Aircraft measurements of atmospheric trace gases performed over the pristine Amazon forest find unexpectedly high hydroxyl radical concentrations. On the basis of a model study and the results of laboratory experiments, it is proposed that natural volatile organic compounds oxidation, notably of isoprene, recycles hydroxyl radical efficiently through reactions of organic peroxy radicals, which may be able to explain the high hydroxyl radical levels observed.
- J. Lelieveld
- T. M. Butler
- J. Williams
