The composition, concentration, and size of submicron aerosols were measured with a time resolution of five minutes by an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) at a rural location northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, area for the month of June 2011. A TSI, Inc., Model AE51 aethalometer using an optical absorption technique also was deployed to measure black carbon (BC) concentrations. The total measured PM1 mass concentration ranged between 1.0 µg/m3 and 17.1 µg/m3, with a mean and standard deviation of 4.6± 2.7 µg/m3. Significant variability is observed in the time series of total PM1 and of all four HR-ToF-AMS species, particularly between June 21 and 25. The average aerosol composition was dominated by organic matter (52.1 ± 14.8%) and sulfate (28.8 ± 11.8%). Organic aerosol concentrations were positively correlated with tracers of combustion carbon monoxide (CO) and BC, the coefficients of determination were r2=064 and r2=0.48, respectively.

Because of the large influence of organics on total aerosol concentration, organic data were analyzed in the context of ΔOA/ΔCO, which typically is used to investigate the relative importance of secondary organic aerosol. The average ∆OA/∆CO for the data used was 64.0 ± 26.9 µg/ (m3 ppmv), which is typical of an aged air mass. Other metrics of age include the ratio of OOAI (more oxidized) to total oxidized organic aerosol (OOA), the ratio of sulfate to total sulfur, the ratio of its oxidation products to isoprene, and the ratio of nitrogen oxides to total reactive nitrogen. All metrics point to aged air masses, but variations in these age matrices, particularly during one period of enhanced ΔOA/ΔCO, help elucidate the contributions of various precursors and processes to organic aerosols at the site.