Effect of aqueous phase cloud chemistry on tropospheric ozone

Abstract

The sensitivity of tropospheric O 3 to aqueous HO x (OH + HO 2 ) phase chemistry in clouds is examined using photochemical model calculations of the O 3 production efficiency per unit NO x and the chemical lifetime of O 3 , combined with estimates for the residence time of air in clouds. It is found that the maximum perturbation to O 3 from cloud chemistry in the tropics and midlatitudes summer is less than 3%. This result is supported by calculations using a three‐dimensional, continental‐scale model for North America.