Articles | Volume 23, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-251-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-251-2023
ACP Letters
 | Highlight paper
 | 
13 Jan 2023
ACP Letters | Highlight paper |  | 13 Jan 2023

Strong particle production and condensational growth in the upper troposphere sustained by biogenic VOCs from the canopy of the Amazon Basin

Yunfan Liu, Hang Su, Siwen Wang, Chao Wei, Wei Tao, Mira L. Pöhlker, Christopher Pöhlker, Bruna A. Holanda, Ovid O. Krüger, Thorsten Hoffmann, Manfred Wendisch, Paulo Artaxo, Ulrich Pöschl, Meinrat O. Andreae, and Yafang Cheng

Related authors

Impact of biomass burning aerosols on radiation, clouds, and precipitation over the Amazon: relative importance of aerosol–cloud and aerosol–radiation interactions
Lixia Liu, Yafang Cheng, Siwen Wang, Chao Wei, Mira L. Pöhlker, Christopher Pöhlker, Paulo Artaxo, Manish Shrivastava, Meinrat O. Andreae, Ulrich Pöschl, and Hang Su
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13283–13301, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13283-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13283-2020, 2020
Short summary
Aerosol pH and chemical regimes of sulfate formation in aerosol water during winter haze in the North China Plain
Wei Tao, Hang Su, Guangjie Zheng, Jiandong Wang, Chao Wei, Lixia Liu, Nan Ma, Meng Li, Qiang Zhang, Ulrich Pöschl, and Yafang Cheng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11729–11746, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11729-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11729-2020, 2020
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Enhanced atmospheric oxidation and particle reductions driving changes to nitrate formation mechanisms across coastal and inland regions of north China
Zhenze Liu, Jianhua Qi, Yuanzhe Ni, Likun Xue, and Xiaohuan Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8719–8742, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8719-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8719-2025, 2025
Short summary
Atmospheric fate of organosulfates through gas-phase and aqueous-phase reactions with hydroxyl radicals: implications for inorganic sulfate formation
Narcisse Tsona Tchinda, Xiaofan Lv, Stanley Numbonui Tasheh, Julius Numbonui Ghogomu, and Lin Du
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8575–8590, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8575-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8575-2025, 2025
Short summary
Opinion: The role of AerChemMIP in advancing climate and air quality research
Paul T. Griffiths, Laura J. Wilcox, Robert J. Allen, Vaishali Naik, Fiona M. O'Connor, Michael Prather, Alex Archibald, Florence Brown, Makoto Deushi, William Collins, Stephanie Fiedler, Naga Oshima, Lee T. Murray, Bjørn H. Samset, Chris Smith, Steven Turnock, Duncan Watson-Parris, and Paul J. Young
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8289–8328, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8289-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8289-2025, 2025
Short summary
Uncertainties in the effects of organic aerosol coatings on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations and their estimated health effects
Sijia Lou, Manish Shrivastava, Alexandre Albinet, Sophie Tomaz, Deepchandra Srivastava, Olivier Favez, Huizhong Shen, and Aijun Ding
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8163–8183, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8163-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8163-2025, 2025
Short summary
Source-explicit estimation of brown carbon in the polluted atmosphere over the North China Plain: implications for distribution, absorption, and the direct radiative effect
Jiamao Zhou, Jiarui Wu, Xiaoli Su, Ruonan Wang, Imad EI Haddad, Xia Li, Qian Jiang, Ting Zhang, Wenting Dai, Junji Cao, Andre S. H. Prevot, Xuexi Tie, and Guohui Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7563–7580, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7563-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7563-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Andreae, M. O.: Emission of trace gases and aerosols from biomass burning – an updated assessment, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8523–8546, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8523-2019, 2019. 
Andreae, M. O. and Andreae, T. W.: The cycle of biogenic sulfur compounds over the Amazon Basin: 1. Dry season, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 93, 1487–1497, https://doi.org/10.1029/JD093iD02p01487, 1988. 
Archer-Nicholls, S., Lowe, D., Utembe, S., Allan, J., Zaveri, R. A., Fast, J. D., Hodnebrog, Ø., Denier van der Gon, H., and McFiggans, G.: Gaseous chemistry and aerosol mechanism developments for version 3.5.1 of the online regional model, WRF-Chem, Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 2557–2579, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2557-2014, 2014. 
Download
Executive editor
Traditionally, the interactions between aerosols, clouds, weather and climate has focused on sulphate aerosols. However, in the last 20 years it has become apparent that secondary organic aerosols are also highly abundant in the troposphere. These could represent a major coupling in the earth system between the biosphere and the atmosphere, and thus climate because forests are known to emit large quantities of biogenic VOCs that are known to produce secondary organic aerosols. However selectively studying their influence on the free troposphere is difficult as it requires in situ measurements aboard scientific aircraft. This study observes the role of biogenic secondary organic aerosols on the abundance of cloud condensation nuclei in the upper troposphere above the Amazon, and compares it with a state-of-the-art predictive model. This further supports the importance of these processes in earth system models and gives confidence that the current level of understanding will produce accurate predictions.
Short summary
The origins of the abundant cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in the upper troposphere (UT) of the Amazon remain unclear. With model developments of new secondary organic aerosol schemes and constrained by observation, we show that strong aerosol nucleation and condensation in the UT is triggered by biogenic organics, and organic condensation is key for UT CCN production. This UT CCN-producing mechanism may prevail over broader vegetation canopies and deserves emphasis in aerosol–climate feedback.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint