Summer 2019 Observations of Acyl Peroxy Nitrates from Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Oil and natural gas production within the Permian Basin has likely contributed to increased emissions of many ozone precursors in the southwestern US. Better understanding of the emissions and their atmospheric evolution is essential to understanding air quality throughout the region. We report on measurements of ozone and related gas-phase species, including ozone precursors and other secondary species, collected in Carlsbad Caverns National Park in summer 2019. Measurements include methane, nitrogen oxides, acyl peroxy nitrates (APNs), and a large suite of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs). In this preliminary analysis, we will focus our attention on measurements of APNs. We compare the relative abundance of APNs observed at Carlsbad Caverns to prior observations in other regions impacted by emissions from the oil and gas sector, including the Colorado Front Range.