Declining nitrogen oxide (NO x = NO + NO 2 ) emissions have transformed oxidation pathways in urban atmospheres, with implications for air quality. Organic peroxy radicals (RO 2 ), key intermediates in volatile organic compound oxidation, typically react with NO to form ozone (O 3 ). Under lower-NO conditions, alternative RO 2 fates, including isomerization forming highly oxidized organic molecules (HOMs), can enhance secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production. We combine aircraft observations over four major North American cities with geostationary satellite data to characterize isoprene-derived RO 2 fate across urban environments. We infer RO 2 bimolecular lifetimes (τ bi ) as a proxy for isomerization potential, finding longer τ bi (17 ± 11 seconds) in New York, Chicago, and Toronto compared to Los Angeles (7 ± 6 seconds). Satellite measurements reveal that long τ bi is widespread across urban North America, suggesting that declining NO x is likely to lead to greater HOM formation in urban regions. These findings indicate that atmospheric models omitting RO 2 isomerization chemistry may incorrectly simulate organic oxidation and the subsequent oxidation state of volatile organic compounds and SOA.
Robinson et al. (Wed,) studied this question.