Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Houssni Lamkaddam, Josef Dommen, Ananth Ranjithkumar, Hamish Gordon, Gunther Wehrle, Jordan Krechmer, Francesca Majluf, Daniil Salionov, Julia Schmale, Sasa Bjelic, Kenneth S. Carslaw, Imad El Haddad, Urs Baltensperger
Summary: The study reveals that processing isoprene oxidation products in cloud droplets can produce a significant amount of secondary organic aerosol, which may have a substantial impact on the global aerosol burden.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Linlin Liang, Guenter Engling, Wanyun Xu, Qianli Ma, Weili Lin, Xuyan Liu, Chang Liu, Gen Zhang
Summary: Laboratory experiments suggest acid-catalyzed aqueous-phase production can promote the formation of isoprene SOA, i.e., 2-methyltetrols. In this study, ambient observations and chemical measurements were used to investigate the importance of environmental factors in the formation of isoprene epoxydiols (IEPDX) SOA under atmospheric humidity conditions. The results show that photochemical processes dominate the formation of 2-methyltetrols in humid environments, and aerosol acidity has a limited influence on their formation. Additionally, high liquid water content reduces aerosol droplet acidity, thereby diminishing the enhancement of SOA formation.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Long Jia, YongFu Xu, MinZheng Duan
Summary: Aerosol particles have significant effects on local environment and global climate. The mechanism of explosive growth of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) during severe haze events is unclear. Through chamber experiments and kinetic model simulations, this study revealed the microphysical mechanism for explosive organic aerosol formation. The condensation of gas-phase organics and the interaction between aerosol and fog were found to contribute to the explosive growth of SOA. The co-condensation of organic vapors with water should not be overlooked as it can significantly underestimate SOA and liquid water content in 3D models.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yan Qin Ren, Jie Wei, Yuan Yuan Ji, Zhen Hai Wu, Fang Bi, Rui Gao, Xue Zhong Wang, Hong Li
Summary: The study shows that primary emission and secondary formation have significant impacts on the organic compositions of fine aerosols in summer Beijing. Coal combustion is an important source of OC during polluted period, while biomass burning is the main contributor during clean period. The study also highlights the importance of atmospheric oxidants and particle acidity in the formation of secondary organic carbon during high pollution periods in Beijing.
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Dagen D. Hughes, Megan B. Christiansen, Alissa Milani, Michael P. Vermeuel, Gordon A. Novak, Hariprasad D. Alwe, Angela F. Dickens, R. Bradley Pierce, Dylan B. Millet, Timothy H. Bertram, Charles O. Stanier, Elizabeth A. Stone
Summary: The Lake Michigan Ozone Study conducted in 2017 aimed to understand the sources contributing to ozone and fine particles along the Lake Michigan coast. The study found that different weather patterns during high ozone periods affected the regional characteristics of PM2.5. The research also highlighted the importance of anthropogenic sulfate emissions and aerosol acidity on secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation.
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
S. Indira Murugachandran, Jackson Tang, Isabel Pena, Donatella Loru, M. Eugenia Sanz
Summary: Limonene effectively interacts with water to form various complexes, with water preferentially binding to the endocyclic double bond of limonene. These findings enrich our understanding of the interactions of limonene in the atmosphere.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Duseong S. Jo, Alma Hodzic, Louisa K. Emmons, Simone Tilmes, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Michael J. Mills, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Weiwei Hu, Rahul A. Zaveri, Richard C. Easter, Balwinder Singh, Zheng Lu, Christiane Schulz, Johannes Schneider, John E. Shilling, Armin Wisthaler, Jose L. Jimenez
Summary: Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is a significant contributor to fine particulate matter in the atmosphere, with volatility-based SOA parameterizations showing reasonable performance but potential errors when applied to future climatic conditions. Explicit mechanism predictions suggest variability in isoprene epoxydiols (IEPOX SOA) concentrations across different scenarios, highlighting the importance of capturing key physicochemical drivers for accurate SOA concentration predictions in climate studies.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yixin Li, Jiayun Zhao, Yuan Wang, John H. Seinfeld, Renyi Zhang
Summary: Photooxidation of toluene can lead to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and light-absorbing brown carbon (BrC) through a complex series of chemical reactions, involving the production of dicarbonyls and carboxylic functional groups as primary precursors. The study shows that volatile dicarbonyls form nonvolatile oligomers and light-absorbing nitrogen heterocycles/heterochains at high humidity, while organic acids contribute to aerosol carboxylates through ionic dissociation or acid-base reactions over a wide range of humidity levels. These findings highlight the important role of toluene in SOA/BrC formation due to the unique functionalities of dicarbonyls and organic acids in aerosol-phase reactions.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jixing Liu, Shuping Zhu, Teng Guo, Bin Jia, Li Xu, Jun Chen, Ping Cheng
Summary: This study investigates the gas- and particle-phase naphthalene (Nap) ozonolysis and its role as a precursor for secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). It is found that Nap reacts to form gas-phase products as well as SOAs via homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions. The formation of Nap-SOAs is attributed to the creation of new particles and the uptake of oxidation products on gas-phase or particle surfaces. This study provides insights into the migration and transformation of PAHs in the atmosphere.
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sahir Azmi, Mukesh Sharma
Summary: A study has found that controlling anthropogenic emissions can effectively prevent the formation of biogenic secondary organic aerosols (b-SOA). Among the pollutants considered, the control of carbonaceous aerosols and nitrogen oxides (TC and NOx) showed the greatest potential. Residential combustion was found to be the main source of TC emissions, while vehicles and coal-based power plants were the main sources of NOx emissions.
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Fawad Ashraf, Ahsan Ali, Jun-Hyun Park, Joonwoo Kim, Kihong Park, Ho-Jin Lim
Summary: An oxidation flow reactor (OFR) was used to investigate the impact of atmospheric ammonia on secondary aerosol formation. The results showed that ammonia had a significant effect on secondary aerosol formation under high NOx and humidity conditions. Source apportionment analysis revealed that secondary organic aerosols (SOA) were the dominant component of organic aerosols.
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Shijie Liu, Yiqian Wang, Xinbei Xu, Gehui Wang
Summary: This study provides new insight into the effect of NO2 on SOA formation through the change in o-xylene photooxidation under different RH conditions, and the complex effect of multiple environmental factors on SOA formation was also important and should not be ignored.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kamalika Sengupta, Kirsty Pringle, Jill S. Johnson, Carly Reddington, Jo Browse, Catherine E. Scott, Ken Carslaw
Summary: The study used a global model with 60 simulations to explore the impact of different parameter combinations on secondary organic aerosol formation. The model showed deficiencies in simulating particle number concentrations and organic aerosol mass, while also identifying the compounds with the strongest influence on the simulation results.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Roy M. Harrison, David C. S. Beddows, Chengxu Tong, Seny Damayanti
Summary: A study found that the decline in secondary pollutant concentrations may not always be directly proportional to the reduction in their precursor emissions. The relationship between nitrate concentrations and emissions was found to be nonlinear, while the relationships for other pollutants were likely linear. Air masses originating from mainland Europe were identified as the main contributors to high concentrations of secondary pollutants in southern England.
NPJ CLIMATE AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ziying Lei, Yuzhi Chen, Yue Zhang, Madeline E. Cooke, Isabel R. Ledsky, N. Cazimir Armstrong, Nicole E. Olson, Zhenfa Zhang, Avram Gold, Jason D. Surratt, Andrew P. Ault
Summary: The study demonstrates that initial aerosol acidity plays a significant role in shaping the physicochemical properties of SOA formed from IEPDX, with higher acidity resulting in more organosulfate formation and a tendency for the organic phase to transition to a semi-solid or solid state. These findings can be used to improve model parameterizations of SOA formation and properties from IEPDX to better align predictions with atmospheric observations.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Henning Finkenzeller, Siddharth Iyer, Xu-Cheng He, Mario Simon, Theodore K. Koenig, Christopher F. Lee, Rashid Valiev, Victoria Hofbauer, Antonio Amorim, Rima Baalbaki, Andrea Baccarini, Lisa Beck, David M. Bell, Lucia Caudillo, Dexian Chen, Randall Chiu, Biwu Chu, Lubna Dada, Jonathan Duplissy, Martin Heinritzi, Deniz Kemppainen, Changhyuk Kim, Jordan Krechmer, Andreas Kurten, Alexandr Kvashnin, Houssni Lamkaddam, Chuan Ping Lee, Katrianne Lehtipalo, Zijun Li, Vladimir Makhmutov, Hanna E. Manninen, Guillaume Marie, Ruby Marten, Roy L. Mauldin, Bernhard Mentler, Tatjana Muller, Tuukka Petaja, Maxim Philippov, Ananth Ranjithkumar, Birte Rorup, Jiali Shen, Dominik Stolzenburg, Christian Tauber, Yee Jun Tham, Antonio Tome, Miguel Vazquez-Pufleau, Andrea C. Wagner, Dongyu S. Wang, Mingyi Wang, Yonghong Wang, Stefan K. Weber, Wei Nie, Yusheng Wu, Mao Xiao, Qing Ye, Marcel Zauner-Wieczorek, Armin Hansel, Urs Baltensperger, Jerome Brioude, Joachim Curtius, Neil M. Donahue, Imad El Haddad, Richard C. Flagan, Markku Kulmala, Jasper Kirkby, Mikko Sipila, Douglas R. Worsnop, Theo Kurten, Matti Rissanen, Rainer Volkamer
Summary: Iodine is an active trace element in atmospheric chemistry that can destroy ozone and form particles. Its emissions have increased threefold since 1950 and are expected to continue rising. In laboratory experiments, iodooxy hypoiodite (IOIO) was shown to efficiently convert into iodic acid (HIO3) via reactions IOIO + O-3 -> IOIO4 and IOIO4 + H2O -> HIO3 + HOI + O-(1)(2). This laboratory-derived mechanism explains field observations of daytime HIO3 in the remote lower free troposphere and suggests a catalytic role of iodine in aerosol formation.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Bailey B. Bowers, Joel A. Thornton, Ryan C. Sullivan
Summary: This study investigates the use of iodide time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometry (iodide-ToF-CIMS) for the online characterization of various PFAS compounds in the atmosphere. The researchers successfully measured different PFAS compounds in both gas and aerosol phases using various sample introduction methods. The study also sheds light on the behavior of PFAS compounds during chemical ionization, providing a more fundamental understanding of these compounds. The results demonstrate the potential of iodide-ToF-CIMS for online measurement of nonvolatile PFAS compounds in aerosols.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-PROCESSES & IMPACTS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yee Jun Tham, Nina Sarnela, Siddharth Iyer, Qinyi Li, Helene Angot, Lauriane L. J. Quelever, Ivo Beck, Tiia Laurila, Lisa J. Beck, Matthew Boyer, Javier Carmona-Garcia, Ana Borrego-Sanchez, Daniel Roca-Sanjuan, Otso Perakyla, Roseline C. Thakur, Xu-Cheng He, Qiaozhi Zha, Dean Howard, Byron Blomquist, Stephen D. Archer, Ludovic Bariteau, Kevin Posman, Jacques Hueber, Detlev Helmig, Hans-Werner Jacobi, Heikki Junninen, Markku Kulmala, Anoop S. Mahajan, Andreas Massling, Henrik Skov, Mikko Sipila, Joseph S. Francisco, Julia Schmale, Tuija Jokinen, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez
Summary: Observations report the presence of HClO3 and HClO4 in the atmosphere, showing their widespread occurrence over the pan-Arctic during spring. These findings provide further insights into atmospheric chlorine cycling in the polar environment. The increase in HClO3 and HClO4 is linked to the increase in bromine levels, indicating the role of bromine chemistry in their formation and suggesting a previously missing atmospheric sink for reactive chlorine.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jiandong Wang, Jiaping Wang, Runlong Cai, Chao Liu, Jingkun Jiang, Wei Nie, Jinbo Wang, Nobuhiro Moteki, Rahul A. Zaveri, Xin Huang, Nan Ma, Ganzhen Chen, Zilin Wang, Yuzhi Jin, Jing Cai, Yuxuan Zhang, Xuguang Chi, Bruna A. Holanda, Jia Xing, Tengyu Liu, Ximeng Qi, Qiaoqiao Wang, Christopher Poehlker, Hang Su, Yafang Cheng, Shuxiao Wang, Jiming Hao, Meinrat O. Andreae, Aijun Ding
Summary: The authors propose a unified theoretical framework for describing the mixing state of black carbon, and discover a universal law that can greatly improve the accuracy of estimating the climate effect of black carbon in most climate/atmospheric chemistry models.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jie Zhang, Manish Shrivastava, Alla Zelenyuk, Rahul A. Zaveri, Jason D. Surratt, Matthieu Riva, David Bell, Marianne Glasius
Summary: This study investigates the key parameters governing the formation of isoprene epoxydiol-derived secondary organic aerosol (IEPOX-SOA). The results show that reducing the reaction rate constants of 2-methyltetrol (tetrol) can bring the model predictions in agreement with experimental measurements of IEPOX-SOA under acidified aerosol conditions. Additionally, both the organosulfate (OS) and tetrol reaction rate constants need to be reduced for nonacidified aerosols to match the chamber observations. The study also reveals that the aerosol acidity significantly affects the oligomerization rate of tetrols.
ACS EARTH AND SPACE CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yuzhi Chen, Rahul A. Zaveri, Gregory W. Vandergrift, Zezhen Cheng, Swarup China, Alla Zelenyuk, John E. Shilling
Summary: Recent studies have shown that the assumptions of instantaneous gas-particle equilibrium partitioning cannot accurately predict the formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA), even at high humidity. This study investigates the minimum aging time scale required to observe nonequilibrium partitioning between the gas and aerosol phase. The results suggest that the equilibrium partitioning assumption breaks down after as short as 20 minutes of aging for isoprene SOA, even in the dark. Modeling and mass spectrometric analysis support the existence of a semisolid phase state and the observed nonequilibrium partitioning behavior.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Vitus Besel, Milica Todorovic, Theo Kurten, Patrick Rinke, Hanna Vehkamaki
Summary: In this study, the GeckoQ dataset was created, which includes atomic structures of 31,637 atmospherically relevant molecules. This dataset can accelerate the research on key atmospheric processes driven by low-volatile organic compounds (LVOCs), such as new particle formation and growth. Machine learning tools were used to explore the relationship between structural and thermodynamic properties, and a first application of Gaussian process regression was demonstrated.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Fariba Partovi, Joona Mikkila, Siddharth Iyer, Jyri Mikkila, Jussi Kontro, Suvi Ojanpera, Paxton Juuti, Juha Kangasluoma, Aleksei Shcherbinin, Matti Rissanen
Summary: In this study, a multi-scheme chemical ionization inlet (MION) with a thermal desorption unit connected to an Orbitrap mass spectrometer was used to investigate the detection characteristics of a large group of common pesticides. Standard pesticide mixtures, fruit extracts, untreated fruit juice, and whole fruit samples were inspected, and a total of 115 pesticides were detected using different reagents and polarity modes. The developed measurement methodology minimized common bottlenecks from sample pretreatment and achieved a retrieval rate of 92% compared to standardized UHPLC-MSMS procedures. The detection of pesticides in actual samples demonstrated the potential of this fast screening method.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Anna Lintunen, Juho Aalto, Ari Asmi, Mika Aurela, Jaana Back, Mikael Ehn, Ekaterina Ezhova, Hannele Hakola, Kari Hartonen, Jussi Heinonsalo, Heidi Hellen, Teemu Holtta, Tuija Jokinen, Leena Jarvi, Heikki Jarvinen, Juha Kangasluoma, Veli-Matti Kerminen, Pasi Kolari, Kajar Koster, Egle Koster, Liisa Kulmala, Theo Kurten, Ari Laaksonen, Hanna K. Lappalainen, Tuomas Lauril, Katrianne Lehtipalo, Heikki Lihavainen, Annalea Lohila, Mari Losoi, Annikki Makela, Risto Makkonen, Ivan Mammarella, Santtu Mikkone, Dmitri Moisseev, Anne Ojala, Tuukka Petaja, Mari Pihlatie, Albert Porcar-Castell, Arnaud P. Praplan, Jouni Pulliainen, Jukka Pumpanen, Pekka Rantala, Marja-Liisa Riekkola, Kaisa Rissanen, Sami Romakkaniemi, Jose Ruiz-Jimenez, Nina Sarnela, Simon Schallhar, Pauliina Schiestl-Aalt, Janne Rinne, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Hanna Vehkamaki, Timo Vesala, Yrjo Viisanen, Annele Virtanen, Ilona Ylivink, Pertti Hari, Markku Kulmala
Summary: The study of atmospheric processes related to climate requires a multidisciplinary approach, and the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in atmospheric sciences (CoE ATM) has been conducting extensive research for 18 years. The work in the CoE ATM has improved our understanding of biogeochemical cycles, ecosystem processes, aerosols, ions, neutral clusters, cloud formation, and their interactions. Through a combination of observations, remote sensing, experiments, and modeling, the CoE ATM has enabled improved conceptual understanding across spatial and temporal scales, serving as a platform for multidisciplinary research.
BOREAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Huan Yang, Ivo Neefjes, Valtteri Tikkanen, Jakub Kubecka, Theo Kurten, Hanna Vehkamaki, Bernhard Reischl
Summary: The kinetics of collision-sticking processes between vapor molecules and clusters play a crucial role in atmospheric new particle formation. A new analytical interacting hard-sphere model that accounts for long-range attractive forces has been developed to accurately evaluate collision rates. Collision simulations using atomistic molecular dynamics also provide insights into the sticking rates and mass accommodation coefficients (MACs) of different compounds and cluster sizes at various temperatures.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Marc Webb, Liyong Cui, Glenn Morrison, Karsten Baumann, Jason D. Surratt, Zhenfa Zhang, Joanna Atkin, Barbara J. Turpin
Summary: Humidity affects the removal and concentrations of indoor pollutants, especially in humid homes. Research on a model organic peroxide showed that the relative humidity has a greater effect on the removal rate and reaction probability on soiled surfaces compared to clean surfaces. These findings are important for predicting indoor concentrations of organic peroxides.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-PROCESSES & IMPACTS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Melissa Meder, Otso Perakyla, Jonathan G. Varelas, Jingyi Luo, Runlong Cai, Yanjun Zhang, Theo Kurten, Matthieu Riva, Matti Rissanen, Franz M. Geiger, Regan J. Thomson, Mikael Ehn
Summary: Highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs) from ff-pinene ozonolysis are important contributors to secondary organic aerosol (SOA), yet the mechanisms for their formation are not well understood. In this study, a method using selective deuterations was proposed to investigate the autoxidation mechanisms. The results showed that this method was effective in deducing the involvement of specific carbon atoms in the autoxidation process. This method can provide valuable insights into autoxidation on a molecular level.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
R. R. Valiev, B. S. Merzlikin, R. T. Nasibullin, A. Kurtzevitch, V. N. Cherepanov, R. R. Ramazanov, D. Sundholm, T. Kurten
Summary: A novel method for calculating rate constants for internal conversion (k(IC)) has been developed, which takes into account Duschinsky, anharmonic and Herzberg-Teller effects. The method has been applied to different types of molecules and the results show that the Duschinsky effect is large in the harmonic approximation, but much smaller in the anharmonic approximation. The calculations also reveal that anharmonic contributions to k(IC) are larger than Herzberg-Teller contributions, which are larger than contributions from the Duschinsky effect.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Prasenjit Seal, Shawon Barua, Siddharth Iyer, Avinash Kumar, Matti Rissanen
Summary: A systematic study was conducted on H-shifts in pristine acyl peroxy radicals for the first time, revealing their importance as a path to functionalization in both rural and urban air quality modeling, and their competitiveness even under moderately polluted atmospheric conditions.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)