Rapid dark aging of biomass burning as an overlooked source of oxidized organic aerosol

To quantify the full implications of biomass burning emissions on the atmosphere, it is essential to accurately represent the emission plume after it has undergone chemical aging in the atmosphere. Atmospheric models typically consider the predominant aging pathway of biomass burning emissions to take place in the presence of sunlight (via the OH radical); however, this mechanism leads to consistent underpredictions of oxidized organic aerosol in wintertime urban areas. Here, we show, through a combination of laboratory experiments, ambient field measurements, and chemical transport modeling, that biomass burning emission plumes exposed to NO2 and O3 age rapidly without requiring any sunlight, thus providing an overlooked source of oxidized organic aerosol previously not accounted for in models.