Peroxides Measured at the T1 Site
We are nearing the end of our field campaign in Mexico. It has been a real adventure, with friendly people, great food, and interesting science. I obtained some good hydrogen peroxide measurements at the surface site at Tecamac University - two days are shown in the picture. Peroxide is formed from ozone, water vapor and sunlight. You can see the rise in peroxide each day as the solar intensity increases, and the decrease each night. The dips you see during the day correspond to rainy periods - peroxide dissolves in the rain, which isn't detected in our instrument. We expected the peroxide to disappear completely every night, because it is not produced in the dark, and it reacts with surfaces - plants, buildings, dust, etc.. We observed some nights where peroxide stayed high (see the first night in the accompanying graph), and we need to investigate what makes those days unique.
Hydrogen peroxide - H2O2