Articles | Volume 24, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13317-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13317-2024
Opinion
 | Highlight paper
 | 
02 Dec 2024
Opinion | Highlight paper |  | 02 Dec 2024

Opinion: Challenges and needs of tropospheric chemical mechanism development

Barbara Ervens, Andrew Rickard, Bernard Aumont, William P. L. Carter, Max McGillen, Abdelwahid Mellouki, John Orlando, Bénédicte Picquet-Varrault, Paul Seakins, William R. Stockwell, Luc Vereecken, and Timothy J. Wallington

Related authors

Bacterial contribution to nitrogen processing in the atmosphere
Frédéric Mathonat, François Enault, Raphaëlle Péguilhan, Muriel Joly, Mariline Théveniot, Jean-Luc Baray, Barbara Ervens, and Pierre Amato
Biogeosciences, 23, 2885–2907, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-2885-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-2885-2026, 2026
Short summary
Editorial: Introducing a new article type: Limitations, Errors, Surprises, Shortcomings and Opportunities for New Science (LESSONS)
Ulrike Proske, John Hillier, Stefan Gaillard, Theresa Blume, Eduardo Queiroz Alves, Susanne Buiter, Ken S. Carslaw, Kirsten von Elverfeldt, Tim H. M. van Emmerik, Barbara Ervens, Rolf Hut, Sam Illingworth, Daniel Klotz, and Jonas Pyschik
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-987,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-987, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscience Communication (GC).
Short summary
Review of interactive open-access publishing with community-based open peer review for improved scientific discourse and quality assurance
Barbara Ervens, Ken S. Carslaw, Thomas Koop, and Ulrich Pöschl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 13903–13952, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-13903-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-13903-2025, 2025
Short summary
Clouds influence the functioning of airborne microorganisms
Raphaëlle Péguilhan, Florent Rossi, Muriel Joly, Engy Nasr, Bérénice Batut, François Enault, Barbara Ervens, and Pierre Amato
Biogeosciences, 22, 1257–1275, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1257-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1257-2025, 2025
Short summary
Ideas and perspectives: Microorganisms in the air through the lenses of atmospheric chemistry and microphysics
Barbara Ervens, Pierre Amato, Kifle Aregahegn, Muriel Joly, Amina Khaled, Tiphaine Labed-Veydert, Frédéric Mathonat, Leslie Nuñez López, Raphaëlle Péguilhan, and Minghui Zhang
Biogeosciences, 22, 243–256, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-243-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-243-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Abbatt, J. P. D. and Ravishankara, A. R.: Opinion: Atmospheric multiphase chemistry – past, present, and future, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9765–9785, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9765-2023, 2023. a
Atkinson, R., Aschmann, S. A., Carter, W. P. L., Winer, A. M., and J. N. Pitts, Jr.: Alkyl Nitrate Formation from the NOx-Air Photooxidation of C2–C8 n-Alkanes, The J. Phys. Chem. A, 86, 4563–4589, https://doi.org/10.1021/j100220a022, 1982. a
Aumont, B., Jaecker-Voirol, A., Martin, B., and Toupance, G.: Tests of some reduction hypotheses made in photochemical mechanisms, Atmos. Environ., 30, 2061–2077, https://doi.org/10.1016/1352-2310(95)00279-0, 1996. a
Aumont, B., Madronich, S., Bey, I., and Tyndall, G.: Contribution of Secondary VOC to the Composition of Aqueous Atmospheric Particles: A Modeling Approach, J. Atmos. Chem., 35, 59–75, https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1006243509840, 2000. a
Aumont, B., Szopa, S., and Madronich, S.: Modelling the evolution of organic carbon during its gas-phase tropospheric oxidation: development of an explicit model based on a self generating approach, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 5, 2497–2517, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-5-2497-2005, 2005. a, b, c, d
Editorial statement
This paper is written by experts in the field and addresses new tropospheric chemical mechanism developments. It shows how new analytical methods, instrumentation and cheminformatics methods have led to the identification of key processes and knowledge gaps in our understanding of chemical mechanisms, both in the gas phase and condensed phases. The opinion paper presents a perspective on these developments in the present and future, and outlines new directions. This opinion will be a very valuable contribution for the community and I am convinced it will be frequently read and cited.
Short summary
Chemical mechanisms describe the chemical processes in atmospheric models that are used to describe the changes in the atmospheric composition. Therefore, accurate chemical mechanisms are necessary to predict the evolution of air pollution and climate change. The article describes all steps that are needed to build chemical mechanisms and discusses the advances and needs of experimental and theoretical research activities needed to build reliable chemical mechanisms.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint