2004/02/19 by Magda Claeys, Bim Graham, György Vas +8 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols #Atmospheric Ozone and Climate #Atmospheric aerosols and clouds
paper · doi:10.1126/science.1092805
openalex publication_date 2004/02/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Detailed organic analysis of natural aerosols from the Amazonian rain forest showed considerable quantities of previously unobserved polar organic compounds, which were identified as a mixture of two diastereoisomeric 2-methyltetrols: 2-methylthreitol and 2-methylerythritol. These polyols, which have the isoprene skeleton, can be explained by OH radical-initiated photooxidation of isoprene. They have low vapor pressure, allowing them to condense onto preexisting particles. It is estimated that photooxidation of isoprene results in an annual global production of about 2 teragrams of the polyols, a substantial fraction of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimate of between 8 and 40 teragrams per year of secondary organic aerosol from biogenic sources.