Photochemical production and loss rates of formaldehyde and ozone across Europe

HCHO is an important atmospheric trace gas influencing the photochemical processes in the earth’s atmosphere including the budget of HO_x and the abundance of tropospheric O₃. This research presents photochemical calculations of HCHO and O₃ based on three field campaigns across Europe, showing that HCHO production via oxidation of only four VOC precursors, which are CH₄, CH₃CHO, C₅H₈ and CH₃OH, can well balance the observed loss at all sites.