Global atmospheric particle formation from CERN CLOUD measurements

Eimear M. Dunne, Hamish Gordon, Andreas Kürten, João Almeida, Jonathan Duplissy, Christina Williamson, Ismael K. Ortega, Kirsty J. Pringle, Alexey Adamov, Urs Baltensperger, Peter Barmet, Francois Benduhn, Federico Bianchi, Martin Breitenlechner, Antony Clarke, Joachim Curtius, Josef Dommen, Neil M. Donahue, Sebastian Ehrhart, Richard C. FlaganAlessandro Franchin, Roberto Guida, Jani Hakala, Armin Hansel, Martin Heinritzi, Tuija Jokinen, Juha Kangasluoma, Jasper Kirkby, Markku Kulmala, Agnieszka Kupc, Michael J. Lawler, Katrianne Lehtipalo, Vladimir Makhmutov, Graham Mann, Serge Mathot, Joonas Merikanto, Pasi Miettinen, Athanasios Nenes, Antti Onnela, Alexandru Rap, Carly L.S. Reddington, Francesco Riccobono, Nigel A.D. Richards, Matti P. Rissanen, Linda Rondo, Nina Sarnela, Siegfried Schobesberger, Kamalika Sengupta, Mario Simon, Mikko Sipilä, James N. Smith, Yuri Stozkhov, Antonio Tomé, Jasmin Tröstl, Paul E. Wagner, Daniela Wimmer, Paul M. Winkler, Douglas R. Worsnop, Kenneth S. Carslaw

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

233 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Fundamental questions remain about the origin of newly formed atmospheric aerosol particles because data from laboratory measurements have been insufficient to build global models. In contrast, gas-phase chemistry models have been based on laboratory kinetics measurements for decades. We built a global model of aerosol formation by using extensive laboratory measurements of rates of nucleation involving sulfuric acid, ammonia, ions, and organic compounds conducted in the CERN CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets) chamber. The simulations and a comparison with atmospheric observations show that nearly all nucleation throughout the present-day atmosphere involves ammonia or biogenic organic compounds, in addition to sulfuric acid. A considerable fraction of nucleation involves ions, but the relatively weak dependence on ion concentrations indicates that for the processes studied, variations in cosmic ray intensity do not appreciably affect climate through nucleation in the present-day atmosphere.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1119-1124
Number of pages6
JournalScience
Volume354
Issue number6316
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Dec 2016
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

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