scholarly journals A model for particle formation and growth in the atmosphere with molecular resolution in size

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 251-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. E. J. Lehtinen ◽  
M. Kulmala
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Atmospheric Aerosol ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Slight Modification ◽  
Particle Formation ◽  
Simulation Methods ◽  
Discrete Method ◽  
Condensational Growth ◽  
Particle Formation And Growth ◽  
Diffusion Problems

Abstract. The formation and growth of atmospheric aerosol particles is considered using an exact discrete method with molecular resolution in size space. The method is immune to numerical diffusion problems that are a nuisance for typical simulation methods using a sectional representation for the particle size distribution. For condensational growth, a slight modification is proposed for the Fuchs-Sutugin expression, which improves the prediction of the growth rate of nano-sized particles by as much as a factor of two. The presented method is applied to particle formation in a Finnish Boreal forest and is shown to capture the essential features of the dynamics quite nicely. Furthermore, it is shown that the growth of the particles is roughly linear, which means that the amount of condensable vapour is constant (of the order 1013 1/m3).

scholarly journals A model for particle formation and growth in the atmosphere with molecular resolution in size

2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 1791-1807 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. E. J. Lehtinen ◽  
M. Kulmala
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Atmospheric Aerosol ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Slight Modification ◽  
Particle Formation ◽  
Simulation Methods ◽  
Discrete Method ◽  
Condensational Growth ◽  
Particle Formation And Growth ◽  
Diffusion Problems

Abstract. The formation and growth of atmospheric aerosol particles is considered using an exact discrete method with molecular resolution in size space. The method is immune to numerical diffusion problems that are a nuisance for typical simulation methods using a sectional representation for the particle size distribution. For condensational growth, a slight modification is proposed for the Fuchs-Sutugin expression, which improves the prediction of the growth rate of nano-sized particles by as much as a factor of two. The presented method is applied to particle formation in a Finnish Boreal forest and is shown to capture the essential features of the dynamics quite nicely. Furthermore, it is shown that the growth of the particles is roughly linear, which means that the amount of condensable vapour is constant (of the order 1013 1/m3).

scholarly journals Atmospheric sub-3 nm particles at high altitudes

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Mirme ◽  
A. Mirme ◽  
A. Minikin ◽  
A. Petzold ◽  
U. Hõrrak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Aerosol ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Particle Formation ◽  
Atmospheric Particles ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Ion Clusters ◽  
The World ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Atmospheric Clusters

Abstract. Formation of new atmospheric aerosol particles is known to occur almost all over the world and the importance of these particles to climate and air quality has been recognized. Recently, it was found that atmospheric aerosol particle formation begins at the diameter of around 1.5–2.0 nm and a pool of sub-3 nm atmospheric particles – consisting of both charged and uncharged ones – was observed at the ground level. Here, we report on the first airborne observations of the pool of sub-3 nm neutral atmospheric particles. Between 2 and 3 nm, their concentration is roughly two orders of magnitude larger than that of the ion clusters, depending slightly on the altitude. Our findings indicate that new particle formation takes place throughout the tropospheric column up to the tropopause. Particles were found to be formed via neutral pathways in the boundary layer, and there was no sign of an increasing role by ion-induced nucleation toward the upper troposphere. Clouds, while acting as a source of sub-10 nm ions, did not perturb the overall budget of atmospheric clusters or particles.

scholarly journals Multicomponent new particle formation from sulfuric acid, ammonia, and biogenic vapors

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. eaau5363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrianne Lehtipalo ◽  
Chao Yan ◽  
Lubna Dada ◽  
Federico Bianchi ◽  
Mao Xiao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sulfuric Acid ◽  
Atmospheric Aerosol ◽  
Organic Molecules ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Particle Formation ◽  
Atmospheric Pollutants ◽  
Fossil Fuel Combustion ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Particle Formation And Growth

A major fraction of atmospheric aerosol particles, which affect both air quality and climate, form from gaseous precursors in the atmosphere. Highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs), formed by oxidation of biogenic volatile organic compounds, are known to participate in particle formation and growth. However, it is not well understood how they interact with atmospheric pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx) from fossil fuel combustion, as well as ammonia (NH3) from livestock and fertilizers. Here, we show how NOxsuppresses particle formation, while HOMs, sulfuric acid, and NH3have a synergistic enhancing effect on particle formation. We postulate a novel mechanism, involving HOMs, sulfuric acid, and ammonia, which is able to closely reproduce observations of particle formation and growth in daytime boreal forest and similar environments. The findings elucidate the complex interactions between biogenic and anthropogenic vapors in the atmospheric aerosol system.

scholarly journals Modelling the influence of biotic plant stress on atmospheric aerosol particle processes throughout a growing season

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (23) ◽  
pp. 17389-17431
Author(s):  
Ditte Taipale ◽  
Veli-Matti Kerminen ◽  
Mikael Ehn ◽  
Markku Kulmala ◽  
Ülo Niinemets
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Atmospheric Aerosol ◽  
Plant Stress ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Particle Formation ◽  
Pedunculate Oak ◽  
New Particle Formation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Particle Formation And Growth ◽  
Atmospherically Relevant

Abstract. Most trees emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) continuously throughout their life, but the rate of emission and spectrum of emitted VOCs become substantially altered when the trees experience stress. Despite this, models to predict the emissions of VOCs do not account for perturbations caused by biotic plant stress. Considering that such stresses have generally been forecast to increase in both frequency and severity in the future climate, the neglect of stress-induced plant emissions in models might be one of the key obstacles for realistic climate change predictions, since changes in VOC concentrations are known to greatly influence atmospheric aerosol processes. Thus, we constructed a model to study the impact of biotic plant stresses on new particle formation and growth throughout a full growing season. We simulated the influence on aerosol processes caused by herbivory by the European gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) and autumnal moth (Epirrita autumnata) feeding on pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) and mountain birch (Betula pubescens var. pumila), respectively, and also fungal infections of pedunculate oak and balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera var. suaveolens) by oak powdery mildew (Erysiphe alphitoides) and poplar rust (Melampsora larici-populina), respectively. Our modelling results indicate that all the investigated plant stresses are capable of substantially perturbing both the number and size of aerosol particles in atmospherically relevant conditions, with increases in the amount of newly formed particles by up to about an order of magnitude and additional daily growth of up to almost 50 nm. We also showed that it can be more important to account for biotic plant stresses in models for local and regional predictions of new particle formation and growth during the time of infestation or infection than significant variations in, e.g. leaf area index and temperature and light conditions, which are currently the main parameters controlling predictions of VOC emissions. Our study thus demonstrates that biotic plant stress can be highly atmospherically relevant. To validate our findings, field measurements are urgently needed to quantify the role of stress emissions in atmospheric aerosol processes and for making integration of biotic plant stress emission responses into numerical models for prediction of atmospheric chemistry and physics, including climate change projection models, possible.

scholarly journals New particle formation events in semi-clean South African savannah

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 3333-3346 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Vakkari ◽  
H. Laakso ◽  
M. Kulmala ◽  
A. Laaksonen ◽  
D. Mabaso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Particle Size ◽  
Sulphuric Acid ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Particle Formation ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
New Particle Formation ◽  
Particle Formation And Growth

Abstract. This study is based on 18 months (20 July 2006–5 February 2008) of continuous measurements of aerosol particle size distributions, air ion size distributions, trace gas concentrations and basic meteorology in a semi-clean savannah environment in Republic of South Africa. New particle formation and growth was observed on 69% of the days and bursts of non-growing ions/sub-10 nm particles on additional 14% of the days. This new particle formation frequency is the highest reported from boundary layer so far. Also the new particle formation and growth rates were among the highest reported in the literature for continental boundary layer locations; median 10 nm formation rate was 2.2 cm−3 s−1 and median 10–30 nm growth rate 8.9 nm h−1. The median 2 nm ion formation rate was 0.5 cm−3 s−1 and the median ion growth rates were 6.2, 8.0 and 8.1 nm h−1 for size ranges 1.5–3 nm, 3–7 nm and 7–20 nm, respectively. The growth rates had a clear seasonal dependency with minimum during winter and maxima in spring and late summer. The relative contribution of estimated sulphuric acid to the growth rate was decreasing with increasing particle size and could explain more than 20% of the observed growth rate only for the 1.5–3 nm size range. Also the air mass history analysis indicated the highest formation and growth rates to be associated with the area of highest VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) emissions following from biological activity rather than the highest estimated sulphuric acid concentrations. The frequency of new particle formation, however, increased nearly monotonously with the estimated sulphuric acid reaching 100% at H2SO4 concentration of 6 · 107 cm−3, which suggests the formation and growth to be independent of each other.

scholarly journals Atmospheric particle formation events at Värriö measurement station in Finnish Lapland 1998-2002

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 2015-2023 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Vehkamäki ◽  
M. Dal Maso ◽  
T. Hussein ◽  
R. Flanagan ◽  
A. Hyvärinen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Particle Formation ◽  
Meteorological Conditions ◽  
Trace Gas ◽  
Air Masses ◽  
Atmospheric Particle ◽  
Starting Time ◽  
Finnish Lapland ◽  
Particle Formation And Growth

Abstract. During the calendar years 1998-2002, 147 clear 8nm diameter particle formation events have been identified at the SMEAR I station in Värriö, northern Finland. The events have been classified in detail according to the particle formation rate, growth rate, event starting time, different trace gas concentrations and pre-existing particle concentrations as well as various meteorological conditions. The frequency of particle formation and growth events was highest during the spring months between March and May, suggesting that increasing biological activity might produce the precursor gases for particle formation. The apparent 8nm particle formation rates were around 0.1 /cm3s, and they were uncorrelated with growth rates that varied between 0.5 and 10nm/h. The air masses with clearly elevated sulphur dioxide concentrations (above 1.6ppb) came, as expected, from the direction of the Nikel and Monschegorsk smelters. Only 15 formation events can be explained by the pollution plume from these sources.

scholarly journals New particle formation events in semi-clean South African savannah

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 30777-30821 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Vakkari ◽  
H. Laakso ◽  
M. Kulmala ◽  
A. Laaksonen ◽  
D. Mabaso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Sulphuric Acid ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Particle Formation ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
New Particle Formation ◽  
Air Mass ◽  
History Analysis ◽  
Particle Formation And Growth

Abstract. This study is based on 18 months (20 July 2006–5 February 2008) of continuous measurements of aerosol particle size distributions, air ion size distributions, trace gas concentrations and basic meteorology in a semi-clean savannah environment in Republic of South Africa. New particle formation and growth was observed on 69% of the days and bursts of non-growing ions/sub-10 nm particles on additional 14% of the days. The new particle formation and growth rates were among the highest reported in the literature for continental boundary layer locations; median 10 nm formation rate was 2.2 cm−3s−1 and median 10–30 nm growth rate 8.9 nm h−1. The median 2 nm ion formation rate was 0.5 cm−3s−1 and the median ion growth rates were 6.2, 8.0 and 8.1 nm h−1 for size ranges 1.5–3 nm, 3–7 nm and 7–20 nm, respectively. Three different approaches were used to study the origin of the formation and growth rates: seasonal variation, air mass history analysis and estimated sulphuric acid contribution to the growth. The growth rates had a clear seasonal dependency with minimum during winter and maxima in spring and late summer and the air mass history analysis indicated the highest formation and growth rates to be associated with the area of highest VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) emissions rather than the highest estimated sulphuric acid concentrations. The relative contribution of estimated sulphuric acid to the growth rate was decreasing with increasing particle size and could explain more than 20% of the observed growth rate only for the 1.5–3 nm size range. The implication is that the sulphuric acid alone is not enough to explain the growth, but the highest growth rates seem to originate in VOC emissions following from biological activity. The frequency of new particle formation, however, increased nearly monotonously with the estimated sulphuric acid reaching 100% at H2SO4 concentration of 4×107cm−3, which suggests the formation and growth to be independent of each other.

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