Characterization of dust-related new particle formation events based on long-term measurement in North China Plain

Abstract. Mineral dust is a major natural atmospheric aerosol that impacts the Earth's radiation balance. The significant scavenging process of fine particles by the strong wind during the dust provided a relatively pristine environment in which the occurrence of new particle formation (NPF) was less influenced by anthropogenic emissions. In this study, the NPF events occurring after the dust event (dust-related NPF) and other normal days (other NPF events) were classified based on the long-term particle number size distribution (PNSD) in urban Beijing in spring from 2017 to 2021. By comparing the two types of NPF events, we estimated that anthropogenic emissions could contribute approximately 50 % to the observed formation rate and 30 % to the growth rate. Anthropogenic emissions played a more important role when nucleated particles grew into the sizes above 10 nm. We also assessed a severe dust storm that originated from Mongolia and swept over northern China on March 15–16, 2021. The maximum hourly mean PM₁₀ mass concentration reached 8000 μg m^-3 during the dust storm. A downward trend of particle hygroscopicity was found during dust storms as compared with the polluted episode, resulting in an increasing trend of the critical diameter at different supersaturations (ss) where aerosols are activated as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), although NPF occurred at approximately noon time when dust faded. The critical diameter was elevated by approximately 6 %–10 % (ss = 0.2 % and 0.7 %) during the dust storm, resulting in a lower CCN activation ratio, especially at low supersaturation. Modifications of the nucleation and growth process, as well as the particle-size distribution and hygroscopicity by the dust, provide valuable information that reveals the underlying climate and air quality effects of Asian mineral dust.