Articles | Volume 24, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11981-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11981-2024
Opinion
 | Highlight paper
 | 
28 Oct 2024
Opinion | Highlight paper |  | 28 Oct 2024

Opinion: How will advances in aerosol science inform our understanding of the health impacts of outdoor particulate pollution?

Imad El Haddad, Danielle Vienneau, Kaspar R. Daellenbach, Robin Modini, Jay G. Slowik, Abhishek Upadhyay, Petros N. Vasilakos, David Bell, Kees de Hoogh, and Andre S. H. Prevot

Related authors

Chemical characterization of organic vapors from wood, straw, cow dung, and coal burning
Tiantian Wang, Jun Zhang, Houssni Lamkaddam, Kun Li, Ka Yuen Cheung, Lisa Kattner, Erlend Gammelsæter, Michael Bauer, Zachary C. J. Decker, Deepika Bhattu, Rujin Huang, Rob L. Modini, Jay G. Slowik, Imad El Haddad, Andre S. H. Prevot, and David M. Bell
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2707–2724, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2707-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2707-2025, 2025
Short summary
Observations of high-time-resolution and size-resolved aerosol chemical composition and microphysics in the central Arctic: implications for climate-relevant particle properties
Benjamin Heutte, Nora Bergner, Hélène Angot, Jakob B. Pernov, Lubna Dada, Jessica A. Mirrielees, Ivo Beck, Andrea Baccarini, Matthew Boyer, Jessie M. Creamean, Kaspar R. Daellenbach, Imad El Haddad, Markus M. Frey, Silvia Henning, Tiia Laurila, Vaios Moschos, Tuukka Petäjä, Kerri A. Pratt, Lauriane L. J. Quéléver, Matthew D. Shupe, Paul Zieger, Tuija Jokinen, and Julia Schmale
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2207–2241, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2207-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2207-2025, 2025
Short summary
Ozonolysis of primary biomass burning organic aerosol particles: Insights into reactivity and phase state
Sophie Bogler, Jun Zhang, Rico K. Y. Cheung, Kun Li, Andre S. H. Prevot, Imad El Haddad, and David M. Bell
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-385,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-385, 2025
Short summary
Ammonium CI-Orbitrap: a tool for characterizing the reactivity of oxygenated organic molecules
Dandan Li, Dongyu Wang, Lucia Caudillo, Wiebke Scholz, Mingyi Wang, Sophie Tomaz, Guillaume Marie, Mihnea Surdu, Elias Eccli, Xianda Gong, Loic Gonzalez-Carracedo, Manuel Granzin, Joschka Pfeifer, Birte Rörup, Benjamin Schulze, Pekka Rantala, Sébastien Perrier, Armin Hansel, Joachim Curtius, Jasper Kirkby, Neil M. Donahue, Christian George, Imad El-Haddad, and Matthieu Riva
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5413–5428, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5413-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5413-2024, 2024
Short summary
Bulk and molecular-level composition of primary organic aerosol from wood, straw, cow dung, and plastic burning
Jun Zhang, Kun Li, Tiantian Wang, Erlend Gammelsæter, Rico K. Y. Cheung, Mihnea Surdu, Sophie Bogler, Deepika Bhattu, Dongyu S. Wang, Tianqu Cui, Lu Qi, Houssni Lamkaddam, Imad El Haddad, Jay G. Slowik, Andre S. H. Prevot, and David M. Bell
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14561–14576, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14561-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14561-2023, 2023
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Field Measurements | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Measurement report: Sources and meteorology influencing highly time-resolved PM2.5 trace elements at three urban sites in the extremely polluted Indo-Gangetic Plain in India
Ashutosh K. Shukla, Sachchida N. Tripathi, Shamitaksha Talukdar, Vishnu Murari, Sreenivas Gaddamidi, Manousos-Ioannis Manousakas, Vipul Lalchandani, Kuldeep Dixit, Vinayak M. Ruge, Peeyush Khare, Mayank Kumar, Vikram Singh, Neeraj Rastogi, Suresh Tiwari, Atul K. Srivastava, Dilip Ganguly, Kaspar Rudolf Daellenbach, and André S. H. Prévôt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3765–3784, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3765-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3765-2025, 2025
Short summary
Formation of highly absorptive secondary brown carbon through nighttime multiphase chemistry of biomass burning emissions
Ye Kuang, Biao Luo, Shan Huang, Junwen Liu, Weiwei Hu, Yuwen Peng, Duohong Chen, Dingli Yue, Wanyun Xu, Bin Yuan, and Min Shao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3737–3752, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3737-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3737-2025, 2025
Short summary
Measurement report: Vertically resolved atmospheric properties observed over the Southern Great Plains with the ArcticShark uncrewed aerial system
Fan Mei, Qi Zhang, Damao Zhang, Jerome D. Fast, Gourihar Kulkarni, Mikhail S. Pekour, Christopher R. Niedek, Susanne Glienke, Israel Silber, Beat Schmid, Jason M. Tomlinson, Hardeep S. Mehta, Xena Mansoura, Zezhen Cheng, Gregory W. Vandergrift, Nurun Nahar Lata, Swarup China, and Zihua Zhu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3425–3444, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3425-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3425-2025, 2025
Short summary
Non-biogenic sources are an important but overlooked contributor to aerosol isoprene-derived organosulfates during winter in northern China
Ting Yang, Yu Xu, Yu-Chen Wang, Yi-Jia Ma, Hong-Wei Xiao, Hao Xiao, and Hua-Yun Xiao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2967–2978, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2967-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2967-2025, 2025
Short summary
The critical role of aqueous-phase processes in aromatic-derived nitrogen-containing organic aerosol formation in cities with different energy consumption patterns
Yi-Jia Ma, Yu Xu, Ting Yang, Lin Gui, Hong-Wei Xiao, Hao Xiao, and Hua-Yun Xiao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2763–2780, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2763-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2763-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Adams, K., Greenbaum, D. S., Shaikh, R., van Erp, A. M., and Russell, A. G.: Particulate matter components, sources, and health: Systematic approaches to testing effects, J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc., 65, 544–558, https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2014.1001884, 2015. 
Alderete, T. L., Jones, R. B., Chen, Z., Kim, J. S., Habre, R., Lurmann, F., Gilliland, F. D., and Goran, M. I.: Exposure to traffic-related air pollution and the composition of the gut microbiota in overweight and obese adolescents, Environ. Res., 161, 472–478, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2017.11.046, 2018. 
Alexeeff, S. E., Roy, A., Shan, J., Liu, X., Messier, K., Apte, J. S., Portier, C., Sidney, S., and Van Den Eeden, S. K.: High-resolution mapping of traffic related air pollution with Google street view cars and incidence of cardiovascular events within neighborhoods in Oakland, CA, Environ. Health, 17, 38, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-018-0382-1, 2018. 
Apte, J. S., Marshall, J. D., Cohen, A. J., and Brauer, M.: Addressing Global Mortality from Ambient PM2.5, Environ. Sci. Technol., 49, 8057–8066, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b01236, 2015. 
Apte, J. S., Messier, K. P., Gani, S., Brauer, M., Kirchstetter, T. W., Lunden, M. M., Marshall, J. D., Portier, C. J., Vermeulen, R. C. H., and Hamburg, S. P.: High-Resolution Air Pollution Mapping with Google Street View Cars: Exploiting Big Data, Environ. Sci. Technol., 51, 6999–7008, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b00891, 2017. 
Download
Executive editor
While it has been established for decades that particulate matter, especially the PM2.5 fraction, can be quantitatively linked to a variety of negative health outcomes from both long- and short-term exposure, our ability to conclusively link this to specific particle components or types has proved stubbornly elusive. If particular sources or chemical components were found to be the driving factors, these could lead to more effective interventions and regulations. Because of recent advances in our observational capabilities and fundamental understanding of particle composition and toxicity, this opinion piece argues that we are at a pivotal moment in this ongoing area of study, and summarises some recent advances in this area.
Short summary
This opinion paper explores how advances in aerosol science inform our understanding of the health impacts of outdoor particulate pollution. We advocate for a shift in the way we target PM pollution, focusing on the most harmful anthropogenic emissions. We highlight key observations, modelling developments, and emission measurements needed to achieve this shift.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint