Articles | Volume 19, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2183-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2183-2019
Research article
 | 
20 Feb 2019
Research article |  | 20 Feb 2019

Droplet activation behaviour of atmospheric black carbon particles in fog as a function of their size and mixing state

Ghislain Motos, Julia Schmale, Joel C. Corbin, Marco Zanatta, Urs Baltensperger, and Martin Gysel-Beer

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Cited articles

Baltensperger, U., Streit, N., Weingartner, E., Nyeki, S., Prévôt, A. S. H., Dingenen, R. V., Virkkula, A., Putaud, J.-P., Even, A., Brink, H. ten, Blatter, A., Neftel, A., and Gäggeler, H. W.: Urban and rural aerosol characterization of summer smog events during the PIPAPO field campaign in Milan, Italy, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 107, LOP6-1–LOP6-14, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD001292, 2002. 
Bond, T. C., Habib, G., and Bergstrom, R. W.: Limitations in the enhancement of visible light absorption due to mixing state, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D20211, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JD007315, 2006. 
Brown, S., Lee, T., Roberts, P., and Collett, J.: Wintertime residential biomass burning in Las Vegas, Nevada; marker components and apportionment methods, Atmosphere, 7, 58, https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7040058, 2016. 
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Short summary
Clouds form by condensation of water vapour on aerosol particles. We showed that black carbon, a subset of particles responsible for a climate warming due to their strong light absorption and known to be insoluble in water, were able to form droplets when the humidity of the air is very slightly over 100 %. This is made possible by their acquisition of a coating made of hydrophilic material during atmospheric aging. The predictability of this process using theory was successfully tested.
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