Articles | Volume 25, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-17275-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-17275-2025
Research article
 | 
02 Dec 2025
Research article |  | 02 Dec 2025

Optimizing CCN predictions through inferred modal aerosol composition – a boreal forest case study

Rahul Ranjan, Maura Dewey, Liine Heikkinen, Lauri R. Ahonen, Krista Luoma, Paul Bowen, Tuukka Petäjä, Annica M. L. Ekman, Daniel G. Partridge, and Ilona Riipinen

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Cited articles

Aalto, P., Hämeri, K., Becker, E. D. O., Weber, R., Salm, J., Mäkelä, J., Hoell, C., O'Dowd, C., Karlsson, H., Hansson, H.-C., Väkevä, M., Koponen, I. K., Buzorius, G., and Kulmala, M.: Physical characterization of aerosol particles during nucleation events, Tellus, Series B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, 53, 344–358, https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0889.2001.530403.x, 2001. 
Abdul-Razzak, H. and Ghan, S. J.: A parameterization of aerosol activation: 2. Multiple aerosol types, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 105, 6837–6844, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JD901161, 2000. 
Abdul-Razzak, H. and Ghan, S. J.: A parameterization of aerosol activation 3. Sectional representation, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 107, AAC 1-1–AAC 1-6, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD000483, 2002. 
Ahonen, L., Petäjä, T., Heikkinen, L., Luoma, K., ranjan, rahul, and Aalto, P.: Cloud Condensation Nuclei observation data (2016–2020) for the study 'Optimizing CCN predictions through inferred modal aerosol composition – a boreal forest case study', Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17277646, 2025. 
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Short summary
We use multi-year measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) at a boreal forest site to inversely infer size-resolved aerosol chemical composition. We find that inorganic species are more enriched in the larger end (accumulation mode) of the sub-micron aerosol population while organics often dominate the smaller end (Aitken mode). Our approach demonstrates the potential of long-term CCN measurements to infer size-resolved chemical composition of sub-micron aerosol.
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