The dependence of the concentration of OH on its precursors under moderately polluted conditions: A model study

Oxidation of trace gases emitted into the atmosphere is frequently promoted by free radicals. During daytime, the most important radical is the hydroxyl radical, since it reacts with almost all pollutants thereby initializing their ultimate removal from the atmosphere. Since the reaction with OH is in many cases the rate-determining step, the ambient OH concentration is a measure for the atmosphere's oxidation capacity. This paper investigates the influence of the chemical precursors and the photolysis frequencies on the atmospheric OH abundance under moderately polluted and rural conditions. The dominant controlling parameter are the photolysis of ozone and the concentrations of the nitrogen oxides.