Impacts of formaldehyde photolysis rates on tropospheric chemistry

Abstract A global chemistry transport model is employed to investigate the impact of recent laboratory determinations of photolysis parameters for formaldehyde on concentrations of tropospheric trace gases. Using the new laboratory data, the photolysis of formaldehyde is a more significant removal pathway. HO x levels are increased with the greatest changes towards the top of the troposphere and the poles, making formaldehyde a more significant source of upper tropospheric HO x than previously thought. Global totals of ozone and secondary organic aerosol increase with the rise in ozone being more significant at higher solar zenith angles. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society