Growth of nucleation mode particles in the summertime Arctic: a case study
The summertime Arctic lower troposphere is a relatively pristine background aerosol environment dominated by nucleation and Aitken mode particles. Understanding the mechanisms that control the formation and growth of aerosol is crucial for our ability to predict cloud properties and therefore radiat...
Published in: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2018
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7663-2016 https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/16/7663/2016/ |
id |
ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:acp50511 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:acp50511 2023-05-15T14:28:53+02:00 Growth of nucleation mode particles in the summertime Arctic: a case study Willis, Megan D. Burkart, Julia Thomas, Jennie L. Köllner, Franziska Schneider, Johannes Bozem, Heiko Hoor, Peter M. Aliabadi, Amir A. Schulz, Hannes Herber, Andreas B. Leaitch, W. Richard Abbatt, Jonathan P. D. 2018-09-20 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7663-2016 https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/16/7663/2016/ eng eng doi:10.5194/acp-16-7663-2016 https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/16/7663/2016/ eISSN: 1680-7324 Text 2018 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7663-2016 2019-12-24T09:52:11Z The summertime Arctic lower troposphere is a relatively pristine background aerosol environment dominated by nucleation and Aitken mode particles. Understanding the mechanisms that control the formation and growth of aerosol is crucial for our ability to predict cloud properties and therefore radiative balance and climate. We present an analysis of an aerosol growth event observed in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago during summer as part of the NETCARE project. Under stable and clean atmospheric conditions, with low inversion heights, carbon monoxide less than 80 ppb v , and black carbon less than 5 ng m −3 , we observe growth of small particles, < 20 nm in diameter, into sizes above 50 nm. Aerosol growth was correlated with the presence of organic species, trimethylamine, and methanesulfonic acid (MSA) in particles ∼ 80 nm and larger, where the organics are similar to those previously observed in marine settings. MSA-to-sulfate ratios as high as 0.15 were observed during aerosol growth, suggesting an important marine influence. The organic-rich aerosol contributes significantly to particles active as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN, supersaturation = 0.6 %), which are elevated in concentration during aerosol growth above background levels of ∼ 100 to ∼ 220 cm −3 . Results from this case study highlight the potential importance of secondary organic aerosol formation and its role in growing nucleation mode aerosol into CCN-active sizes in this remote marine environment. Text Arctic Archipelago Arctic black carbon Canadian Arctic Archipelago Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Aitken ENVELOPE(-44.516,-44.516,-60.733,-60.733) Arctic Canadian Arctic Archipelago Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 16 12 7663 7679 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
op_collection_id |
ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
The summertime Arctic lower troposphere is a relatively pristine background aerosol environment dominated by nucleation and Aitken mode particles. Understanding the mechanisms that control the formation and growth of aerosol is crucial for our ability to predict cloud properties and therefore radiative balance and climate. We present an analysis of an aerosol growth event observed in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago during summer as part of the NETCARE project. Under stable and clean atmospheric conditions, with low inversion heights, carbon monoxide less than 80 ppb v , and black carbon less than 5 ng m −3 , we observe growth of small particles, < 20 nm in diameter, into sizes above 50 nm. Aerosol growth was correlated with the presence of organic species, trimethylamine, and methanesulfonic acid (MSA) in particles ∼ 80 nm and larger, where the organics are similar to those previously observed in marine settings. MSA-to-sulfate ratios as high as 0.15 were observed during aerosol growth, suggesting an important marine influence. The organic-rich aerosol contributes significantly to particles active as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN, supersaturation = 0.6 %), which are elevated in concentration during aerosol growth above background levels of ∼ 100 to ∼ 220 cm −3 . Results from this case study highlight the potential importance of secondary organic aerosol formation and its role in growing nucleation mode aerosol into CCN-active sizes in this remote marine environment. |
format |
Text |
author |
Willis, Megan D. Burkart, Julia Thomas, Jennie L. Köllner, Franziska Schneider, Johannes Bozem, Heiko Hoor, Peter M. Aliabadi, Amir A. Schulz, Hannes Herber, Andreas B. Leaitch, W. Richard Abbatt, Jonathan P. D. |
spellingShingle |
Willis, Megan D. Burkart, Julia Thomas, Jennie L. Köllner, Franziska Schneider, Johannes Bozem, Heiko Hoor, Peter M. Aliabadi, Amir A. Schulz, Hannes Herber, Andreas B. Leaitch, W. Richard Abbatt, Jonathan P. D. Growth of nucleation mode particles in the summertime Arctic: a case study |
author_facet |
Willis, Megan D. Burkart, Julia Thomas, Jennie L. Köllner, Franziska Schneider, Johannes Bozem, Heiko Hoor, Peter M. Aliabadi, Amir A. Schulz, Hannes Herber, Andreas B. Leaitch, W. Richard Abbatt, Jonathan P. D. |
author_sort |
Willis, Megan D. |
title |
Growth of nucleation mode particles in the summertime Arctic: a case study |
title_short |
Growth of nucleation mode particles in the summertime Arctic: a case study |
title_full |
Growth of nucleation mode particles in the summertime Arctic: a case study |
title_fullStr |
Growth of nucleation mode particles in the summertime Arctic: a case study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Growth of nucleation mode particles in the summertime Arctic: a case study |
title_sort |
growth of nucleation mode particles in the summertime arctic: a case study |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7663-2016 https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/16/7663/2016/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-44.516,-44.516,-60.733,-60.733) |
geographic |
Aitken Arctic Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
geographic_facet |
Aitken Arctic Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
genre |
Arctic Archipelago Arctic black carbon Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
genre_facet |
Arctic Archipelago Arctic black carbon Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
op_source |
eISSN: 1680-7324 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/acp-16-7663-2016 https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/16/7663/2016/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7663-2016 |
container_title |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
7663 |
op_container_end_page |
7679 |
_version_ |
1766303020623069184 |