Modelling the impact of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compound emissions on Formic Acid concentrations above Central Europe.

Abstract

International audienceFormic acid (HCOOH) is among the most abundant carboxylic acids in the atmosphere however, its sources are poorly understood. Photochemical production is thought to be the dominant source of atmospheric HCOOH globally, contributing 60–80% of its total budget. Particularly, he OH‐initiated oxidation of isoprene produces HCOOH via several known pathways. Here we present a study of how BVOC emissions estimated by the MEGAN model contribute to HCOOH concentrations above central Europe for the 2021 year while the CAMx chemistry transport model was used to calculate the species concentrations. The CAMx produced HCOOH column densities are compared with IASI/AERIS columns while the modelled near surface isoprene concentrations are compared with AirBase data. Although, spatially there is a good agreement between the modeled and the observed values, their magnitude is underestimated in most cases indicating some missing source or underestimated production of formic acid