Articles | Volume 21, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3871-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3871-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
15 Mar 2021
Research article |
| 15 Mar 2021
| 15 Mar 2021
The importance of Aitken mode aerosol particles for cloud sustenance in the summertime high Arctic – a simulation study supported by observational data
Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, Stockholm 106 91,
Sweden
Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm 106 91, Sweden
Adele L. Igel
Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, California, USA
Caroline Leck
Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, Stockholm 106 91,
Sweden
Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm 106 91, Sweden
Jost Heintzenberg
Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, Stockholm 106 91,
Sweden
Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Permoserstraße 14, Leipzig 04318, Germany
Ilona Riipinen
Department of Environmental Science (ACES), Stockholm University,
Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm 106 91, Sweden
Annica M. L. Ekman
Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, Stockholm 106 91,
Sweden
Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm 106 91, Sweden
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Cited
34 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Highly Hygroscopic Aerosols Facilitate Summer and Early‐Autumn Cloud Formation at Extremely Low Concentrations Over the Central Arctic Ocean P. Duplessis et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JD039159
- Marine Polymer-Gels’ Relevance in the Atmosphere as Aerosols and CCN M. Orellana et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels7040185
- Short-Period Variations in Microphysical Characteristics of Aerosol Nanoparticles in the Dry Steppe Zone of Southern Russia in Summer D. Gubanova et al. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1024856024700878
- Physical and Chemical Properties of Cloud Droplet Residuals and Aerosol Particles During the Arctic Ocean 2018 Expedition L. Karlsson et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD036383
- Modeling Aerosol Effects on Liquid Clouds in the Summertime Arctic R. Ghahreman et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD034962
- The role of local shipping emissions in aerosol-cloud interactions in the central Arctic B. Heutte et al. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae6673
- Observations of high-time-resolution and size-resolved aerosol chemical composition and microphysics in the central Arctic: implications for climate-relevant particle properties B. Heutte et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2207-2025
- Challenges in Observation of Ultrafine Particles: Addressing Estimation Miscalculations and the Necessity of Temporal Trends T. Lin et al. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c07460
- Late summer transition from a free-tropospheric to boundary layer source of Aitken mode aerosol in the high Arctic R. Price et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2927-2023
- The chance of freezing – a conceptional study to parameterize temperature-dependent freezing by including randomness of ice-nucleating particle concentrations H. Frostenberg et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10883-2023
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- Size Dependent Charge Measurement of Atmospheric Relevant Aerosol Species and the Implication Towards Deposition Dynamics . Mariam et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41810-025-00323-2
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- Aerosol size distribution properties associated with cold-air outbreaks in the Norwegian Arctic A. Williams et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11791-2024
- Impact of monsoon on below cloud base aerosol hygroscopicity over a rain shadow region of India M. Varghese et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2023.106630
- Atmospheric nanoparticle growth D. Stolzenburg et al. https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.95.045002
- Seasonal dynamics of airborne biomolecules influence the size distribution of Arctic aerosols E. Jang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ese.2024.100458
- Aitken mode particles as CCN in aerosol- and updraft-sensitive regimes of cloud droplet formation M. Pöhlker et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11723-2021
- Aerosol and dynamical contributions to cloud droplet formation in Arctic low-level clouds G. Motos et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13941-2023
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- Size-Dependent Nascent Sea Spray Aerosol Bounce Fractions and Estimated Viscosity: The Role of Divalent Cation Enrichment, Surface Tension, and the Kelvin Effect P. Tumminello et al. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c04312
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34 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Highly Hygroscopic Aerosols Facilitate Summer and Early‐Autumn Cloud Formation at Extremely Low Concentrations Over the Central Arctic Ocean P. Duplessis et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JD039159
- Marine Polymer-Gels’ Relevance in the Atmosphere as Aerosols and CCN M. Orellana et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels7040185
- Short-Period Variations in Microphysical Characteristics of Aerosol Nanoparticles in the Dry Steppe Zone of Southern Russia in Summer D. Gubanova et al. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1024856024700878
- Physical and Chemical Properties of Cloud Droplet Residuals and Aerosol Particles During the Arctic Ocean 2018 Expedition L. Karlsson et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD036383
- Modeling Aerosol Effects on Liquid Clouds in the Summertime Arctic R. Ghahreman et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD034962
- The role of local shipping emissions in aerosol-cloud interactions in the central Arctic B. Heutte et al. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae6673
- Observations of high-time-resolution and size-resolved aerosol chemical composition and microphysics in the central Arctic: implications for climate-relevant particle properties B. Heutte et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2207-2025
- Challenges in Observation of Ultrafine Particles: Addressing Estimation Miscalculations and the Necessity of Temporal Trends T. Lin et al. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c07460
- Late summer transition from a free-tropospheric to boundary layer source of Aitken mode aerosol in the high Arctic R. Price et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2927-2023
- The chance of freezing – a conceptional study to parameterize temperature-dependent freezing by including randomness of ice-nucleating particle concentrations H. Frostenberg et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10883-2023
- Image-based observation of aerosol hygroscopic growth and extinction coefficient reversal at three wavelengths, supported by Köhler theory simulations J. Sim et al. https://doi.org/10.1039/D5EM00826C
- Characterization of size-segregated particles' turbulent flux and deposition velocity by eddy correlation method at an Arctic site A. Donateo et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7425-2023
- Size Dependent Charge Measurement of Atmospheric Relevant Aerosol Species and the Implication Towards Deposition Dynamics . Mariam et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41810-025-00323-2
- The annual cycle and sources of relevant aerosol precursor vapors in the central Arctic during the MOSAiC expedition M. Boyer et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12595-2024
- Aerosol size distribution properties associated with cold-air outbreaks in the Norwegian Arctic A. Williams et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11791-2024
- Impact of monsoon on below cloud base aerosol hygroscopicity over a rain shadow region of India M. Varghese et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2023.106630
- Atmospheric nanoparticle growth D. Stolzenburg et al. https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.95.045002
- Seasonal dynamics of airborne biomolecules influence the size distribution of Arctic aerosols E. Jang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ese.2024.100458
- Aitken mode particles as CCN in aerosol- and updraft-sensitive regimes of cloud droplet formation M. Pöhlker et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11723-2021
- Aerosol and dynamical contributions to cloud droplet formation in Arctic low-level clouds G. Motos et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13941-2023
- Changes in CCN activity of ship exhaust particles induced by fuel sulfur content reduction and wet scrubbing L. Santos et al. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2EA00081D
- Size-Dependent Nascent Sea Spray Aerosol Bounce Fractions and Estimated Viscosity: The Role of Divalent Cation Enrichment, Surface Tension, and the Kelvin Effect P. Tumminello et al. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c04312
- Optimizing CCN predictions through inferred modal aerosol composition – a boreal forest case study R. Ranjan et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-17275-2025
- Comparing the simulated influence of biomass burning plumes on low-level clouds over the southeastern Atlantic under varying smoke conditions A. Baró Pérez et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4591-2024
- Is the summer aerosol over the Arctic controlled by regional atmospheric circulation or ice conditions? Trends and future implications C. Leck et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-16775-2025
- Using Novel Molecular-Level Chemical Composition Observations of High Arctic Organic Aerosol for Predictions of Cloud Condensation Nuclei K. Siegel et al. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c02162
- Large-eddy simulation of a two-layer boundary-layer cloud system from the Arctic Ocean 2018 expedition I. Bulatovic et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7033-2023
- Treatment of Key Aerosol and Cloud Processes in Earth System Models – Recommendations from the FORCeS Project I. Riipinen et al. https://doi.org/10.16993/tellusb.1883
- Cloud Top Radiative Cooling Rate Drives Non‐Precipitating Stratiform Cloud Responses to Aerosol Concentration A. Williams & A. Igel https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094740
- Revealing the chemical characteristics of Arctic low-level cloud residuals – in situ observations from a mountain site Y. Gramlich et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6813-2023
- Characterizing the hygroscopicity of growing particles in the Canadian Arctic summer R. Chang et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8059-2022
- A long-term study of cloud residuals from low-level Arctic clouds L. Karlsson et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8933-2021
- Potential impacts of marine fuel regulations on an Arctic stratocumulus case and its radiative response L. Escusa dos Santos et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-119-2025
- Above-cloud concentrations of cloud condensation nuclei help to sustain some Arctic low-level clouds L. Sterzinger & A. Igel https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3529-2024
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 11 Jun 2026
Short summary
We use detailed numerical modelling to show that small aerosol particles (diameters ~25–80 nm; so-called Aitken mode particles) significantly influence low-level cloud properties in the clean summertime high Arctic. The small particles can help sustain clouds when the concentration of larger particles is low (<10–20 cm-3). Measurements from four different observational campaigns in the high Arctic support the modelling results as they indicate that Aitken mode aerosols are frequently activated.
We use detailed numerical modelling to show that small aerosol particles (diameters ~25–80 nm;...
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