as 0.5 ppbv/hr. The usual decrease in HONO after sunrise was delayed by a few hours, possibly due to a combination of an increase in the production rate of HONO with rush hour, and attenuation of the early morning light by high NO2 within the aerosol fog/haze. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]