Dimethylamine as a major alkyl amine species in particles and cloud water: Observations in semi-arid and coastal regions

- DMA exhibits peak mass concentrations between 0.18 and 0.56 μm.
- DMA:NH4+ molar ratios generally peak between 0.18 and 1.0 μm (up to 0.04).
- DMA correlates with BVOCs, sulfate, aerosol water, and marine emissions.
- Wildfires enhance DMA levels in cloud water via dissolution in drops.
- DMA correlates with vanadium in PM1.0 in a populated semi-arid region.

Aerosol and cloud water measurements of dimethylamine (DMA), the most abundant amine in this study, were conducted in semi-arid (Tucson, Arizona) and marine (Nucleation in California Experiment, NiCE; central coast of California) areas. In both regions, DMA exhibits a unimodal aerosol mass size distribution with a dominant peak between 0.18 and 0.56 μm. Particulate DMA concentrations increase as a function of marine biogenic emissions, sulfate, BVOC emissions, and aerosol-phase water. Such data supports biogenic sources of DMA, aminium salt formation, and partitioning of DMA to condensed phases. DMA concentrations exhibit positive correlations with various trace elements and most especially vanadium, which warrants additional investigation. Cloud water DMA levels are enhanced significantly during wildfire periods unlike particulate DMA levels, including in droplet residual particles, due to effective dissolution of DMA into cloud water and probably DMA volatilization after drop evaporation. DMA:NH4+ molar ratios peak between 0.18 and 1.0 μm depending on the site and time of year, suggesting that DMA competes better with NH3 in those sizes in terms of reactive uptake by particles.