Articles | Volume 23, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15149-2023
© Author(s) 2023. 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-23-15149-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comparison of six approaches to predicting droplet activation of surface active aerosol – Part 2: Strong surfactants
Sampo Vepsäläinen
Nano and Molecular Systems Research Unit, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, 90014, Oulu, Finland
Silvia M. Calderón
Finnish Meteorological Institute, P.O. Box 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland
Center for Atmospheric Research, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4500, 90014, Oulu, Finland
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Atmospheric aerosols act as seeds for cloud formation. Many aerosols contain surface active material that accumulates at the surface of growing droplets. This can affect cloud droplet activation, but the broad significance of the effect and the best way to model it are still debated. We compare predictions of six different model approaches to surface activity of organic aerosols and find significant differences between the models, especially with large fractions of organics in the dry particles.
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Nønne L. Prisle
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Jack J. Lin, Kamal Raj R Mundoli, Stella Wang, Esko Kokkonen, Mikko-Heikki Mikkelä, Samuli Urpelainen, and Nønne L. Prisle
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This study provides insight into hydration of two significant atmospheric compounds, glyoxal and methylglyoxal. Using synchrotron radiation excited X-ray absorption spectroscopy, we confirm that glyoxal is fully hydrated in water, and for the first time, we experimentally detect enol structures in aqueous methylglyoxal. Our results support the contribution of these compounds to secondary organic aerosol formation, known to have a large uncertainty in atmospheric models and climate predictions.
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We present aqueous solubilities and activity coefficients of mono- and dicarboxylic acids (C1–C6 and C2–C8, respectively) estimated using the COSMOtherm program. In addition, we have calculated effective equilibrium constants of dimerization and hydration of the same acids in the condensed phase. We were also able to improve the agreement between experimental and estimated properties of monocarboxylic acids in aqueous solutions by including clustering reactions in COSMOtherm calculations.
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Short summary
Atmospheric aerosols act as seeds for cloud formation. Many aerosols contain surface active material that accumulates at the surface of growing droplets. This can affect cloud droplet activation, but the broad significance of the effect and the best way to model it are still debated. We compare predictions of six models to surface activity of strongly surface active aerosol and find significant differences between the models, especially with large fractions of surfactant in the dry particles.
Atmospheric aerosols act as seeds for cloud formation. Many aerosols contain surface active...
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