Articles | Volume 15, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2775-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2775-2015
Research article
 | 
10 Mar 2015
Research article |  | 10 Mar 2015

A critical evaluation of proxy methods used to estimate the acidity of atmospheric particles

C. J. Hennigan, J. Izumi, A. P. Sullivan, R. J. Weber, and A. Nenes

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We show that the ion balance and molar ratio methods are unsuitable for use as aerosol pH proxies. Our recommendation is that 1) thermodynamic equilibrium models constrained by both gas and aerosol inputs run in the forward (open) mode, and 2) the phase partitioning of ammonia provides the best predictions of aerosol pH. Given the significance of acidity for numerous chemical processes in the atmosphere, the implications of this study are important and far reaching.
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