Articles | Volume 24, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2045-2024
© Author(s) 2024. 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-24-2045-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
16 Feb 2024
Research article |
| 16 Feb 2024
| 16 Feb 2024
Jet aircraft lubrication oil droplets as contrail ice-forming particles
Joel Ponsonby
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
Leon King
School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Woodhouse, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
Benjamin J. Murray
School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Woodhouse, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
Marc E. J. Stettler
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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Aerosol emissions from aircraft engines contribute to the formation of contrails, which have a climate impact comparable to that of aviation’s CO2 emissions. We show that emissions of volatile particulate matter – from fuel sulphur, unburned fuel, and lubrication oil – can increase the number of ice particles formed within a contrail, and therefore have an important role in the climate impacts of aviation. This has implications for emissions regulation and climate mitigation strategies.
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Declan L. Finney, Alan M. Blyth, Martin Gallagher, Huihui Wu, Graeme J. Nott, Michael I. Biggerstaff, Richard G. Sonnenfeld, Martin Daily, Dan Walker, David Dufton, Keith Bower, Steven Böing, Thomas Choularton, Jonathan Crosier, James Groves, Paul R. Field, Hugh Coe, Benjamin J. Murray, Gary Lloyd, Nicholas A. Marsden, Michael Flynn, Kezhen Hu, Navaneeth M. Thamban, Paul I. Williams, Paul J. Connolly, James B. McQuaid, Joseph Robinson, Zhiqiang Cui, Ralph R. Burton, Gordon Carrie, Robert Moore, Steven J. Abel, Dave Tiddeman, and Graydon Aulich
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Larissa Lacher, Michael P. Adams, Kevin Barry, Barbara Bertozzi, Heinz Bingemer, Cristian Boffo, Yannick Bras, Nicole Büttner, Dimitri Castarede, Daniel J. Cziczo, Paul J. DeMott, Romy Fösig, Megan Goodell, Kristina Höhler, Thomas C. J. Hill, Conrad Jentzsch, Luis A. Ladino, Ezra J. T. Levin, Stephan Mertes, Ottmar Möhler, Kathryn A. Moore, Benjamin J. Murray, Jens Nadolny, Tatjana Pfeuffer, David Picard, Carolina Ramírez-Romero, Mickael Ribeiro, Sarah Richter, Jann Schrod, Karine Sellegri, Frank Stratmann, Benjamin E. Swanson, Erik S. Thomson, Heike Wex, Martin J. Wolf, and Evelyn Freney
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Roger Teoh, Zebediah Engberg, Marc Shapiro, Lynnette Dray, and Marc E. J. Stettler
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Alberto Sanchez-Marroquin, Sarah L. Barr, Ian T. Burke, James B. McQuaid, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13819–13834, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13819-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13819-2023, 2023
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The sources and concentrations of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) in the Arctic are still poorly understood. Here we report aircraft-based INP concentrations and aerosol composition in the western North American Arctic. The concentrations of INPs and all aerosol particles were low. The aerosol samples contained mostly sea salt and dust particles. Dust particles were more relevant for the INP concentrations than sea salt. However, dust alone cannot account for all of the measured INPs.
Jonas Elm, Aladár Czitrovszky, Andreas Held, Annele Virtanen, Astrid Kiendler-Scharr, Benjamin J. Murray, Daniel McCluskey, Daniele Contini, David Broday, Eirini Goudeli, Hilkka Timonen, Joan Rosell-Llompart, Jose L. Castillo, Evangelia Diapouli, Mar Viana, Maria E. Messing, Markku Kulmala, Naděžda Zíková, and Sebastian H. Schmitt
Aerosol Research, 1, 13–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-1-13-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-1-13-2023, 2023
Robert Wagner, Alexander D. James, Victoria L. Frankland, Ottmar Möhler, Benjamin J. Murray, John M. C. Plane, Harald Saathoff, Ralf Weigel, and Martin Schnaiter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6789–6811, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6789-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6789-2023, 2023
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Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) play an important role in the depletion of stratospheric ozone. They can consist of different chemical species, including crystalline nitric acid hydrates. We found that mineral dust or meteoric ablation material can efficiently catalyse the formation of a specific phase of nitric acid dihydrate crystals. We determined predominant particle shapes and infrared optical properties of these crystals, which are important inputs for remote sensing detection of PSCs.
Alexander D. James, Finn Pace, Sebastien N. F. Sikora, Graham W. Mann, John M. C. Plane, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 2215–2233, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2215-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2215-2023, 2023
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Here, we examine whether several materials of meteoric origin can nucleate crystallisation in stratospheric cloud droplets which would affect ozone depletion. We find that material which could fragment on atmospheric entry without melting is unlikely to be present in high enough concentration in the stratosphere to contribute to observed crystalline clouds. Material which ablates completely then forms a new solid known as meteoric smoke can provide enough nucleation to explain observed clouds.
Outi Meinander, Pavla Dagsson-Waldhauserova, Pavel Amosov, Elena Aseyeva, Cliff Atkins, Alexander Baklanov, Clarissa Baldo, Sarah L. Barr, Barbara Barzycka, Liane G. Benning, Bojan Cvetkovic, Polina Enchilik, Denis Frolov, Santiago Gassó, Konrad Kandler, Nikolay Kasimov, Jan Kavan, James King, Tatyana Koroleva, Viktoria Krupskaya, Markku Kulmala, Monika Kusiak, Hanna K. Lappalainen, Michał Laska, Jerome Lasne, Marek Lewandowski, Bartłomiej Luks, James B. McQuaid, Beatrice Moroni, Benjamin Murray, Ottmar Möhler, Adam Nawrot, Slobodan Nickovic, Norman T. O’Neill, Goran Pejanovic, Olga Popovicheva, Keyvan Ranjbar, Manolis Romanias, Olga Samonova, Alberto Sanchez-Marroquin, Kerstin Schepanski, Ivan Semenkov, Anna Sharapova, Elena Shevnina, Zongbo Shi, Mikhail Sofiev, Frédéric Thevenet, Throstur Thorsteinsson, Mikhail Timofeev, Nsikanabasi Silas Umo, Andreas Uppstu, Darya Urupina, György Varga, Tomasz Werner, Olafur Arnalds, and Ana Vukovic Vimic
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11889–11930, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11889-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11889-2022, 2022
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High-latitude dust (HLD) is a short-lived climate forcer, air pollutant, and nutrient source. Our results suggest a northern HLD belt at 50–58° N in Eurasia and 50–55° N in Canada and at >60° N in Eurasia and >58° N in Canada. Our addition to the previously identified global dust belt (GDB) provides crucially needed information on the extent of active HLD sources with both direct and indirect impacts on climate and environment in remote regions, which are often poorly understood and predicted.
Roger Teoh, Ulrich Schumann, Edward Gryspeerdt, Marc Shapiro, Jarlath Molloy, George Koudis, Christiane Voigt, and Marc E. J. Stettler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10919–10935, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10919-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10919-2022, 2022
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Aircraft condensation trails (contrails) contribute to over half of the climate forcing attributable to aviation. This study uses historical air traffic and weather data to simulate contrails in the North Atlantic over 5 years, from 2016 to 2021. We found large intra- and inter-year variability in contrail radiative forcing and observed a 66 % reduction due to COVID-19. Most warming contrails predominantly result from night-time flights in winter.
Alexander D. Harrison, Daniel O'Sullivan, Michael P. Adams, Grace C. E. Porter, Edmund Blades, Cherise Brathwaite, Rebecca Chewitt-Lucas, Cassandra Gaston, Rachel Hawker, Ovid O. Krüger, Leslie Neve, Mira L. Pöhlker, Christopher Pöhlker, Ulrich Pöschl, Alberto Sanchez-Marroquin, Andrea Sealy, Peter Sealy, Mark D. Tarn, Shanice Whitehall, James B. McQuaid, Kenneth S. Carslaw, Joseph M. Prospero, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9663–9680, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9663-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9663-2022, 2022
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The formation of ice in clouds fundamentally alters cloud properties; hence it is important we understand the special aerosol particles that can nucleate ice when immersed in supercooled cloud droplets. In this paper we show that African desert dust that has travelled across the Atlantic to the Caribbean nucleates ice much less well than we might have expected.
Martin I. Daily, Mark D. Tarn, Thomas F. Whale, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2635–2665, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2635-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2635-2022, 2022
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Mineral dust and particles of biological origin are important types of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) that can trigger ice formation of supercooled cloud droplets. Heat treatments are used to detect the presence of biological INPs in samples collected from the environment as the activity of mineral INPs is assumed unchanged, although not fully assessed. We show that the ice-nucleating ability of some minerals can change after heating and discuss how INP heat tests should be interpreted.
Zoé Brasseur, Dimitri Castarède, Erik S. Thomson, Michael P. Adams, Saskia Drossaart van Dusseldorp, Paavo Heikkilä, Kimmo Korhonen, Janne Lampilahti, Mikhail Paramonov, Julia Schneider, Franziska Vogel, Yusheng Wu, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Nina S. Atanasova, Dennis H. Bamford, Barbara Bertozzi, Matthew Boyer, David Brus, Martin I. Daily, Romy Fösig, Ellen Gute, Alexander D. Harrison, Paula Hietala, Kristina Höhler, Zamin A. Kanji, Jorma Keskinen, Larissa Lacher, Markus Lampimäki, Janne Levula, Antti Manninen, Jens Nadolny, Maija Peltola, Grace C. E. Porter, Pyry Poutanen, Ulrike Proske, Tobias Schorr, Nsikanabasi Silas Umo, János Stenszky, Annele Virtanen, Dmitri Moisseev, Markku Kulmala, Benjamin J. Murray, Tuukka Petäjä, Ottmar Möhler, and Jonathan Duplissy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 5117–5145, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5117-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5117-2022, 2022
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The present measurement report introduces the ice nucleation campaign organized in Hyytiälä, Finland, in 2018 (HyICE-2018). We provide an overview of the campaign settings, and we describe the measurement infrastructure and operating procedures used. In addition, we use results from ice nucleation instrument inter-comparison to show that the suite of these instruments deployed during the campaign reports consistent results.
Rachel E. Hawker, Annette K. Miltenberger, Jill S. Johnson, Jonathan M. Wilkinson, Adrian A. Hill, Ben J. Shipway, Paul R. Field, Benjamin J. Murray, and Ken S. Carslaw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17315–17343, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17315-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17315-2021, 2021
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We find that ice-nucleating particles (INPs), aerosols that can initiate the freezing of cloud droplets, cause substantial changes to the properties of radiatively important convectively generated anvil cirrus. The number concentration of INPs had a large effect on ice crystal number concentration while the INP temperature dependence controlled ice crystal size and cloud fraction. The results indicate information on INP number and source is necessary for the representation of cloud glaciation.
Heather Guy, Ian M. Brooks, Ken S. Carslaw, Benjamin J. Murray, Von P. Walden, Matthew D. Shupe, Claire Pettersen, David D. Turner, Christopher J. Cox, William D. Neff, Ralf Bennartz, and Ryan R. Neely III
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15351–15374, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15351-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15351-2021, 2021
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We present the first full year of surface aerosol number concentration measurements from the central Greenland Ice Sheet. Aerosol concentrations here have a distinct seasonal cycle from those at lower-altitude Arctic sites, which is driven by large-scale atmospheric circulation. Our results can be used to help understand the role aerosols might play in Greenland surface melt through the modification of cloud properties. This is crucial in a rapidly changing region where observations are sparse.
Robert Wagner, Luisa Ickes, Allan K. Bertram, Nora Els, Elena Gorokhova, Ottmar Möhler, Benjamin J. Murray, Nsikanabasi Silas Umo, and Matthew E. Salter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 13903–13930, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13903-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13903-2021, 2021
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Sea spray aerosol particles are a mixture of inorganic salts and organic matter from phytoplankton organisms. At low temperatures in the upper troposphere, both inorganic and organic constituents can induce the formation of ice crystals and thereby impact cloud properties and climate. In this study, we performed experiments in a cloud simulation chamber with particles produced from Arctic seawater samples to quantify the relative contribution of inorganic and organic species in ice formation.
Michael P. Adams, Nina S. Atanasova, Svetlana Sofieva, Janne Ravantti, Aino Heikkinen, Zoé Brasseur, Jonathan Duplissy, Dennis H. Bamford, and Benjamin J. Murray
Biogeosciences, 18, 4431–4444, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4431-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4431-2021, 2021
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The formation of ice in clouds is critically important for the planet's climate. Hence, we need to know which aerosol types nucleate ice and how effectively they do so. Here we show that virus particles, with a range of architectures, nucleate ice when immersed in supercooled water. However, we also show that they only make a minor contribution to the ice-nucleating particle population in the terrestrial atmosphere, but we cannot rule them out as being important in the marine environment.
Ulrich Schumann, Ian Poll, Roger Teoh, Rainer Koelle, Enrico Spinielli, Jarlath Molloy, George S. Koudis, Robert Baumann, Luca Bugliaro, Marc Stettler, and Christiane Voigt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7429–7450, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7429-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7429-2021, 2021
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The roughly 70 % reduction of air traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic from March–August 2020 compared to 2019 provides a test case for the relationship between air traffic density, contrails, and their radiative forcing of climate change. This paper investigates the induced traffic and contrail changes in a model study. Besides strong weather changes, the model results indicate aviation-induced cirrus and top-of-the-atmosphere irradiance changes, which can be tested with observations.
Rachel E. Hawker, Annette K. Miltenberger, Jonathan M. Wilkinson, Adrian A. Hill, Ben J. Shipway, Zhiqiang Cui, Richard J. Cotton, Ken S. Carslaw, Paul R. Field, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 5439–5461, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5439-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5439-2021, 2021
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The impact of aerosols on clouds is a large source of uncertainty for future climate projections. Our results show that the radiative properties of a complex convective cloud field in the Saharan outflow region are sensitive to the temperature dependence of ice-nucleating particle concentrations. This means that differences in the aerosol source or composition, for the same aerosol size distribution, can cause differences in the outgoing radiation from regions dominated by tropical convection.
Julia Schneider, Kristina Höhler, Paavo Heikkilä, Jorma Keskinen, Barbara Bertozzi, Pia Bogert, Tobias Schorr, Nsikanabasi Silas Umo, Franziska Vogel, Zoé Brasseur, Yusheng Wu, Simo Hakala, Jonathan Duplissy, Dmitri Moisseev, Markku Kulmala, Michael P. Adams, Benjamin J. Murray, Kimmo Korhonen, Liqing Hao, Erik S. Thomson, Dimitri Castarède, Thomas Leisner, Tuukka Petäjä, and Ottmar Möhler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3899–3918, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3899-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3899-2021, 2021
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By triggering the formation of ice crystals, ice-nucleating particles (INP) strongly influence cloud formation. Continuous, long-term measurements are needed to characterize the atmospheric INP variability. Here, a first long-term time series of INP spectra measured in the boreal forest for more than 1 year is presented, showing a clear seasonal cycle. It is shown that the seasonal dependency of INP concentrations and prevalent INP types is driven by the abundance of biogenic aerosol.
Ottmar Möhler, Michael Adams, Larissa Lacher, Franziska Vogel, Jens Nadolny, Romy Ullrich, Cristian Boffo, Tatjana Pfeuffer, Achim Hobl, Maximilian Weiß, Hemanth S. K. Vepuri, Naruki Hiranuma, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1143–1166, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1143-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1143-2021, 2021
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The Earth's climate is influenced by clouds, which are impacted by ice-nucleating particles (INPs), a minor fraction of atmospheric aerosols. INPs induce ice formation in clouds and thus often initiate precipitation formation. The Portable Ice Nucleation Experiment (PINE) is the first fully automated instrument to study cloud ice formation and to obtain long-term records of INPs. This is a timely development, and the capabilities it offers for research and atmospheric monitoring are significant.
Benjamin J. Murray, Kenneth S. Carslaw, and Paul R. Field
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 665–679, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-665-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-665-2021, 2021
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The balance between the amounts of ice and supercooled water in clouds over the world's oceans strongly influences how much these clouds can dampen or amplify global warming. Aerosol particles which catalyse ice formation can dramatically reduce the amount of supercooled water in clouds; hence we argue that we need a concerted effort to improve our understanding of these ice-nucleating particles if we are to improve our predictions of climate change.
Luisa Ickes, Grace C. E. Porter, Robert Wagner, Michael P. Adams, Sascha Bierbauer, Allan K. Bertram, Merete Bilde, Sigurd Christiansen, Annica M. L. Ekman, Elena Gorokhova, Kristina Höhler, Alexei A. Kiselev, Caroline Leck, Ottmar Möhler, Benjamin J. Murray, Thea Schiebel, Romy Ullrich, and Matthew E. Salter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11089–11117, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11089-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11089-2020, 2020
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The Arctic is a region where aerosols are scarce. Sea spray might be a potential source of aerosols acting as ice-nucleating particles. We investigate two common phytoplankton species (Melosira arctica and Skeletonema marinoi) and present their ice nucleation activity in comparison with Arctic seawater microlayer samples from different field campaigns. We also aim to understand the aerosolization process of marine biological samples and the potential effect on the ice nucleation activity.
Grace C. E. Porter, Sebastien N. F. Sikora, Michael P. Adams, Ulrike Proske, Alexander D. Harrison, Mark D. Tarn, Ian M. Brooks, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2905–2921, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2905-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2905-2020, 2020
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Ice-nucleating particles affect cloud development, lifetime, and radiative properties. Hence it is important to know the abundance of INPs throughout the atmosphere. Here we present the development and application of a radio-controlled payload capable of collecting size-resolved aerosol from a tethered balloon for the primary purpose of offline INP analysis. Test data are presented from four locations: southern Finland, northern England, Svalbard, and southern England.
Alberto Sanchez-Marroquin, Duncan H. P. Hedges, Matthew Hiscock, Simon T. Parker, Philip D. Rosenberg, Jamie Trembath, Richard Walshaw, Ian T. Burke, James B. McQuaid, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5741–5763, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5741-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5741-2019, 2019
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Sampling coarse-mode aerosol from a fast-moving research aircraft is challenging and can be subject to substantial losses and enhancements. We characterise these losses and enhancements for an inlet system designed to collect aerosol onto filters. We go on to present an application of this inlet system where we use electron microscopy to study the size and composition of the collected aerosol particles.
Alexander D. Harrison, Katherine Lever, Alberto Sanchez-Marroquin, Mark A. Holden, Thomas F. Whale, Mark D. Tarn, James B. McQuaid, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 11343–11361, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11343-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11343-2019, 2019
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Mineral dusts are a source of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) in the atmosphere. Here we present a comprehensive survey of the ice-nucleating ability of naturally occurring quartz. We show the ice-nucleating variability of quartz and its sensitivity to time spent in water and air. We propose four new parameterizations for the minerals quartz, K feldspar, albite and plagioclase to predict INP concentrations in the atmosphere and show that K-feldspar is the dominant INP type in mineral dusts.
Elena C. Maters, Donald B. Dingwell, Corrado Cimarelli, Dirk Müller, Thomas F. Whale, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5451–5465, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5451-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5451-2019, 2019
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This experimental study investigates the influence of volcanic ash chemical composition, crystallinity, and mineralogy on its ability to promote freezing of supercooled water. The results indicate that crystals in ash play a key role in this process and suggest that feldspars and perhaps pyroxenes in ash may be highly ice-active. These findings contribute to improving understanding of the potential of ash emissions from different explosive eruptions to impact ice formation in the atmosphere.
Naruki Hiranuma, Kouji Adachi, David M. Bell, Franco Belosi, Hassan Beydoun, Bhaskar Bhaduri, Heinz Bingemer, Carsten Budke, Hans-Christian Clemen, Franz Conen, Kimberly M. Cory, Joachim Curtius, Paul J. DeMott, Oliver Eppers, Sarah Grawe, Susan Hartmann, Nadine Hoffmann, Kristina Höhler, Evelyn Jantsch, Alexei Kiselev, Thomas Koop, Gourihar Kulkarni, Amelie Mayer, Masataka Murakami, Benjamin J. Murray, Alessia Nicosia, Markus D. Petters, Matteo Piazza, Michael Polen, Naama Reicher, Yinon Rudich, Atsushi Saito, Gianni Santachiara, Thea Schiebel, Gregg P. Schill, Johannes Schneider, Lior Segev, Emiliano Stopelli, Ryan C. Sullivan, Kaitlyn Suski, Miklós Szakáll, Takuya Tajiri, Hans Taylor, Yutaka Tobo, Romy Ullrich, Daniel Weber, Heike Wex, Thomas F. Whale, Craig L. Whiteside, Katsuya Yamashita, Alla Zelenyuk, and Ottmar Möhler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4823–4849, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4823-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4823-2019, 2019
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A total of 20 ice nucleation measurement techniques contributed to investigate the immersion freezing behavior of cellulose particles – natural polymers. Our data showed several types of cellulose are able to nucleate ice as efficiently as some mineral dust samples and cellulose has the potential to be an important atmospheric ice-nucleating particle. Continued investigation/collaboration is necessary to obtain further insight into consistency or diversity of ice nucleation measurements.
Claire L. Ryder, Franco Marenco, Jennifer K. Brooke, Victor Estelles, Richard Cotton, Paola Formenti, James B. McQuaid, Hannah C. Price, Dantong Liu, Patrick Ausset, Phil D. Rosenberg, Jonathan W. Taylor, Tom Choularton, Keith Bower, Hugh Coe, Martin Gallagher, Jonathan Crosier, Gary Lloyd, Eleanor J. Highwood, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 17225–17257, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17225-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17225-2018, 2018
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Every year, millions of tons of Saharan dust particles are carried across the Atlantic by the wind, where they can affect weather patterns and climate. Their sizes span orders of magnitude, but the largest (over 10 microns – around the width of a human hair) are difficult to measure and few observations exist. Here we show new aircraft observations of large dust particles, finding more than we would expect, and we quantify their properties which allow them to interact with atmospheric radiation.
Paul J. DeMott, Ottmar Möhler, Daniel J. Cziczo, Naruki Hiranuma, Markus D. Petters, Sarah S. Petters, Franco Belosi, Heinz G. Bingemer, Sarah D. Brooks, Carsten Budke, Monika Burkert-Kohn, Kristen N. Collier, Anja Danielczok, Oliver Eppers, Laura Felgitsch, Sarvesh Garimella, Hinrich Grothe, Paul Herenz, Thomas C. J. Hill, Kristina Höhler, Zamin A. Kanji, Alexei Kiselev, Thomas Koop, Thomas B. Kristensen, Konstantin Krüger, Gourihar Kulkarni, Ezra J. T. Levin, Benjamin J. Murray, Alessia Nicosia, Daniel O'Sullivan, Andreas Peckhaus, Michael J. Polen, Hannah C. Price, Naama Reicher, Daniel A. Rothenberg, Yinon Rudich, Gianni Santachiara, Thea Schiebel, Jann Schrod, Teresa M. Seifried, Frank Stratmann, Ryan C. Sullivan, Kaitlyn J. Suski, Miklós Szakáll, Hans P. Taylor, Romy Ullrich, Jesus Vergara-Temprado, Robert Wagner, Thomas F. Whale, Daniel Weber, André Welti, Theodore W. Wilson, Martin J. Wolf, and Jake Zenker
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6231–6257, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6231-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6231-2018, 2018
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The ability to measure ice nucleating particles is vital to quantifying their role in affecting clouds and precipitation. Methods for measuring droplet freezing were compared while co-sampling relevant particle types. Measurement correspondence was very good for ice nucleating particles of bacterial and natural soil origin, and somewhat more disparate for those of mineral origin. Results reflect recently improved capabilities and provide direction toward addressing remaining measurement issues.
Meng Si, Victoria E. Irish, Ryan H. Mason, Jesús Vergara-Temprado, Sarah J. Hanna, Luis A. Ladino, Jacqueline D. Yakobi-Hancock, Corinne L. Schiller, Jeremy J. B. Wentzell, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Ken S. Carslaw, Benjamin J. Murray, and Allan K. Bertram
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 15669–15685, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15669-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15669-2018, 2018
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Using the concentrations of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) and total aerosol particles measured at three coastal marine sites, the ice-nucleating ability of aerosol particles on a per number basis and a per surface-area basis were determined as a function of size. The ice-nucleating ability was strongly dependent on size, with larger particles being more efficient. This type of information can help determine the sources of INPs and constrain the future modelling of INPs and mixed-phase clouds.
Alexander D. Harrison, Thomas F. Whale, Rupert Rutledge, Stephen Lamb, Mark D. Tarn, Grace C. E. Porter, Michael P. Adams, James B. McQuaid, George J. Morris, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 5629–5641, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5629-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5629-2018, 2018
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The detection of low concentrations of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) is challenging. Here we present a new technique (IR-NIPI) that is sensitive to low concentrations of INPs (> 0.01 L−1) and uses an infrared camera with a novel calibration to detect the freezing of experimental suspensions. IR-NIPI temperature measurements prove to be robust with a series of comparisons to thermocouple measurements. Experimental comparisons to other freezing assay instruments are also in agreement.
Alexander D. James, James S. A. Brooke, Thomas P. Mangan, Thomas F. Whale, John M. C. Plane, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4519–4531, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4519-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4519-2018, 2018
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Crystal nucleation in polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) has a direct impact on stratospheric chemistry and ozone. However, the mechanism of nucleation has been unclear for decades, limiting prediction of the response of ozone to atmospheric changes. We experimentally demonstrate that meteoric material can trigger nucleation heterogeneously and this can produce observed crystal concentrations in PSCs. This discovery paves the way to robust modelling of past and future trends in PSCs and ozone.
Victoria E. Irish, Pablo Elizondo, Jessie Chen, Cédric Chou, Joannie Charette, Martine Lizotte, Luis A. Ladino, Theodore W. Wilson, Michel Gosselin, Benjamin J. Murray, Elena Polishchuk, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Lisa A. Miller, and Allan K. Bertram
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 10583–10595, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10583-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10583-2017, 2017
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The ocean is a possible source of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles (INPs). In this study we found that INPs were ubiquitous in the sea-surface microlayer and bulk seawater in the Canadian Arctic. A strong negative correlation was observed between salinity and freezing temperatures (after correcting for freezing point depression). Heat and filtration treatments of the samples showed that the INPs were likely biological material with sizes between 0.02 μm and 0.2 μm in diameter.
Jesús Vergara-Temprado, Benjamin J. Murray, Theodore W. Wilson, Daniel O'Sullivan, Jo Browse, Kirsty J. Pringle, Karin Ardon-Dryer, Allan K. Bertram, Susannah M. Burrows, Darius Ceburnis, Paul J. DeMott, Ryan H. Mason, Colin D. O'Dowd, Matteo Rinaldi, and Ken S. Carslaw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 3637–3658, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3637-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3637-2017, 2017
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We quantify the importance in the atmosphere of different aerosol components to contribute to global ice-nucleating particles concentrations (INPs). The aim is to improve the way atmospheric cloud-ice processes are represented in climate models so they will be able to make better predictions in the future. We found that a kind of dust (K-feldspar), together with marine organic aerosols, can help to improve the representation of INPs and explain most of their observations.
Alexander D. Harrison, Thomas F. Whale, Michael A. Carpenter, Mark A. Holden, Lesley Neve, Daniel O'Sullivan, Jesus Vergara Temprado, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 10927–10940, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10927-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10927-2016, 2016
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Mineral dust particles are known to act as effective ice nucleating particles in the atmosphere and to play a role in the glaciation of mixed phase clouds. We have measured the ice nucleation activity of 15 different feldspar samples using a droplet freezing experiment and shown that alkali feldspars nucleate ice much more efficiently than plagioclase feldspars. We have also shown that certain "hyper-active" alkali feldspars nucleate ice very efficiently compared to typical alkali feldspars.
Daniel O'Sullivan, Benjamin J. Murray, James F. Ross, and Michael E. Webb
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 7879–7887, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7879-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7879-2016, 2016
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In the absence of particles which can trigger freezing, cloud droplets can exist in a supercooled liquid state well below the melting point. However, the sources of efficient ice-nucleating particles in the atmosphere are uncertain. Here we show that ice-nucleating proteins produced by soil fungi can bind to clay particles in soils. Hence, the subsequent dispersion of soil particles into the atmosphere acts as a route through which biological ice nucleators can influence clouds.
T. F. Whale, B. J. Murray, D. O'Sullivan, T. W. Wilson, N. S. Umo, K. J. Baustian, J. D. Atkinson, D. A. Workneh, and G. J. Morris
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2437–2447, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2437-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2437-2015, 2015
N. S. Umo, B. J. Murray, M. T. Baeza-Romero, J. M. Jones, A. R. Lea-Langton, T. L. Malkin, D. O'Sullivan, L. Neve, J. M. C. Plane, and A. Williams
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 5195–5210, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-5195-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-5195-2015, 2015
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Combustion ash particles nucleate ice in the immersion mode at conditions relevant to mixed-phase clouds. Hence, combustion ashes could play an important role in primary ice formation in mixed-phase clouds, especially in clouds that are formed near the emission source of these aerosol particles. From this study, there is a need to quantify the atmospheric abundance of combustion ashes in order to quantitatively assess the impact of combustion ashes on mixed-phase clouds.
N. Hiranuma, S. Augustin-Bauditz, H. Bingemer, C. Budke, J. Curtius, A. Danielczok, K. Diehl, K. Dreischmeier, M. Ebert, F. Frank, N. Hoffmann, K. Kandler, A. Kiselev, T. Koop, T. Leisner, O. Möhler, B. Nillius, A. Peckhaus, D. Rose, S. Weinbruch, H. Wex, Y. Boose, P. J. DeMott, J. D. Hader, T. C. J. Hill, Z. A. Kanji, G. Kulkarni, E. J. T. Levin, C. S. McCluskey, M. Murakami, B. J. Murray, D. Niedermeier, M. D. Petters, D. O'Sullivan, A. Saito, G. P. Schill, T. Tajiri, M. A. Tolbert, A. Welti, T. F. Whale, T. P. Wright, and K. Yamashita
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 2489–2518, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2489-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2489-2015, 2015
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Seventeen ice nucleation measurement techniques contributed to investigate the immersion freezing behavior of illite NX. All data showed a similar temperature trend, but the measured ice nucleation activity was on average smaller for the wet suspended samples and higher for the dry-dispersed aerosol samples at high temperatures. A continued investigation and collaboration is necessary to obtain further insights into consistency or diversity of ice nucleation measurements.
R. J. Herbert, B. J. Murray, T. F. Whale, S. J. Dobbie, and J. D. Atkinson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8501–8520, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8501-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8501-2014, 2014
H. C. Price, B. J. Murray, J. Mattsson, D. O'Sullivan, T. W. Wilson, K. J. Baustian, and L. G. Benning
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3817–3830, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3817-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3817-2014, 2014
D. O'Sullivan, B. J. Murray, T. L. Malkin, T. F. Whale, N. S. Umo, J. D. Atkinson, H. C. Price, K. J. Baustian, J. Browse, and M. E. Webb
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1853–1867, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1853-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1853-2014, 2014
Related subject area
Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Laboratory Studies | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Spectral optical properties of soot: laboratory investigation of propane flame particles and their link to composition
Determination of the atmospheric volatility of pesticides using Filter Inlet for Gases and AEROsols–chemical ionisation mass spectrometry
Insights into the real part of natural sea spray aerosol refractive index in the Pacific Ocean
Partitioning of ionic surfactants in aerosol droplets containing glutaric acid, sodium chloride, or sea salts
Measurement report: Investigation of Optical Properties of Different Fuels Diesel Exhaust by an Atmospheric Simulation Chamber experiment
Scattering properties and Lidar Characteristics of Asian Dust Particles Based on Realistic Shape Models
SOA yields from C10 alkanes and oxygenates and their relation to highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOM)
Wind-driven emission of marine ice-nucleating particles in the Scripps Ocean-Atmosphere Research Simulator (SOARS)
The atmospheric settling of commercially sold microplastics
Measurement report: The ice-nucleating activity of lichen sampled in a northern European boreal forest
Viscosity of aqueous ammonium nitrate–organic particles: equilibrium partitioning may be a reasonable assumption for most tropospheric conditions
Role of sea spray aerosol at the air–sea interface in transporting aromatic acids to the atmosphere
Modeling the influence of carbon branching structure on secondary organic aerosol formation via multiphase reactions of alkanes
Technical note: Characterization of a single-beam gradient force aerosol optical tweezer for droplet trapping, phase transition monitoring, and morphology studies
Soot aerosols from commercial aviation engines are poor ice-nucleating particles at cirrus cloud temperatures
Contribution of brown carbon to light absorption in emissions of European residential biomass combustion appliances
Measurement report: Water diffusion in single suspended phase-separated aerosols
Water activity and surface tension of aqueous ammonium sulfate and D-glucose aerosol nanoparticles
A study on the influence of inorganic ions, organic carbon and microstructure on the hygroscopic property of soot
Is transport of microplastics different from mineral particles? Idealized wind tunnel studies on polyethylene microspheres
Insights into secondary organic aerosol formation from the day- and nighttime oxidation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and furans in an oxidation flow reactor
Analysis of insoluble particles in hailstones in China
Influence of acidity on liquid–liquid phase transitions of mixed secondary organic aerosol (SOA) proxy–inorganic aerosol droplets
Deposition freezing, pore condensation freezing and adsorption: three processes, one description?
Measurements and calculations of enhanced side- and back-scattering of visible radiation by black carbon aggregates
Direct observation for relative-humidity-dependent mixing states of submicron particles containing organic surfactants and inorganic salts
Complex refractive index and single scattering albedo of Icelandic dust in the shortwave part of the spectrum
Volatility of aerosol particles from NO3 oxidation of various biogenic organic precursors
Saturation vapor pressure characterization of selected low-volatility organic compounds using a residence time chamber
Influence of the previous North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the spring dust aerosols over North China
HUB: a method to model and extract the distribution of ice nucleation temperatures from drop-freezing experiments
Size-dependent hygroscopicity of levoglucosan and D-glucose aerosol nanoparticles
Technical note: Sublimation of frozen CsCl solutions in an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) – determining the number and size of salt particles relevant to sea salt aerosols
Microphysics of liquid water in sub-10 nm ultrafine aerosol particles
Comparing the ice nucleation properties of the kaolin minerals kaolinite and halloysite
Physicochemical properties of charcoal aerosols derived from biomass pyrolysis affect their ice-nucleating abilities at cirrus and mixed-phase cloud conditions
Reconsideration of surface tension and phase state effects on cloud condensation nuclei activity based on the atomic force microscopy measurement
Hygroscopicity and CCN potential of DMS-derived aerosol particles
Hybrid water adsorption and solubility partitioning for aerosol hygroscopicity and droplet growth
Experimental development of a lake spray source function and its model implementation for Great Lakes surface emissions
The effectiveness of the coagulation sink of 3–10 nm atmospheric particles
What caused the interdecadal shift in the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) impact on dust mass concentration over northwestern South Asia?
Measurement report: An exploratory study of fluorescence and cloud condensation nuclei activity of urban aerosols in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Viscosity and physical state of sucrose mixed with ammonium sulfate droplets
Distribution and stable carbon isotopic composition of dicarboxylic acids, ketocarboxylic acids and α-dicarbonyls in fresh and aged biomass burning aerosols
Time dependence of heterogeneous ice nucleation by ambient aerosols: laboratory observations and a formulation for models
Laboratory studies of ice nucleation onto bare and internally mixed soot–sulfuric acid particles
Enhanced soot particle ice nucleation ability induced by aggregate compaction and densification
Opinion: Insights into updating Ambient Air Quality Directive 2008/50/EC
On the evolution of sub- and super-saturated water uptake of secondary organic aerosol in chamber experiments from mixed precursors
Johannes Heuser, Claudia Di Biagio, Jérôme Yon, Mathieu Cazaunau, Antonin Bergé, Edouard Pangui, Marco Zanatta, Laura Renzi, Angela Marinoni, Satoshi Inomata, Chenjie Yu, Vera Bernardoni, Servanne Chevaillier, Daniel Ferry, Paolo Laj, Michel Maillé, Dario Massabò, Federico Mazzei, Gael Noyalet, Hiroshi Tanimoto, Brice Temime-Roussel, Roberta Vecchi, Virginia Vernocchi, Paola Formenti, Bénédicte Picquet-Varrault, and Jean-François Doussin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6407–6428, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6407-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6407-2025, 2025
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The spectral optical properties of combustion soot aerosols with varying black (BC) and brown carbon (BrC) content were studied in an atmospheric simulation chamber. Measurements of the mass spectral absorption cross section (MAC), supplemented by literature data, allowed us to establish a generalised exponential relationship between the spectral absorption and the elemental-to-total-carbon ratio (EC / TC) in soot. This relationship can provide a useful tool for modelling the properties of soot.
Olivia M. Jackson, Aristeidis Voliotis, Thomas J. Bannan, Simon P. O'Meara, Gordon McFiggans, Dave Johnson, and Hugh Coe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6257–6272, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6257-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6257-2025, 2025
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This paper details a novel method of measuring the volatility of pesticides using the Filter Inlet for Gases and AEROsols coupled with a chemical ionisation mass spectrometer (FIGAERO-CIMS) calibrated using a set of poly(ethylene) glycols. This is compared to literature values and common models. The results show that the method used primarily matches current literature values. Additionally, a pesticide’s volatility as an indicator of the likelihood of atmospheric transport occurring is explored.
Chengyi Fan, Bishuo He, Shuqi Guo, Jie Qiu, and Chunsheng Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5761–5771, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5761-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5761-2025, 2025
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Marine aerosols play a critical role in weather and climate, and their real part of the refractive index (RRI) is a key factor in their radiative effects. We present a study of RRI measurements using optical tweezer technology and find that the calculated results of RRI using the traditional method disagree with the measurements. A parameterization of the RRI and relative humidity relationship is proposed, and it will improve the radiation calculation in numerical models.
Alison Bain, Kunal Ghosh, Konstantin Tumashevich, Nønne L. Prisle, and Bryan R. Bzdek
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5633–5645, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5633-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5633-2025, 2025
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We measure the surface tension of picoliter-volume droplets containing strong ionic surfactants and cosolutes and compare this to surface tension predictions using two independent surfactant partitioning models. Under high-water-activity conditions, experimental measurements and model predictions show no change when NaCl cosolute is replaced with sea salt. Model predictions show that total surfactant concentrations in the range of tens to hundreds of millimolar are required to lower the surface tension of accumulation-mode aerosol.
Silvia Giulia Danelli, Lorenzo Caponi, Marco Brunoldi, Matilde De Camillis, Dario Massabò, Federico Mazzei, Tommaso Isolabella, Annalisa Pascarella, Paolo Prati, Matteo Santostefano, Francesca Tarchino, Virginia Vernocchi, and Paolo Brotto
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1447, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1447, 2025
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This study examines optical properties and the variability of the mass absorption coefficient of carbonaceous aerosols produced by the combustion of different fuels. Experiments, conducted in an atmospheric simulation chamber, tested different methods of sampling and analyzing carbonaceous aerosols, with a focus on workplace environments. Results highlight the need to understand the variability in aerosol optical properties for accurate monitoring and health and environmental impact assessments.
Anthony La Luna, Zhibo Zhang, Jianyu Zheng, Qianqian Song, Hongbin Yu, Jiachen Ding, Ping Yang, and Masanori Saito
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1117, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1117, 2025
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The lidar backscattering properties of Asian dust particles were studied using a discrete dipole approximation (DDA) model. Both the lidar ratio (LR) and depolarization ratio (DPR) exhibit an asymptotic trend with dust particle size. Two parameterization schemes were developed: one to estimate the DPR of a single dust particle given its size, and the other to estimate the DPR of dust particles with a lognormal particle size distribution given the effective radius.
Frans Graeffe, Kalle Kupi, Hilkka Timonen, and Mikael Ehn
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-910, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-910, 2025
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Alkanes are a major part of anthropogenic emissions in urban areas, and known for being capable of producing secondary organic aerosol (SOA). We measured SOA yields of seven alkanes and their oxygenated derivatives in oxidation flow reactor measurements to assess their role in SOA formation. In addition to quantified SOA yields, we observed that cyclic structure enhances SOA production. Furthermore, our observations indicate that multi-generational OH oxidation is important in the SOA formation.
Kathryn A. Moore, Thomas C. J. Hill, Chamika K. Madawala, Raymond J. Leibensperger III, Samantha Greeney, Christopher D. Cappa, M. Dale Stokes, Grant B. Deane, Christopher Lee, Alexei V. Tivanski, Kimberly A. Prather, and Paul J. DeMott
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3131–3159, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3131-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3131-2025, 2025
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This article presents results from the first study in a new wind–wave channel at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The experiment tested how wind over the ocean surface influences production of sea spray particles, which are important for radiative forcing and cloud formation in the atmosphere. We found that particle concentration and chemical composition varied with wind speed and that variations were driven by changes in wind and wave breaking rather than seawater biology or chemistry.
Alina Sylvia Waltraud Reininger, Daria Tatsii, Taraprasad Bhowmick, Gholamhossein Bagheri, and Andreas Stohl
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-605, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-605, 2025
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Microplastics are transported over large distances in the atmosphere, but the shape-dependence of their atmospheric transport lacks investigation. We conducted laboratory experiments and atmospheric transport simulations to study the settling of commercially sold microplastics. We found that films settle up to 74 % slower and travel up to ~ 4x further than volume-equivalent spheres. Our work emphasizes the role of the atmosphere as a transport medium for commercial microplastics such as glitter.
Ulrike Proske, Michael P. Adams, Grace C. E. Porter, Mark A. Holden, Jaana Bäck, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 979–995, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-979-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-979-2025, 2025
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Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) aid the freezing of water droplets in clouds and thus modify cloud properties. In a campaign in a Finnish boreal forest, biological INPs were observed, despite many of their potential biological sources being snow-covered. We sampled tree-dwelling lichens that were not covered in snow and tested their ice nucleation ability in the laboratory. We found that the lichen harbours INPs, which may be important in similar snowy environments.
Liviana K. Klein, Allan K. Bertram, Andreas Zuend, Florence Gregson, and Ulrich K. Krieger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13341–13359, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13341-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13341-2024, 2024
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The viscosity of ammonium nitrate–sucrose–H2O was quantified with three methods ranging from liquid to solid state depending on the relative humidity. Moreover, the corresponding estimated internal aerosol mixing times remained below 1 h for most tropospheric conditions, making equilibrium partitioning a reasonable assumption.
Yaru Song, Jianlong Li, Narcisse Tsona Tchinda, Kun Li, and Lin Du
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5847–5862, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5847-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5847-2024, 2024
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Aromatic acids can be transferred from seawater to the atmosphere through bubble bursting. The air–sea transfer efficiency of aromatic acids was evaluated by simulating SSA generation with a plunging jet. As a whole, the transfer capacity of aromatic acids may depend on their functional groups and on the bridging effect of cations, as well as their concentration in seawater, as these factors influence the global emission flux of aromatic acids via SSA.
Azad Madhu, Myoseon Jang, and Yujin Jo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5585–5602, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5585-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5585-2024, 2024
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Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from branched alkanes (BAs) was simulated using the UNIPAR model, which predicted SOA growth via multiphase reactions of hydrocarbons, and compared with chamber data. Product distributions (PDs) of BAs were created by extrapolating PDs of linear alkanes (LAs). To account for methyl branching, an autoxidation reduction factor was applied to PDs. BAs in diesel fuel were shown to produce a higher proportion of SOA compared with LAs.
Xiangyu Pei, Yikan Meng, Yueling Chen, Huichao Liu, Yao Song, Zhengning Xu, Fei Zhang, Thomas C. Preston, and Zhibin Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5235–5246, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5235-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5235-2024, 2024
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An aerosol optical tweezer (AOT) Raman spectroscopy system is developed to capture a single aerosol droplet for phase transition monitoring and morphology studies. Rapid droplet capture is achieved and accurate droplet size and refractive index are retrieved. Results indicate that mixed inorganic/organic droplets are more inclined to form core–shell morphology when RH decreases. The phase transitions of secondary mixed organic aerosol/inorganic droplets vary with their precursors.
Baptiste Testa, Lukas Durdina, Peter A. Alpert, Fabian Mahrt, Christopher H. Dreimol, Jacinta Edebeli, Curdin Spirig, Zachary C. J. Decker, Julien Anet, and Zamin A. Kanji
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4537–4567, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4537-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4537-2024, 2024
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Laboratory experiments on the ice nucleation of real commercial aviation soot particles are investigated for their cirrus cloud formation potential. Our results show that aircraft-emitted soot in the upper troposphere will be poor ice-nucleating particles. Measuring the soot particle morphology and modifying their mixing state allow us to elucidate why these particles are ineffective at forming ice, in contrast to previously used soot surrogates.
Satish Basnet, Anni Hartikainen, Aki Virkkula, Pasi Yli-Pirilä, Miika Kortelainen, Heikki Suhonen, Laura Kilpeläinen, Mika Ihalainen, Sampsa Väätäinen, Juho Louhisalmi, Markus Somero, Jarkko Tissari, Gert Jakobi, Ralf Zimmermann, Antti Kilpeläinen, and Olli Sippula
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3197–3215, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3197-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3197-2024, 2024
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Brown carbon (BrC) emissions were estimated, for residential wood combustion (RWC) from various northern European appliances, utilizing an extensive seven-wavelength aethalometer dataset and thermal–optical carbon analysis. The contribution of BrC370–950 to the absorption of visible light varied between 1 % and 21 %, and was linked with fuel moisture content and combustion efficiency. This study provides important information required for assessing the climate effects of RWC emissions.
Yu-Kai Tong, Zhijun Wu, Min Hu, and Anpei Ye
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2937–2950, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2937-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2937-2024, 2024
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The interplay between aerosols and moisture is one of the most crucial atmospheric processes. However, to date, literature results on the influence of phase separation on water diffusion in aerosols are divergent. This work directly unveiled the water diffusion process in single suspended phase-separated microdroplets and quantitatively analyzed the diffusion rate and extent. The results show that diffusion limitations and certain molecule clusters existed in the phase-separated aerosols.
Eugene F. Mikhailov, Sergey S. Vlasenko, and Alexei A. Kiselev
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2971–2984, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2971-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2971-2024, 2024
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Surface tension and water activity are key thermodynamic parameters determining the impact of atmospheric aerosols on human health and climate. However, these parameters are not well constrained for nanoparticles composed of organic and inorganic compounds. In this study, we determined for the first time the water activity and surface tension of mixed organic/inorganic nanodroplets by applying a differential Köhler analysis (DKA) to hygroscopic growth measurements.
Zhanyu Su, Lanxiadi Chen, Yuan Liu, Peng Zhang, Tianzeng Chen, Biwu Chu, Mingjin Tang, Qingxin Ma, and Hong He
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 993–1003, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-993-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-993-2024, 2024
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In this study, different soot particles were analyzed to better understand their behavior. It was discovered that water-soluble substances in soot facilitate water adsorption at low humidity while increasing the number of water layers at high humidity. Soot from organic fuels exhibits hygroscopicity influenced by organic carbon and microstructure. Additionally, the presence of sulfate ions due to the oxidation of SO2 enhances soot's hygroscopicity.
Eike Maximilian Esders, Sebastian Sittl, Inka Krammel, Wolfgang Babel, Georg Papastavrou, and Christoph Karl Thomas
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15835–15851, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15835-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15835-2023, 2023
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Do microplastics behave differently from mineral particles when they are exposed to wind? We observed plastic and mineral particles in a wind tunnel and measured at what wind speeds the particles start to move. The results indicate that microplastics start to move at smaller wind speeds as they weigh less and are less sticky. Hence, we think that microplastics also move more easily in the environment.
Abd El Rahman El Mais, Barbara D'Anna, Luka Drinovec, Andrew T. Lambe, Zhe Peng, Jean-Eudes Petit, Olivier Favez, Selim Aït-Aïssa, and Alexandre Albinet
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15077–15096, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15077-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15077-2023, 2023
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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHS) and furans are key precursors of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) related to biomass burning emissions. We evaluated and compared the formation yields, and the physical and light absorption properties, of laboratory-generated SOAs from the oxidation of such compounds for both, day- and nighttime reactivities. The results illustrate that PAHs are large SOA precursors and may contribute significantly to the biomass burning brown carbon in the atmosphere.
Haifan Zhang, Xiangyu Lin, Qinghong Zhang, Kai Bi, Chan-Pang Ng, Yangze Ren, Huiwen Xue, Li Chen, and Zhuolin Chang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13957–13971, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13957-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13957-2023, 2023
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This work is the first study to simultaneously analyze the number concentrations and species of insoluble particles in hailstones. The size distribution of insoluble particles for each species vary greatly in different hailstorms but little in shells. Two classic size distribution modes of organics and dust were fitted for the description of insoluble particles in deep convection. Combining this study with future experiments will lead to refinement of weather and climate models.
Yueling Chen, Xiangyu Pei, Huichao Liu, Yikan Meng, Zhengning Xu, Fei Zhang, Chun Xiong, Thomas C. Preston, and Zhibin Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10255–10265, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10255-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10255-2023, 2023
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The impact of acidity on the phase transition behavior of levitated aerosol particles was examined. Our results revealed that lower acidity decreases the separation relative humidity of aerosol droplets mixed with ammonium sulfate and secondary organic aerosol proxy. Our research suggests that in real atmospheric conditions, with the high acidity found in many ambient aerosol particles, droplets encounter heightened impediments to phase separation and tend to display a homogeneous structure.
Mária Lbadaoui-Darvas, Ari Laaksonen, and Athanasios Nenes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10057–10074, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10057-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10057-2023, 2023
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Heterogeneous ice nucleation is the main ice formation mechanism in clouds. The mechanism of different freezing modes is to date unknown, which results in large model biases. Experiments do not allow for direct observation of ice nucleation at its native resolution. This work uses first principles molecular simulations to determine the mechanism of the least-understood ice nucleation mode and link it to adsorption through a novel modeling framework that unites ice and droplet formation.
Carynelisa Haspel, Cuiqi Zhang, Martin J. Wolf, Daniel J. Cziczo, and Maor Sela
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10091–10115, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10091-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10091-2023, 2023
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Small particles, commonly termed aerosols, can be found throughout the atmosphere and come from both natural and anthropogenic sources. One important type of aerosol is black carbon (BC). In this study, we conducted laboratory measurements of light scattering by particles meant to mimic atmospheric BC and compared them to calculations of scattering. We find that it is likely that calculations underpredict the scattering by BC particles of certain polarizations of light in certain directions.
Chun Xiong, Binyu Kuang, Fei Zhang, Xiangyu Pei, Zhengning Xu, and Zhibin Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8979–8991, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8979-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8979-2023, 2023
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In hydration, an apparent water diffusion hindrance by an organic surfactant shell was confirmed, raising the inorganic deliquescence relative humidity (RH) to a nearly saturated condition. In dehydration, phase separations were observed for inorganic surfactant systems, showing a strong dependence on the organic molecular
oxygen-to-carbon ratio. Our results could improve fundamental knowledge about aerosol mixing states and decrease uncertainty in model estimations of global radiative effects.
Clarissa Baldo, Paola Formenti, Claudia Di Biagio, Gongda Lu, Congbo Song, Mathieu Cazaunau, Edouard Pangui, Jean-Francois Doussin, Pavla Dagsson-Waldhauserova, Olafur Arnalds, David Beddows, A. Robert MacKenzie, and Zongbo Shi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7975–8000, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7975-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7975-2023, 2023
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This paper presents new shortwave spectral complex refractive index and single scattering albedo data for Icelandic dust. Our results show that the imaginary part of the complex refractive index of Icelandic dust is at the upper end of the range of low-latitude dust. Furthermore, we observed that Icelandic dust is more absorbing towards the near-infrared, which we attribute to its high magnetite content. These findings are important for modeling dust aerosol radiative effects in the Arctic.
Emelie L. Graham, Cheng Wu, David M. Bell, Amelie Bertrand, Sophie L. Haslett, Urs Baltensperger, Imad El Haddad, Radovan Krejci, Ilona Riipinen, and Claudia Mohr
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7347–7362, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7347-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7347-2023, 2023
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The volatility of an aerosol particle is an important parameter for describing its atmospheric lifetime. We studied the volatility of secondary organic aerosols from nitrate-initiated oxidation of three biogenic precursors with experimental methods and model simulations. We saw higher volatility than for the corresponding ozone system, and our simulations produced variable results with different parameterizations which warrant a re-evaluation of the treatment of the nitrate functional group.
Zijun Li, Noora Hyttinen, Miika Vainikka, Olli-Pekka Tikkasalo, Siegfried Schobesberger, and Taina Yli-Juuti
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6863–6877, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6863-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6863-2023, 2023
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The saturation vapor pressure (psat) of low-volatility organic compounds (LVOCs) governs their partitioning between the gas and particle phases. To estimate the psat of selected LVOCs, we performed particle evaporation measurements in a residence time chamber at a temperature setting relevant to atmospheric aerosol formation and conducted state-of-the-art computational calculations. We found good agreement between the experimentally measured and model-estimated psat values for most LVOCs.
Yan Li, Falei Xu, Juan Feng, Mengying Du, Wenjun Song, Chao Li, and Wenjing Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6021–6042, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6021-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6021-2023, 2023
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There is a significantly negative relationship between boreal winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and dust aerosols (DAs) in the eastern part of China (30–40°N, 105–120°E), which is not a DA source area but is severely affected by the dust events (DEs). Under the effect of the NAO negative phase, main atmospheric circulation during the DEs is characterized by variation of the transient eddy flux. The work is of reference value to the prediction of DEs and the understanding of their causes.
Ingrid de Almeida Ribeiro, Konrad Meister, and Valeria Molinero
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5623–5639, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5623-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5623-2023, 2023
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Ice formation is a key atmospheric process facilitated by a wide range of aerosols. We present a method to model and interpret ice nucleation experiments and extract the distribution of the potency of nucleation sites. We use the method to optimize the conditions of laboratory sampling and extract distributions of ice nucleation temperatures from bacteria, fungi, and pollen. These reveal unforeseen subpopulations of nuclei in these systems and how they respond to changes in their environment.
Ting Lei, Hang Su, Nan Ma, Ulrich Pöschl, Alfred Wiedensohler, and Yafang Cheng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4763–4774, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4763-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4763-2023, 2023
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We investigate the hygroscopic behavior of levoglucosan and D-glucose nanoparticles using a nano-HTDMA. There is a weak size dependence of the hygroscopic growth factor of levoglucosan and D-glucose with diameters down to 20 nm, while a strong size dependence of the hygroscopic growth factor of D-glucose has been clearly observed in the size range 6 to 20 nm. The use of the DKA method leads to good agreement with the hygroscopic growth factor of glucose nanoparticles with diameters down to 6 nm.
Lubica Vetráková, Vilém Neděla, Kamila Závacká, Xin Yang, and Dominik Heger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4463–4488, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4463-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4463-2023, 2023
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Salt aerosols are important to polar atmospheric chemistry and global climate. Therefore, we utilized a unique electron microscope to identify the most suitable conditions for formation of the small salt (CsCl) particles, proxies of the aerosols, from sublimating salty snow. Very low sublimation temperature and low salt concentration are needed for formation of such particles. These observations may help us to better understand polar spring ozone depletion and bromine explosion events.
Xiaohan Li and Ian C. Bourg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 2525–2556, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2525-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2525-2023, 2023
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Aerosol particles with sizes smaller than 50 nm impact cloud formation and precipitation. Representation of this effect is hindered by limited understanding of the properties of liquid water in these particles. Our simulations of aerosol particles containing salt or organic compounds reveal that water enters a less cohesive phase at droplet sizes below 4 nm. This effect causes important deviations from theoretical predictions of aerosol properties, including phase state and hygroscopic growth.
Kristian Klumpp, Claudia Marcolli, Ana Alonso-Hellweg, Christopher H. Dreimol, and Thomas Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1579–1598, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1579-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1579-2023, 2023
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The prerequisites of a particle surface for efficient ice nucleation are still poorly understood. This study compares the ice nucleation activity of two chemically identical but morphologically different minerals (kaolinite and halloysite). We observe, on average, not only higher ice nucleation activities for halloysite than kaolinite but also higher diversity between individual samples. We identify the particle edges as being the most likely site for ice nucleation.
Fabian Mahrt, Carolin Rösch, Kunfeng Gao, Christopher H. Dreimol, Maria A. Zawadowicz, and Zamin A. Kanji
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1285–1308, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1285-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1285-2023, 2023
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Major aerosol types emitted by biomass burning include soot, ash, and charcoal particles. Here, we investigated the ice nucleation activity of 400 nm size-selected particles of two different pyrolyis-derived charcoal types in the mixed phase and cirrus cloud regime. We find that ice nucleation is constrained to cirrus cloud conditions, takes place via pore condensation and freezing, and is largely governed by the particle porosity and mineral content.
Chun Xiong, Xueyan Chen, Xiaolei Ding, Binyu Kuang, Xiangyu Pei, Zhengning Xu, Shikuan Yang, Huan Hu, and Zhibin Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 16123–16135, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-16123-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-16123-2022, 2022
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Water surface tension is applied widely in current aerosol–cloud models but could be inappropriate in the presence of atmospheric surfactants. With cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurement results of mixed inorganic salt and dicarboxylic acid particles, we concluded that surface tension reduction and phase state should be carefully considered in aerosol–cloud interactions. Our results could help to decease uncertainties in climate models.
Bernadette Rosati, Sini Isokääntä, Sigurd Christiansen, Mads Mørk Jensen, Shamjad P. Moosakutty, Robin Wollesen de Jonge, Andreas Massling, Marianne Glasius, Jonas Elm, Annele Virtanen, and Merete Bilde
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13449–13466, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13449-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13449-2022, 2022
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Sulfate aerosols have a strong influence on climate. Due to the reduction in sulfur-based fossil fuels, natural sulfur emissions play an increasingly important role. Studies investigating the climate relevance of natural sulfur aerosols are scarce. We study the water uptake of such particles in the laboratory, demonstrating a high potential to take up water and form cloud droplets. During atmospheric transit, chemical processing affects the particles’ composition and thus their water uptake.
Kanishk Gohil, Chun-Ning Mao, Dewansh Rastogi, Chao Peng, Mingjin Tang, and Akua Asa-Awuku
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12769–12787, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12769-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12769-2022, 2022
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The Hybrid Activity Model (HAM) is a promising new droplet growth model that can be potentially used for the analysis of any type of atmospheric compound. HAM may potentially improve the representation of hygroscopicity of organic aerosols in large-scale global climate models (GCMs), hence reducing the uncertainties in the climate forcing due to the aerosol indirect effect.
Charbel Harb and Hosein Foroutan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11759–11779, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11759-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11759-2022, 2022
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A model representation of lake spray aerosol (LSA) ejection from freshwater breaking waves is crucial for understanding their climatic and public health impacts. We develop an LSA emission parameterization and implement it in an atmospheric model to investigate Great Lakes surface emissions. We find that the same breaking wave is likely to produce fewer aerosols in freshwater than in saltwater and that Great Lakes emissions influence the regional aerosol burden and can reach the cloud layer.
Runlong Cai, Ella Häkkinen, Chao Yan, Jingkun Jiang, Markku Kulmala, and Juha Kangasluoma
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11529–11541, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11529-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11529-2022, 2022
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The influences of new particle formation on the climate and air quality are governed by particle survival, which has been under debate due to uncertainties in the coagulation sink. Here we measure the coagulation coefficient of sub-10 nm particles and demonstrate that collisions between the freshly nucleated and background particles can effectively lead to coagulation. We further show that the effective coagulation sink is consistent with the new particle formation measured in urban Beijing.
Lamei Shi, Jiahua Zhang, Da Zhang, Jingwen Wang, Xianglei Meng, Yuqin Liu, and Fengmei Yao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11255–11274, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11255-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11255-2022, 2022
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Dust impacts climate and human life. Analyzing the interdecadal change in dust activity and its influence factors is crucial for disaster mitigation. Based on a linear regression method, this study revealed the interdecadal variability of relationships between ENSO and dust over northwestern South Asia from 1982 to 2014 and analyzed the effects of atmospheric factors on this interdecadal variability. The result sheds new light on numerical simulation involving the interdecadal variation of dust.
Bighnaraj Sarangi, Darrel Baumgardner, Benjamin Bolaños-Rosero, and Olga L. Mayol-Bracero
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9647–9661, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9647-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9647-2022, 2022
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Here, the fluorescent characteristics and cloud-forming efficiency of aerosols at an urban site in Puerto Rico are discussed. The results from this pilot study highlight the capabilities of ultraviolet-induced fluorescence (UV-IF) measurements for characterizing the properties of fluorescing aerosol particles, as they relate to the daily evolution of primary biological aerosol particles. This work has established a database of measurements on which future, longer-term studies will be initiated.
Rani Jeong, Joseph Lilek, Andreas Zuend, Rongshuang Xu, Man Nin Chan, Dohyun Kim, Hi Gyu Moon, and Mijung Song
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 8805–8817, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8805-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8805-2022, 2022
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In this study, the viscosities of particles of sucrose–H2O, AS–H2O, and sucrose–AS–H2O for OIRs of 4:1, 1:1, and 1:4 for decreasing RH, were quantified by poke-and-flow and bead-mobility techniques at 293 ± 1 K. Based on the viscosity results, the particles of binary and ternary systems ranged from liquid to semisolid, and even the solid state depending on the RH. Moreover, we compared the measured viscosities of ternary systems to the predicted viscosities with excellent agreement.
Minxia Shen, Kin Fai Ho, Wenting Dai, Suixin Liu, Ting Zhang, Qiyuan Wang, Jingjing Meng, Judith C. Chow, John G. Watson, Junji Cao, and Jianjun Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7489–7504, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7489-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7489-2022, 2022
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Looking at characteristics and δ13C compositions of dicarboxylic acids and related compounds in BB aerosols, we used a combined combustion and aging system to generate fresh and aged aerosols from burning straw. The results showed the emission factors (EFaged) of total diacids of aging experiments were around an order of magnitude higher than EFfresh. This meant that dicarboxylic acids are involved with secondary photochemical processes in the atmosphere rather than primary emissions from BB.
Jonas K. F. Jakobsson, Deepak B. Waman, Vaughan T. J. Phillips, and Thomas Bjerring Kristensen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 6717–6748, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6717-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6717-2022, 2022
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Long-lived cold-layer clouds at subzero temperatures are observed to be remarkably persistent in their generation of ice particles and snow precipitation. There is uncertainty about why this is so. This motivates the present lab study to observe the long-term ice-nucleating ability of aerosol samples from the real troposphere. Time dependence of their ice nucleation is observed to be weak in lab experiments exposing the samples to isothermal conditions for up to about 10 h.
Kunfeng Gao, Chong-Wen Zhou, Eszter J. Barthazy Meier, and Zamin A. Kanji
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 5331–5364, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5331-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5331-2022, 2022
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Incomplete combustion of fossil fuel produces carbonaceous particles called soot. These particles can affect cloud formation by acting as centres for droplet or ice formation. The atmospheric residence time of soot particles is of the order of days to weeks, which can result in them becoming coated by various trace species in the atmosphere such as acids. In this study, we quantify the cirrus cloud-forming ability of soot particles coated with the atmospherically ubiquitous sulfuric acid.
Kunfeng Gao, Franz Friebel, Chong-Wen Zhou, and Zamin A. Kanji
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 4985–5016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4985-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4985-2022, 2022
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Soot particles impact cloud formation and radiative properties in the upper atmosphere where aircraft emit carbonaceous particles. We use cloud chambers to mimic the upper atmosphere temperature and humidity to test the influence of the morphology of the soot particles on ice cloud formation. For particles larger than 200 nm, the compacted (densified) samples have a higher affinity for ice crystal formation in the cirrus regime than the fluffy (un-compacted) soot particles of the same sample.
Joel Kuula, Hilkka Timonen, Jarkko V. Niemi, Hanna E. Manninen, Topi Rönkkö, Tareq Hussein, Pak Lun Fung, Sasu Tarkoma, Mikko Laakso, Erkka Saukko, Aino Ovaska, Markku Kulmala, Ari Karppinen, Lasse Johansson, and Tuukka Petäjä
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 4801–4808, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4801-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4801-2022, 2022
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Modern and up-to-date policies and air quality management strategies are instrumental in tackling global air pollution. As the European Union is preparing to revise Ambient Air Quality Directive 2008/50/EC, this paper initiates discussion on selected features of the directive that we believe would benefit from a reassessment. The scientific community has the most recent and deepest understanding of air pollution; thus, its contribution is essential.
Yu Wang, Aristeidis Voliotis, Dawei Hu, Yunqi Shao, Mao Du, Ying Chen, Judith Kleinheins, Claudia Marcolli, M. Rami Alfarra, and Gordon McFiggans
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 4149–4166, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4149-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4149-2022, 2022
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Aerosol water uptake plays a key role in atmospheric physicochemical processes. We designed chamber experiments on aerosol water uptake of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from mixed biogenic and anthropogenic precursors with inorganic seed. Our results highlight this chemical composition influences the reconciliation of the sub- and super-saturated water uptake, providing laboratory evidence for understanding the chemical controls of water uptake of the multi-component aerosol.
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Short summary
Aerosol emissions from aircraft engines contribute to the formation of contrails, which have a climate impact as important as that of aviation’s CO2 emissions. For the first time, we experimentally investigate the freezing behaviour of water droplets formed on jet lubrication oil aerosol. We show that they can activate to form water droplets and discuss their potential impact on contrail formation. Our study has implications for contrails produced by future aircraft engine and fuel technologies.
Aerosol emissions from aircraft engines contribute to the formation of contrails, which have a...
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