Articles | Volume 12, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2733-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2733-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
14 May 2019
Research article |
| 14 May 2019
| 14 May 2019
A portable dual-smog-chamber system for atmospheric aerosol field studies
Christos Kaltsonoudis
Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, ICE-HT, Patras, Greece
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA
Spiro D. Jorga
Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA
Evangelos Louvaris
Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, ICE-HT, Patras, Greece
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
Kalliopi Florou
Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, ICE-HT, Patras, Greece
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
Spyros N. Pandis
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, ICE-HT, Patras, Greece
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA
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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7461–7477, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7461-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7461-2023, 2023
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Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2837–2850, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2837-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2837-2023, 2023
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The offline aerosol mass spectrometry technique is a useful tool for the source apportionment of organic aerosol in areas and periods during which an aerosol mass spectrometer is not available. In this work, an improved offline technique was developed and evaluated in an effort to capture most of the partially soluble and insoluble organic aerosol material, reducing the uncertainty of the corresponding source apportionment significantly.
Spiro D. Jorga, Kalliopi Florou, David Patoulias, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 85–97, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-85-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-85-2023, 2023
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We take advantage of this unexpected low, new particle formation frequency in Greece and use a dual atmospheric simulation chamber system with starting point ambient air in an effort to gain insight about the chemical species that is limiting nucleation in this area. A potential nucleation precursor, ammonia, was added in one of the chambers while the other one was used as a reference. The addition of ammonia assisted new particle formation in almost 50 % of the experiments conducted.
Brian T. Dinkelacker, Pablo Garcia Rivera, Ioannis Kioutsioukis, Peter J. Adams, and Spyros N. Pandis
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The performance of a chemical transport model in reproducing PM2.5 concentrations and composition was evaluated at the finest scale using measurements from regulatory sites as well as a network of low-cost monitors. Total PM2.5 mass is reproduced well by the model during the winter when compared to regulatory measurements, but in the summer PM2.5 is underpredicted, mainly due to difficulties in reproducing regional secondary organic aerosol levels.
Christina Vasilakopoulou, Iasonas Stavroulas, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6419–6431, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6419-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6419-2022, 2022
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Offline aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurements can provide valuable information about ambient organic aerosols when online AMS measurements are not available. In this study, we examine whether and how the low time resolution (usually 24 h) of the offline technique affects source apportionment results. We concluded that use of the daily averages resulted in estimated average contributions that were within 8 % of the total OA compared with the high-resolution analysis.
Stella E. I. Manavi and Spyros N. Pandis
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 7731–7749, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7731-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7731-2022, 2022
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The paper describes the first step towards the development of a simulation framework for the chemistry and secondary organic aerosol production of intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOCs). These compounds can be a significant source of organic particulate matter. Our approach treats IVOCs as lumped compounds that retain their chemical characteristics. Estimated IVOC emissions from road transport were a factor of 8 higher than emissions used in previous applications.
Aristeidis Voliotis, Mao Du, Yu Wang, Yunqi Shao, Thomas J. Bannan, Michael Flynn, Spyros N. Pandis, Carl J. Percival, M. Rami Alfarra, and Gordon McFiggans
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13677–13693, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13677-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13677-2022, 2022
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The addition of a low-yield precursor to the reactive mixture of aVOC and bVOC can increase or decrease the SOA volatility that is system-dependent. Therefore, the SOA volatility of the mixtures cannot always be predicted based on the additivity. In complex mixtures the formation of lower-volatility products likely outweighs the formation of products with higher volatility. The unique products of each mixture contribute significantly to the signal, suggesting interactions can be important.
Brian T. Dinkelacker, Pablo Garcia Rivera, Ksakousti Skyllakou, Peter J. Adams, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2022-648, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2022-648, 2022
Revised manuscript not accepted
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A number of factors have influenced the biogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) levels in the southeastern US from 2001 to 2010. The increases in temperature have led to an increase of the emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds by trees and a corresponding increase of the SOA. However, this increase has been balanced by the reductions in the anthropogenic emissions of organic gases and particulate matter as well as of the oxides of nitrogen keeping the biogenic SOA roughly constant.
Pablo Garcia Rivera, Brian T. Dinkelacker, Ioannis Kioutsioukis, Peter J. Adams, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2011–2027, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2011-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2011-2022, 2022
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The contribution of various pollution sources to the variability of fine PM in an urban area was examined using as an example the city of Pittsburgh. Biomass burning aerosol shows the largest variability during the winter with local maxima within the city and in the suburbs. During both periods the largest contributing source to the average PM2.5 is particles from outside the modeling domain. The average population-weighted PM2.5 concentration does not change significantly with resolution.
David Patoulias and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 1689–1706, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1689-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1689-2022, 2022
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Our simulations indicate that the recently identified production and subsequent condensation effect of extremely low-volatility organic compounds have a smaller-than-expected effect on the total concentration of atmospheric particles. On the other hand, the oxidation of intermediate-volatility organic compounds leads to decreases in the ultrafine-particle concentrations. These results improve our understanding of the links between secondary organic aerosol formation and ultrafine particles.
Miska Olin, David Patoulias, Heino Kuuluvainen, Jarkko V. Niemi, Topi Rönkkö, Spyros N. Pandis, Ilona Riipinen, and Miikka Dal Maso
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 1131–1148, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1131-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1131-2022, 2022
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An emission factor particle size distribution was determined from the measurements at an urban traffic site. It was used in updating a pre-existing emission inventory, and regional modeling was performed after the update. Emission inventories typically underestimate nanoparticle emissions due to challenges in determining them with high certainty. This update reveals that the simulated aerosol levels have previously been underestimated especially for urban areas and for sub-50 nm particles.
Ksakousti Skyllakou, Pablo Garcia Rivera, Brian Dinkelacker, Eleni Karnezi, Ioannis Kioutsioukis, Carlos Hernandez, Peter J. Adams, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17115–17132, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17115-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17115-2021, 2021
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Significant reductions in pollutant emissions took place in the US from 1990 to 2010. The reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions from electric-generating units have dominated the reductions in fine particle mass. The reductions in transportation emissions have led to a 30 % reduction of elemental concentrations and of organic particulate matter by a factor of 3. On the other hand, changes in biomass burning and biogenic secondary organic aerosol have been modest.
Spiro D. Jorga, Kalliopi Florou, Christos Kaltsonoudis, John K. Kodros, Christina Vasilakopoulou, Manuela Cirtog, Axel Fouqueau, Bénédicte Picquet-Varrault, Athanasios Nenes, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15337–15349, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15337-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15337-2021, 2021
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We test the hypothesis that significant secondary organic aerosol production can take place even during winter nights through the oxidation of the emitted organic vapors by the nitrate radicals produced during the reaction of ozone and nitrogen oxides. Our experiments, using as a starting point the ambient air of an urban area with high biomass burning activity, demonstrate that, even with sunlight, there is 20 %–70 % additional organic aerosol formed in a few hours.
Aristeidis Voliotis, Yu Wang, Yunqi Shao, Mao Du, Thomas J. Bannan, Carl J. Percival, Spyros N. Pandis, M. Rami Alfarra, and Gordon McFiggans
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14251–14273, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14251-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14251-2021, 2021
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Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from mixtures of volatile precursors can be affected by the molecular interactions of the products. Composition and volatility measurements of SOA formed from mixtures of anthropogenic and biogenic precursors reveal processes that can increase or decrease the SOA volatility. The unique products of the mixture were more oxygenated and less volatile than those from either precursor. Analytical context is provided to explore the SOA volatility in mixtures.
Athanasios Nenes, Spyros N. Pandis, Maria Kanakidou, Armistead G. Russell, Shaojie Song, Petros Vasilakos, and Rodney J. Weber
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6023–6033, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6023-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6023-2021, 2021
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Ecosystems and air quality are affected by the dry deposition of inorganic reactive nitrogen (Nr, the sum of ammonium and nitrate). Its large variability is driven by the large difference in deposition velocity of N when in the gas or particle phase. Here we show that aerosol liquid water and acidity, by affecting gas–particle partitioning, modulate the dry deposition velocity of NH3, HNO3, and Nr worldwide. These effects explain the rapid accumulation of nitrate aerosol during haze events.
Georgia N. Theodoritsi, Giancarlo Ciarelli, and Spyros N. Pandis
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 2041–2055, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-2041-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-2041-2021, 2021
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Two schemes based on the volatility basis set were used for the simulation of biomass burning organic aerosol (bbOA) in the continental US. The first is the default scheme of the PMCAMx-SR model, and the second is a recently developed scheme based on laboratory experiments. The alternative bbOA scheme predicts much higher concentrations. The default scheme performed better during summer and fall, while the alternative scheme was a little better during spring.
Weiqi Xu, Chun Chen, Yanmei Qiu, Ying Li, Zhiqiang Zhang, Eleni Karnezi, Spyros N. Pandis, Conghui Xie, Zhijie Li, Jiaxing Sun, Nan Ma, Wanyun Xu, Pingqing Fu, Zifa Wang, Jiang Zhu, Douglas R. Worsnop, Nga Lee Ng, and Yele Sun
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 5463–5476, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5463-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5463-2021, 2021
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Here aerosol volatility and viscosity at a rural site (Gucheng) and an urban site (Beijing) in the North China Plain (NCP) were investigated in summer and winter. Our results showed that organic aerosol (OA) in winter in the NCP is more volatile than that in summer due to enhanced primary emissions from coal combustion and biomass burning. We also found that OA existed mainly as a solid in winter in Beijing but as semisolids in Beijing in summer and Gucheng in winter.
Rongzhi Tang, Quanyang Lu, Song Guo, Hui Wang, Kai Song, Ying Yu, Rui Tan, Kefan Liu, Ruizhe Shen, Shiyi Chen, Limin Zeng, Spiro D. Jorga, Zhou Zhang, Wenbin Zhang, Shijin Shuai, and Allen L. Robinson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2569–2583, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2569-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2569-2021, 2021
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We performed chassis dynamometer experiments to investigate the emissions and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation potential of intermediate volatility organic compounds (IVOCs) from an on-road Chinese gasoline vehicle. High IVOC emission factors (EFs) and distinct volatility distribution were recognized. Our results indicate that vehicular IVOCs contribute significantly to SOA, implying the importance of reducing IVOCs when making air pollution control policies in urban areas of China.
Stylianos Kakavas, David Patoulias, Maria Zakoura, Athanasios Nenes, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 799–811, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-799-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-799-2021, 2021
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The dependence of aerosol acidity on particle size, location, and altitude over Europe during a summertime period is investigated. Differences of up to 1–4 pH units are predicted between sub- and supermicron particles in northern and southern Europe. Particles of all sizes become increasingly acidic with altitude (0.5–2.5 pH units decrease over 2.5 km). The size-dependent pH differences carry important implications for pH-sensitive processes in the aerosol.
Antonios Tasoglou, Evangelos Louvaris, Kalliopi Florou, Aikaterini Liangou, Eleni Karnezi, Christos Kaltsonoudis, Ningxin Wang, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11625–11637, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11625-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11625-2020, 2020
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A month-long set of summertime measurements in a remote area in the Mediterranean is used to quantify aerosol absorption. The measured light absorption was two or more times higher than that of fresh black carbon. The absorption enhancement due to the coating of black carbon cores by other aerosol components could explain only part of this absorption enhancement. The rest was due to brown carbon, mostly in the form of extremely low volatility organic compounds.
Athanasios Nenes, Spyros N. Pandis, Rodney J. Weber, and Armistead Russell
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3249–3258, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3249-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3249-2020, 2020
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We show that aerosol acidity (pH) and liquid water content naturally emerge as previously ignored parameters that drive particulate matter formation in the atmosphere, and its sensitivity to emissions of ammonia and nitric acid. The simple framework presented is easily applied to ambient measurements or model output, and it provides the
chemical regimeof PM sensitivity to ammonia and nitric acid availability.
Jianhui Jiang, Sebnem Aksoyoglu, Imad El-Haddad, Giancarlo Ciarelli, Hugo A. C. Denier van der Gon, Francesco Canonaco, Stefania Gilardoni, Marco Paglione, María Cruz Minguillón, Olivier Favez, Yunjiang Zhang, Nicolas Marchand, Liqing Hao, Annele Virtanen, Kalliopi Florou, Colin O'Dowd, Jurgita Ovadnevaite, Urs Baltensperger, and André S. H. Prévôt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15247–15270, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15247-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15247-2019, 2019
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We use an air quality model with a modified organic aerosol (OA) module based on chamber experiments to identify the OA sources and their contributions in Europe. Comparisons with long-term measurements at nine sites in 2011 show an improvement in OA simulation. Our results suggest that the biomass burning and biogenic emissions are the dominant sources in winter and summer, respectively. Contributions of diesel and gasoline vehicles are relatively small compared to a previous study in the US.
Weiqi Xu, Conghui Xie, Eleni Karnezi, Qi Zhang, Junfeng Wang, Spyros N. Pandis, Xinlei Ge, Jingwei Zhang, Junling An, Qingqing Wang, Jian Zhao, Wei Du, Yanmei Qiu, Wei Zhou, Yao He, Ying Li, Jie Li, Pingqing Fu, Zifa Wang, Douglas R. Worsnop, and Yele Sun
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 10205–10216, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10205-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10205-2019, 2019
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We present the first aerosol volatility measurements in Beijing in summer using a thermodenuder coupled with aerosol mass spectrometers. Our results showed that organic aerosol (OA) comprised mainly semi-volatile organic compounds in summer, and the freshly oxidized secondary OA was the most volatile component. We also found quite different volatility distributions in black-carbon-containing primary and secondary OA, ambient OA, ambient secondary OA and the WRF-Chem model.
Katerina S. Karadima, Vlasis G. Mavrantzas, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5571–5587, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5571-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5571-2019, 2019
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We explore the morphologies of multicomponent nanoparticles through atomistic molecular dynamics simulations under atmospherically relevant conditions. Phase separation is predicted for almost all simulated nanoparticles either between organics and inorganics or between hydrophobic and hydrophilic constituents. Three main particle types were identified: organic islands at the surface, inorganic core-organic shell morphologies and complex structures with hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains.
Georgia N. Theodoritsi and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5403–5415, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5403-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5403-2019, 2019
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The chemical transport model PMCAMx was extended to investigate the effects of partitioning and photochemical aging of biomass burning emissions on organic aerosol (OA) concentrations and was applied in Europe. During the summer, the contribution of biomass burning to total OA levels over continental Europe was 16 % and during winter 47 %. Intermediate volatility organic compounds are predicted to be important precursors of secondary OA from biomass burning.
Anthoula D. Drosatou, Ksakousti Skyllakou, Georgia N. Theodoritsi, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 973–986, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-973-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-973-2019, 2019
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The ability of positive matrix factorization (PMF) factor analysis to identify and quantify the organic aerosol (OA) sources accurately is tested in this modeling study. The estimated uncertainty of the contribution of fresh biomass burning is less than 30 % and of the other primary sources is less than 40 %, when these sources contribute more than 20 % to the OA. Τhe first oxygenated OA factor includes mainly highly aged OA, while the second oxygenated OA factor contains fresher secondary OA.
Ningxin Wang, Spiro D. Jorga, Jeffery R. Pierce, Neil M. Donahue, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6577–6588, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6577-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6577-2018, 2018
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The interaction of particles with the chamber walls has been a significant source of uncertainty when analyzing results of secondary organic aerosol formation experiments performed in Teflon chambers. We evaluated the performance of several particle wall-loss correction methods for aging experiments of α-pinene ozonolysis products. Experimental procedures are proposed for the characterization of particle losses during different stages of these experiments.
David Patoulias, Christos Fountoukis, Ilona Riipinen, Ari Asmi, Markku Kulmala, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13639–13654, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13639-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13639-2018, 2018
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PMCAMx-UF, a 3-D chemical transport model focusing on the simulation of ultrafine particles, has been extended with the addition of the volatility basis set (VBS) approach for the simulation of organic aerosol. The model was applied in Europe and its predictions were evaluated against field observations collected during the PEGASOS 2012 campaign. The condensation of organics led to an increase (50–120 %) in the larger particles but the total number concentration decreased by 10–30 %.
Alexandra P. Tsimpidi, Vlassis A. Karydis, Andrea Pozzer, Spyros N. Pandis, and Jos Lelieveld
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 3369–3389, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3369-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3369-2018, 2018
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A new module, ORACLE 2-D, that calculates the concentrations of surrogate organic species in two-dimensional space defined by volatility and oxygen-to-carbon ratio has been developed and evaluated. ORACLE 2-D uses a simple photochemical aging scheme that efficiently simulates the net effects of fragmentation and functionalization. ORACLE 2-D can be used to compute the ability of organic particles to act as cloud condensation nuclei and serves as a tool to quantify their climatic impact.
Eleni Karnezi, Benjamin N. Murphy, Laurent Poulain, Hartmut Herrmann, Alfred Wiedensohler, Florian Rubach, Astrid Kiendler-Scharr, Thomas F. Mentel, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 10759–10772, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10759-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10759-2018, 2018
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Different parameterizations of the organic aerosol (OA) formation and evolution are evaluated using ground and airborne measurements collected in the 2012 PEGASOS field campaign in the Po Valley (Italy). Total OA concentration and O : C ratios were reproduced within experimental error by a number of schemes. Anthropogenic secondary OA (SOA) contributed 15–25 % of the total OA, 20–35 % of SOA from intermediate volatility compounds oxidation, and 15–45 % of biogenic SOA depending on the scheme.
Evangelia Kostenidou, Eleni Karnezi, James R. Hite Jr., Aikaterini Bougiatioti, Kate Cerully, Lu Xu, Nga L. Ng, Athanasios Nenes, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5799–5819, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5799-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5799-2018, 2018
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The volatility distribution of organic aerosol (OA) and its sources during the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) was estimated. The volatility distribution of all components covered a wide range including both semi-volatile and low-volatility components. The oxygen content of the factors can be combined with their estimated volatility and hygroscopicity to provide a better view of their physical properties.
Ningxin Wang, Evangelia Kostenidou, Neil M. Donahue, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 3589–3601, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3589-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3589-2018, 2018
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This study investigates aging in the α-pinene ozonolysis system with hydroxyl radicals (OH) through smog chamber experiments. After an equivalent of 2–4 days of typical atmospheric oxidation conditions, homogeneous OH oxidation of the α-pinene ozonolysis products resulted in a 20–40 % net increase in the organic aerosol concentration and an increase in aerosol O : C by up to 0.04. The relative humidity in the 5–50 % range had a minimum effect on aging.
Kerrigan P. Cain and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4865–4876, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4865-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4865-2017, 2017
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Hygroscopicity, oxidation level, and volatility of organic pollutants are three crucial properties that determine their fate in the atmosphere. This study assesses the feasibility of a novel measurement and analysis technique to determine these properties of organic aerosol
components at the same time and to establish their relationship.
Evangelos E. Louvaris, Eleni Karnezi, Evangelia Kostenidou, Christos Kaltsonoudis, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3909–3918, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3909-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3909-2017, 2017
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A method for the determination of the organic aerosol volatility distribution combining thermodenuder and isothermal dilution measurements is developed. The approach was tested in experiments that were conducted in a smog chamber using organic aerosol produced during meat charbroiling. Addition of the dilution measurements to the thermodenuder data results in a lower uncertainty of the estimated vaporization enthalpy as well as the semivolatile content of the aerosol.
Alexandra P. Tsimpidi, Vlassis A. Karydis, Spyros N. Pandis, and Jos Lelieveld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7345–7364, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7345-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7345-2017, 2017
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We analyzed the sensitivity of model-predicted global-scale OA to parameters and assumptions that control primary emissions, photochemical aging, and the scavenging efficiency of LVOCs, SVOCs, and IVOCs. The simulated OA concentrations were evaluated against a global dataset of AMS measurements. According to our analysis, a combination of increased IVOCs and decreased hygroscopicity of the freshly emitted IVOCs can help reduce discrepancies between simulated SOA and observed OOA concentrations.
Christos Kaltsonoudis, Evangelia Kostenidou, Evangelos Louvaris, Magda Psichoudaki, Epameinondas Tsiligiannis, Kalliopi Florou, Aikaterini Liangou, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7143–7155, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7143-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7143-2017, 2017
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Cooking emissions can be a significant source of particulate matter in urban areas. In this study the aerosol- and gas-phase emissions from meat charbroiling were characterized. More than 99% of the aerosol emitted was composed of organic compounds. The fresh particles were similar to the cooking organic aerosol over Greek cities during the winter, while the reacted particles were similar to those found in the atmosphere during the summer.
Kalliopi Florou, Dimitrios K. Papanastasiou, Michael Pikridas, Christos Kaltsonoudis, Evangelos Louvaris, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, David Patoulias, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 3145–3163, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3145-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3145-2017, 2017
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The composition of fine particulate matter (PM) in two major Greek cities (Athens and Patras) was measured during two wintertime campaigns in 2012 and 2013. Residential wood burning has dramatically increased due to the Greek financial crisis, contributing around 50 % of the fine PM on average and more than 80 % during nighttime. Cooking is also an important source during both midday and evening, while transportation dominates only during the morning rush hour.
Christos Kaltsonoudis, Evangelia Kostenidou, Kalliopi Florou, Magda Psichoudaki, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 14825–14842, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14825-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14825-2016, 2016
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Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were monitored in urban backgrounds sites, in Athens and Patras in Greece. In summer most of the measured VOCs were due to biogenic and traffic emissions. Winter measurements in Athens revealed that biomass burning used for residential heating was the dominant VOC source. The biomass burning VOC emission ratios and emission factors were estimated.
Antigoni Panagiotopoulou, Panagiotis Charalampidis, Christos Fountoukis, Christodoulos Pilinis, and Spyros N. Pandis
Geosci. Model Dev., 9, 4257–4272, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-4257-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-4257-2016, 2016
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The ability of chemical transport model PMCAMx to reproduce ground and satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements over Europe is evaluated. PMCAMx reproduces AOD values over Spain, the UK, central Europe, and Russia with a fractional bias of less than 15 % and a fractional error of less than 30 %. The model overestimates the AOD over northern Europe probably due to an overestimation of organic aerosol and sulfates, and underestimates over the Balkans due to an underestimation of sulfates.
Elham Baranizadeh, Benjamin N. Murphy, Jan Julin, Saeed Falahat, Carly L. Reddington, Antti Arola, Lars Ahlm, Santtu Mikkonen, Christos Fountoukis, David Patoulias, Andreas Minikin, Thomas Hamburger, Ari Laaksonen, Spyros N. Pandis, Hanna Vehkamäki, Kari E. J. Lehtinen, and Ilona Riipinen
Geosci. Model Dev., 9, 2741–2754, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-2741-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-2741-2016, 2016
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The molecular mechanisms through which new ultrafine (< 100 nm) aerosol particles are formed in the atmosphere have puzzled the scientific community for decades. In the past few years, however, significant progress has been made in unraveling these processes through laboratory studies and computational efforts. In this work we have implemented these new developments to an air quality model and study the implications of anthropogenically driven particle formation for European air quality.
Alexandra P. Tsimpidi, Vlassis A. Karydis, Spyros N. Pandis, and Jos Lelieveld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 8939–8962, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8939-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8939-2016, 2016
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In this work we use a global chemistry climate model together with a comprehensive global AMS data set in order to provide valuable insights into the temporal and geographical variability of the contribution of the emitted particles and the chemically processed organic material from combustion sources to total OA. This study reveals the high importance of SOA from anthropogenic sources on global OA concentrations and identifies plausible sources of discrepancy between models and measurements.
Christos Fountoukis, Athanasios G. Megaritis, Ksakousti Skyllakou, Panagiotis E. Charalampidis, Hugo A. C. Denier van der Gon, Monica Crippa, André S. H. Prévôt, Friederike Fachinger, Alfred Wiedensohler, Christodoulos Pilinis, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3727–3741, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3727-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3727-2016, 2016
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We use PMCAMx with high grid resolution over Paris to simulate carbonaceous aerosol during the summer and winter MEGAPOLI campaigns. PMCAMx reproduces BC observations well. Addition of cooking organic aerosol emissions of 80 mg per day per capita is needed to reproduce the corresponding observations. While the oxygenated organic aerosol predictions during the summer are encouraging a major wintertime source appears to be missing.
Andrea Paciga, Eleni Karnezi, Evangelia Kostenidou, Lea Hildebrandt, Magda Psichoudaki, Gabriella J. Engelhart, Byong-Hyoek Lee, Monica Crippa, André S. H. Prévôt, Urs Baltensperger, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 2013–2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2013-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2013-2016, 2016
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We estimate the volatility distribution for the organic aerosol (OA) components during summer and winter field campaigns in Paris, France as part of the collaborative project MEGAPOLI. The OA factors (hydrocarbon like OA, cooking OA, marine OA, oxygenated OA) had a broad spectrum of volatilities with no direct link between the average volatility and average oxygen to carbon of the OA components.
G. I. Gkatzelis, D. K. Papanastasiou, K. Florou, C. Kaltsonoudis, E. Louvaris, and S. N. Pandis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 103–114, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-103-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-103-2016, 2016
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A method for the measurement of the nonvolatile atmospheric particle size distribution is developed and tested. The tests include laboratory experiments with biogenic and anthropogenic secondary organic aerosol as well as nucleation experiments with ambient air. The method is then further tested during an ambient campaign.
E. Kostenidou, K. Florou, C. Kaltsonoudis, M. Tsiflikiotou, S. Vratolis, K. Eleftheriadis, and S. N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 11355–11371, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11355-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11355-2015, 2015
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The concentration and chemical composition of fine particulate matter were measured during the summer of 2012 in two Greek cities, Patras and Athens. The composition of PM1 was surprisingly similar in both areas, demonstrating the importance of regional sources. Analysis of the Aerosol Mass Spectrometer data suggested that the contribution of the primary sources to organic aerosol was important (22% in Patras and 35% in Athens) but not dominant.
M. Pikridas, J. Sciare, F. Freutel, S. Crumeyrolle, S.-L. von der Weiden-Reinmüller, A. Borbon, A. Schwarzenboeck, M. Merkel, M. Crippa, E. Kostenidou, M. Psichoudaki, L. Hildebrandt, G. J. Engelhart, T. Petäjä, A. S. H. Prévôt, F. Drewnick, U. Baltensperger, A. Wiedensohler, M. Kulmala, M. Beekmann, and S. N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 10219–10237, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10219-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10219-2015, 2015
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Aerosol size distribution measurements from three ground sites, two mobile laboratories, and one airplane are combined to investigate the spatial and temporal variability of ultrafine particles in and around Paris during the summer and winter MEGAPOLI campaigns. The role of nucleation as a particle source and the influence of Paris emissions on their surroundings are examined.
M. Beekmann, A. S. H. Prévôt, F. Drewnick, J. Sciare, S. N. Pandis, H. A. C. Denier van der Gon, M. Crippa, F. Freutel, L. Poulain, V. Ghersi, E. Rodriguez, S. Beirle, P. Zotter, S.-L. von der Weiden-Reinmüller, M. Bressi, C. Fountoukis, H. Petetin, S. Szidat, J. Schneider, A. Rosso, I. El Haddad, A. Megaritis, Q. J. Zhang, V. Michoud, J. G. Slowik, S. Moukhtar, P. Kolmonen, A. Stohl, S. Eckhardt, A. Borbon, V. Gros, N. Marchand, J. L. Jaffrezo, A. Schwarzenboeck, A. Colomb, A. Wiedensohler, S. Borrmann, M. Lawrence, A. Baklanov, and U. Baltensperger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 9577–9591, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9577-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9577-2015, 2015
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A detailed characterization of air quality in the Paris (France) agglomeration, a megacity, during two summer and winter intensive campaigns and from additional 1-year observations, revealed that about 70% of the fine particulate matter (PM) at urban background is transported into the megacity from upwind regions. Unexpectedly, a major part of organic PM is of modern origin (woodburning and cooking activities, secondary formation from biogenic VOC).
S. Fuzzi, U. Baltensperger, K. Carslaw, S. Decesari, H. Denier van der Gon, M. C. Facchini, D. Fowler, I. Koren, B. Langford, U. Lohmann, E. Nemitz, S. Pandis, I. Riipinen, Y. Rudich, M. Schaap, J. G. Slowik, D. V. Spracklen, E. Vignati, M. Wild, M. Williams, and S. Gilardoni
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 8217–8299, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8217-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8217-2015, 2015
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Particulate matter (PM) constitutes one of the most challenging problems both for air quality and climate change policies. This paper reviews the most recent scientific results on the issue and the policy needs that have driven much of the increase in monitoring and mechanistic research over the last 2 decades. The synthesis reveals many new processes and developments in the science underpinning climate-PM interactions and the effects of PM on human health and the environment.
L. Hildebrandt Ruiz, A. L. Paciga, K. M. Cerully, A. Nenes, N. M. Donahue, and S. N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 8301–8313, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8301-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8301-2015, 2015
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Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is transformed after its initial formation. We explored the effects of this chemical aging on the composition, mass yield, volatility, and hygroscopicity of SOA formed from the photo-oxidation of small aromatic volatile organic compounds. Higher exposure to the hydroxyl radical resulted in different SOA composition, average carbon oxidation state, and mass yield. The vapor pressure of SOA formed under different conditions varied by as much as a factor of 30.
D. Patoulias, C. Fountoukis, I. Riipinen, and S. N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 6337–6350, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6337-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6337-2015, 2015
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A new aerosol dynamics model (DMANx) describing the organic vapor condensation on nanoparticles based on the volatility basis set framework is used to simulate typical nucleation events in two contrasting environments in Hyytiälä (Finland) and Finokalia (Greece). The role of semivolatile, low, and extremely low volatility organics and the corresponding surface energies is investigated.
I. Riipinen, N. Rastak, and S. N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 6305–6322, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6305-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6305-2015, 2015
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Atmospheric organic aerosol is complex and thus a challenge to model. We introduce a theoretical framework (solubility distributions) to represent the solubility of multicomponent mixtures. Using the framework, we evaluate the commonly made assumptions about the cloud condensation nucleus (CCN) activity of organic mixtures. We find that material with water solubilities larger than 0.1-100 g/L can usually be treated as completely soluble, which simplifies the treatment of organic CCN.
A. Tasoglou and S. N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 6035–6046, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6035-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6035-2015, 2015
A. P. Tsimpidi, V. A. Karydis, A. Pozzer, S. N. Pandis, and J. Lelieveld
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 3153–3172, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-3153-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-3153-2014, 2014
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A computationally efficient module for the description of OA composition and evolution in the atmosphere has been developed. This module subdivides OA into several compounds based on their source of origin and volatility, allowing the quantification of POA vs. SOA as well as biogenic vs. anthropogenic contributions to OA concentrations. Such fundamental information can shed light on long-term changes in OA abundance, and hence project the effects of OA on future air quality and climate.
A. G. Megaritis, C. Fountoukis, P. E. Charalampidis, H. A. C. Denier van der Gon, C. Pilinis, and S. N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 10283–10298, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10283-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10283-2014, 2014
E. Karnezi, I. Riipinen, and S. N. Pandis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 2953–2965, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2953-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2953-2014, 2014
C. Fountoukis, A. G. Megaritis, K. Skyllakou, P. E. Charalampidis, C. Pilinis, H. A. C. Denier van der Gon, M. Crippa, F. Canonaco, C. Mohr, A. S. H. Prévôt, J. D. Allan, L. Poulain, T. Petäjä, P. Tiitta, S. Carbone, A. Kiendler-Scharr, E. Nemitz, C. O'Dowd, E. Swietlicki, and S. N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 9061–9076, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9061-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9061-2014, 2014
M. Crippa, F. Canonaco, V. A. Lanz, M. Äijälä, J. D. Allan, S. Carbone, G. Capes, D. Ceburnis, M. Dall'Osto, D. A. Day, P. F. DeCarlo, M. Ehn, A. Eriksson, E. Freney, L. Hildebrandt Ruiz, R. Hillamo, J. L. Jimenez, H. Junninen, A. Kiendler-Scharr, A.-M. Kortelainen, M. Kulmala, A. Laaksonen, A. A. Mensah, C. Mohr, E. Nemitz, C. O'Dowd, J. Ovadnevaite, S. N. Pandis, T. Petäjä, L. Poulain, S. Saarikoski, K. Sellegri, E. Swietlicki, P. Tiitta, D. R. Worsnop, U. Baltensperger, and A. S. H. Prévôt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 6159–6176, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6159-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6159-2014, 2014
B. N. Murphy, N. M. Donahue, A. L. Robinson, and S. N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 5825–5839, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-5825-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-5825-2014, 2014
A. Bougiatioti, I. Stavroulas, E. Kostenidou, P. Zarmpas, C. Theodosi, G. Kouvarakis, F. Canonaco, A. S. H. Prévôt, A. Nenes, S. N. Pandis, and N. Mihalopoulos
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4793–4807, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4793-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4793-2014, 2014
K. Skyllakou, B. N. Murphy, A. G. Megaritis, C. Fountoukis, and S. N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 2343–2352, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2343-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2343-2014, 2014
L. Ahlm, J. Julin, C. Fountoukis, S. N. Pandis, and I. Riipinen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 10271–10283, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10271-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10271-2013, 2013
E. Kostenidou, C. Kaltsonoudis, M. Tsiflikiotou, E. Louvaris, L. M. Russell, and S. N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 8797–8811, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-8797-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-8797-2013, 2013
Q. J. Zhang, M. Beekmann, F. Drewnick, F. Freutel, J. Schneider, M. Crippa, A. S. H. Prevot, U. Baltensperger, L. Poulain, A. Wiedensohler, J. Sciare, V. Gros, A. Borbon, A. Colomb, V. Michoud, J.-F. Doussin, H. A. C. Denier van der Gon, M. Haeffelin, J.-C. Dupont, G. Siour, H. Petetin, B. Bessagnet, S. N. Pandis, A. Hodzic, O. Sanchez, C. Honoré, and O. Perrussel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 5767–5790, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-5767-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-5767-2013, 2013
E. Athanasopoulou, H. Vogel, B. Vogel, A. P. Tsimpidi, S. N. Pandis, C. Knote, and C. Fountoukis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 625–645, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-625-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-625-2013, 2013
V.-M. Kerminen, M. Paramonov, T. Anttila, I. Riipinen, C. Fountoukis, H. Korhonen, E. Asmi, L. Laakso, H. Lihavainen, E. Swietlicki, B. Svenningsson, A. Asmi, S. N. Pandis, M. Kulmala, and T. Petäjä
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 12037–12059, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12037-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12037-2012, 2012
Related subject area
Subject: Aerosols | Technique: Laboratory Measurement | Topic: Instruments and Platforms
Characterization of filter photometer artifacts in soot and dust measurements – laboratory and ambient experiments using a traceably calibrated aerosol absorption reference
Design of a wide-particle-size-range aerodynamic injection system with a new pre-focus structure
A comprehensive characterization of empirical parameterizations for OH exposure in the Aerodyne Potential Aerosol Mass Oxidation Flow Reactor (PAM-OFR)
The UNAM-MARine Aerosol Tank (UNAM-MARAT): an evaluation of the ice-nucleating abilities of seawater from the Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican Pacific
Development of a Horizontal Cloud Condensation Nuclei Counter (HCCNC) to detect particle activation at temperatures below 4 °C and supersaturations below 0.05 %
Characterization of the Newly Designed Wall-Free Particle Evaporator (WALL-E) for Online Measurements of Atmospheric Particles
Determining optimal sampling conditions in the TSI Nanometer Aerosol Sampler 3089
A novel methodology for assessing the hygroscopicity of aerosol filter samples
Direct calibration using atmospheric particles and performance evaluation of Particle Size Magnifier (PSM) 2.0 for sub-10 nm particle measurements
The Coupling of a High-efficiency Aerosol Collector with Electrospray Ionisation/Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry as a novel tool for Real-time Chemical Characterisation of Fine and Ultrafine Particles
Merging holography, fluorescence, and machine learning for in situ continuous characterization and classification of airborne microplastics
Rapid quantitative analysis of semi-volatile organic compounds in indoor surface film using direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry: a case study on phthalates
Design and performance of the Cluster Ion Counter (CIC)
Exploring non-soluble particles in hailstones through innovative confocal laser and scanning electron microscopy techniques
Analyzing the chemical composition, morphology and size of ice-nucleating particles by coupling a scanning electron microscope to an offline diffusion chamber
A comprehensive evaluation of enhanced temperature influence on gas and aerosol chemistry in the lamp-enclosed oxidation flow reactor (OFR) system
An oxidation flow reactor for simulating and accelerating secondary aerosol formation in aerosol liquid water and cloud droplets
Surface equilibrium vapor pressure of organic nanoparticles measured from the dynamic-aerosol-size electrical mobility spectrometer
Quality assurance and quality control of atmospheric organosulfates measured using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC)
Micro-PINGUIN: microtiter-plate-based instrument for ice nucleation detection in gallium with an infrared camera
Characterization of the Vaporization Inlet for Aerosols (VIA) for online measurements of particulate highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs)
Development and characterization of a high-performance single-particle aerosol mass spectrometer (HP-SPAMS)
Characterization of the planar differential mobility analyzer (DMA P5): resolving power, transmission efficiency and its application to atmospheric relevant cluster measurements
Airborne bacteria viability and air quality: a protocol to quantitatively investigate the possible correlation by an atmospheric simulation chamber
The viscosity and surface tension of supercooled levitated droplets determined by excitation of shape oscillations
Acoustic levitation of pollen and visualisation of hygroscopic behaviour
Concept, absolute calibration, and validation of a new benchtop laser imaging polar nephelometer
A new smog chamber system for atmospheric multiphase chemistry study: design and characterization
Stability assessment of organic sulfur and organosulfate compounds in filter samples for quantification by Fourier- transform infrared spectroscopy
Design and evaluation of a thermal precipitation aerosol electrometer (TPAE)
An automated online field instrument to quantify the oxidative potential of aerosol particles via ascorbic acid oxidation
Online measurement of highly oxygenated compounds from organic aerosol
The AERosol and TRACe gas Collector (AERTRACC): an online-measurement-controlled sampler for source-resolved emission analysis
Quantitative chemical assay of nanogram-level particulate matter using aerosol mass spectrometry: characterization of particles collected from uncrewed atmospheric measurement platforms
An optimised organic carbon ∕ elemental carbon (OC ∕ EC) fraction separation method for radiocarbon source apportionment applied to low-loaded Arctic aerosol filters
Investigating the dependence of mineral dust depolarization on complex refractive index and size with a laboratory polarimeter at 180.0° lidar backscattering angle
Evaluation of a low-cost dryer for a low-cost optical particle counter
Effects of temperature and salinity on bubble-bursting aerosol formation simulated with a bubble-generating chamber
A new hot-stage microscopy technique for measuring temperature-dependent viscosities of aerosol particles and its application to farnesene secondary organic aerosol
Characterization of a modified printed optical particle spectrometer for high-frequency and high-precision laboratory and field measurements
Design and fabrication of an electrostatic precipitator for infrared spectroscopy
Combined application of online FIGAERO-CIMS and offline LC-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (MS) to characterize the chemical composition of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in smog chamber studies
High-frequency gaseous and particulate chemical characterization using extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (Dual-Phase-EESI-TOF)
An evaluation of the heat test for the ice-nucleating ability of minerals and biological material
Development, characterization, and application of an improved online reactive oxygen species analyzer based on the Monitor for AeRosols and Gases in ambient Air (MARGA)
Characterization of soot produced by the mini inverted soot generator with an atmospheric simulation chamber
LED-based solar simulator to study photochemistry over a wide temperature range in the large simulation chamber AIDA
Laboratory evaluation of the scattering matrix of ragweed, ash, birch and pine pollen towards pollen classification
Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity analysis of low-hygroscopicity aerosols using the aerodynamic aerosol classifier (AAC)
Characterisation of the Manchester Aerosol Chamber facility
Jesús Yus-Díez, Luka Drinovec, Lucas Alados-Arboledas, Gloria Titos, Elena Bazo, Andrea Casans, Diego Patrón, Xavier Querol, Adolfo Gonzalez-Romero, Carlos Perez García-Pando, and Griša Močnik
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 3073–3093, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3073-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3073-2025, 2025
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We have used absorption from a photothermal interferometer and scattering measurements to evaluate the most deployed filter photometers used to measure absorption for monitoring networks. We used soot- and dust-dominated aerosol samples in both laboratory and ambient settings. Our results indicated that one of these filter photometers, the MAAP (Multiangle Absorption Photometer), usually used as a pseudo-reference instrument, had 47 % higher absorption values than our reference measurements.
Junhong Huang, Lei Li, Xue Li, Zhengxu Huang, and Zhi Cheng
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2739–2749, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2739-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2739-2025, 2025
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We developed a sampling system that extends the transmission range of the five-stage lens to 10 µm. This innovative design reduces the beam incidence angle and narrows the width. Using polystyrene latex spheres, we validated the high transmission efficiency. Additionally, a standard dust test demonstrated consistency with the aerodynamic particle sizer. This study introduces a novel design framework that not only enhances transmission range and efficiency but also supports instrument miniaturization.
Qianying Liu, Dan Dan Huang, Andrew T. Lambe, Shengrong Lou, Lulu Zeng, Yuhang Wu, Congyan Huang, Shikang Tao, Xi Cheng, Qi Chen, Ka In Hoi, Hongli Wang, Kai Meng Mok, Cheng Huang, and Yong Jie Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2509–2521, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2509-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2509-2025, 2025
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We evaluate the applicability of empirical equations to estimate OH exposure (OHexp) in an oxidative flow reactor (OFR). The fitting parameters obtained within a narrow range of conditions can generally be extended to estimate the OHexp for wide ranges of conditions in the OFR, except for external OH reactivity, which requires new fitting. At least 20–30 data points from SO2 or CO decay with varying conditions are required to fit a set of empirical parameters that can accurately estimate OHexp.
M. Fernanda Córdoba, Rachel Chang, Harry Alvarez-Ospina, Aramis Olivos-Ortiz, Graciela B. Raga, Daniel Rosas-Ramírez, Guadalupe Campos, Isabel Márquez, Telma Castro, and Luis A. Ladino
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2463–2479, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2463-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2463-2025, 2025
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The present study shows the development of the UNAM-MARine Aerosol Tank (UNAM-MARAT), a device that simulates wave breaking to generate marine aerosol particles. The portable and automatic tank is able to generate particle concentrations as high as 2000 cm-3, covering a wide range of sizes, similar to those found in the ambient marine boundary layer. The sea spray aerosol generated from three natural seawater samples was found to act as ice-nucleating particles (INPs) via immersion freezing.
Mayur Gajanan Sapkal, Michael Rösch, and Zamin A. Kanji
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2239, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2239, 2025
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A newly developed cloud condensation nuclei counter (CCNC) that is capable of generating supersaturation as low as 0.05 % at temperatures as low as 4 °C, allowing for the investigation of CCN activity of ammonium sulphate particles up to 200 nm diameter and ambient aerosol of larger diameter. The new CCNC could be used for low temperature experiments where gas -phase partitioning into our out of the aerosol phase for semi-volatile compounds is relevant for CCN activity.
Linyu Gao, Imad Zgheib, Evangelos Stergiou, Cecilie Carstens, Félix Sari Doré, Michel Dupanloup, Frederic Bourgain, Sebastien Perrier, and Matthieu Riva
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1072, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1072, 2025
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In this work, we introduce WALL-E, a newly designed Wall-Free Particle Evaporator that enables real-time, online aerosol analysis while minimizing wall interactions and fragmentation, offering a more accurate and efficient approach to studying aerosol properties. WALL-E provides molecular-level insights into aerosol composition, quantification, and volatility distributions.
Behnaz Alinaghipour, Sadegh Niazi, Robert Groth, Branka Miljevic, and Zoran Ristovski
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1063–1071, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1063-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1063-2025, 2025
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Airborne particles are crucial in environmental and health studies, requiring precise sampling for accurate characterisation. Our study examines the optimal sampling time for the TSI Nanometer Aerosol Sampler 3089 at different input concentrations. Aerosols from low-, medium-, and high-concentration environments were sampled over 1, 3, and 6 h. A linear relationship was observed using a regression model between the deposition densities and the product of input concentration and sampling time.
Nagendra Raparthi, Anthony S. Wexler, and Ann M. Dillner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 603–618, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-603-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-603-2025, 2025
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Quantifying the composition-dependent hygroscopicity of aerosol particles is essential for advancing our understanding of atmospheric processes. Existing methods do not integrate chemical composition with hygroscopicity. We developed a novel method to assess the water uptake of particles sampled on aerosol filters at relative humidity levels up to 97 % and link it with their composition. This approach allows for the separation of total water uptake into inorganic and organic components.
Yiliang Liu, Arttu Yli-Kujala, Fabian Schmidt-Ott, Sebastian Holm, Lauri Ahonen, Tommy Chan, Joonas Enroth, Joonas Vanhanen, Runlong Cai, Tuukka Petäjä, Markku Kulmala, Yang Chen, and Juha Kangasluoma
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 431–442, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-431-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-431-2025, 2025
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Accurate measurement of nanoparticles is crucial for understanding their impact on new particle formation and climate change. In this study, we calibrated the Particle Size Magnifier version 2.0 (PSM 2.0), using both laboratory-generated and atmospheric particles. Some differences were observed in the calibration results, with direct calibration using atmospheric particles enhancing measurement accuracy.
Yik-Sze Lau, Zoran Ristovski, and Branka Miljevic
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-192, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-192, 2025
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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The chemical properties of aerosols in the atmosphere significantly influence their impact on global climate and human health. The current study constructed an instrumental system (HEAC/ESI-Orbitrap-MS) for the real-time chemical analysis of aerosol samples. The combined system successfully identified over three hundred chemical compounds in aerosol samples in real-time, showing the robustness of the technique for the chemical characterisation of aerosols under atmospheric relevant conditions.
Nicholas D. Beres, Julia Burkart, Elias Graf, Yanick Zeder, Lea Ann Dailey, and Bernadett Weinzierl
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6945–6964, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6945-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6945-2024, 2024
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We tested a method to identify airborne microplastics (MPs), merging imaging, fluorescence, and machine learning of single particles. We examined whether combining imaging and fluorescence data enhances classification accuracy compared to using each method separately and tested these methods with other particle types. The tested MPs have distinct fluorescence, and a combined imaging and fluorescence method improves their detection, making meaningful progress in monitoring MPs in the atmosphere.
Ying Zhou, Longkun He, Jiang Tan, Jiang Zhou, and Yingjun Liu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6415–6423, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6415-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6415-2024, 2024
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We present a sensitive DART-MS/MS method for the fast and accurate quantification of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in organic films without the need for pre-treatment. This method offers greatly improved repeatability in the absence of internal standards. By utilizing MS/MS analysis, the separation of isomeric components within films becomes possible. These developments increase the feasibility of the DART-MS approach for studying the dynamics of SVOCs in indoor surface films.
Sander Mirme, Rima Balbaaki, Hanna Elina Manninen, Paap Koemets, Eva Sommer, Birte Rörup, Yusheng Wu, Joao Almeida, Sebastian Ehrhart, Stefan Karl Weber, Joschka Pfeifer, Juha Kangasluoma, Markku Kulmala, and Jasper Kirkby
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-138, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-138, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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The manuscript describes the design and performance of the Cluster Ion Counter (CIC, Airel OÜ), a device which simultaneously measures the number concentrations of positively- and negatively-charged ions and particles below 5 nm mobility diameter. The presented measurements and operational experience demonstrate that the CIC provides precise and robust long-term measurements of small ion concentrations of both polarities, with low noise, fast time response and excellent reliability.
Anthony C. Bernal Ayala, Angela K. Rowe, Lucia E. Arena, William O. Nachlas, and Maria L. Asar
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5561–5579, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5561-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5561-2024, 2024
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Hail is a challenging weather phenomenon to forecast due to an incomplete understanding of hailstone formation. Microscopy temperature limitations required previous studies to melt hail for analysis. This paper introduces a unique technique using a plastic cover to preserve particles in their location within the hailstone without melting. Therefore, CLSM and SEM–EDS microscopes can be used to determine individual particle sizes and their chemical composition related to hail-formation processes.
Lisa Schneider, Jann Schrod, Daniel Weber, Heinz Bingemer, Konrad Kandler, Joachim Curtius, and Martin Ebert
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2797, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2797, 2024
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Ice nucleating particles (INP) are important for cloud formation and properties influencing weather and climate. This article presents a method coupling an offline ice nucleus counter to an electron microscope to gain information not only about INP number concentrations but also on important features (size, shape and chemical composition) relevant to ice nucleation on single particles. The method was evaluated on the basis of a case study at the high-altitude research station Jungfraujoch.
Tianle Pan, Andrew T. Lambe, Weiwei Hu, Yicong He, Minghao Hu, Huaishan Zhou, Xinming Wang, Qingqing Hu, Hui Chen, Yue Zhao, Yuanlong Huang, Doug R. Worsnop, Zhe Peng, Melissa A. Morris, Douglas A. Day, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Jose-Luis Jimenez, and Shantanu H. Jathar
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4915–4939, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4915-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4915-2024, 2024
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This study systematically characterizes the temperature enhancement in the lamp-enclosed oxidation flow reactor (OFR). The enhancement varied multiple dimensional factors, emphasizing the complexity of temperature inside of OFR. The effects of temperature on the flow field and gas- or particle-phase reaction inside OFR were also evaluated with experiments and model simulations. Finally, multiple mitigation strategies were demonstrated to minimize this temperature increase.
Ningjin Xu, Chen Le, David R. Cocker, Kunpeng Chen, Ying-Hsuan Lin, and Don R. Collins
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4227–4243, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4227-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4227-2024, 2024
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A flow-through reactor was developed that exposes known mixtures of gases or ambient air to very high concentrations of the oxidants that are responsible for much of the chemistry that takes place in the atmosphere. Like other reactors of its type, it is primarily used to study the formation of particulate matter from the oxidation of common gases. Unlike other reactors of its type, it can simulate the chemical reactions that occur in liquid water that is present in particles or cloud droplets.
Ella Häkkinen, Huan Yang, Runlong Cai, and Juha Kangasluoma
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4211–4225, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4211-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4211-2024, 2024
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We report measurements of evaporation kinetics and surface equilibrium vapor pressures for various laboratory-generated organic nanoparticles using the dynamic-aerosol-size electrical mobility spectrometer (DEMS), a recent advancement in aerosol process characterization. Our findings align well with literature values, demonstrating DEMS's effectiveness. We suggest future improvements to DEMS and anticipate its potential for probing aerosol-related kinetic processes with unknown mechanisms.
Ping Liu, Xiang Ding, Bo-Xuan Li, Yu-Qing Zhang, Daniel J. Bryant, and Xin-Ming Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3067–3079, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3067-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3067-2024, 2024
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In this paper, we further optimize the measurement of atmospheric organosulfates by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC), offering an improved method for quantifying and speciating atmospheric organosulfates. These efforts will contribute to a deeper understanding of secondary organic aerosol precursors, formation mechanisms, and the contribution of organosulfate to atmospheric aerosols, ultimately guiding research in the field of air pollution prevention and control.
Corina Wieber, Mads Rosenhøj Jeppesen, Kai Finster, Claus Melvad, and Tina Šantl-Temkiv
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2707–2719, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2707-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2707-2024, 2024
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We developed a novel instrument to determine the quality and number of biological and non-biological particles, with respect to their ice-promoting capacity as a function of temperature. The measurement uncertainty was determined, and the instrument produced reliable results. Further, repeated measurements of the same suspension showed that the instrument had high reproducibility.
Jian Zhao, Valter Mickwitz, Yuanyuan Luo, Ella Häkkinen, Frans Graeffe, Jiangyi Zhang, Hilkka Timonen, Manjula Canagaratna, Jordan E. Krechmer, Qi Zhang, Markku Kulmala, Juha Kangasluoma, Douglas Worsnop, and Mikael Ehn
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1527–1543, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1527-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1527-2024, 2024
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Organic aerosol constitutes a significant portion of atmospheric fine particles but is less characterized due to its vast number of constituents. Recently, we developed a system for online measurements of particle-phase highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs). In this work, we systematically characterized the system, developed a new unit to enhance its performance, and demonstrated the essential role of thermograms in inferring volatility and quantifying HOMs in organic aerosols.
Xubing Du, Qinhui Xie, Qing Huang, Xuan Li, Junlin Yang, Zhihui Hou, Jingjing Wang, Xue Li, Zhen Zhou, Zhengxu Huang, Wei Gao, and Lei Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1037–1050, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1037-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1037-2024, 2024
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Currently, the limitations of single-particle mass spectrometry detection capabilities render it not yet well suited for analyzing complex aerosol components in low-concentration environments. In this study, a new high-performance single-particle aerosol mass spectrometer (HP-SPAMS) is developed to enhance instrument performance regarding the number of detected particles, transmission efficiency, resolution, and sensitivity, which will help in aerosol science.
Zhengning Xu, Jian Gao, Zhuanghao Xu, Michel Attoui, Xiangyu Pei, Mario Amo-González, Kewei Zhang, and Zhibin Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5995–6006, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5995-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5995-2023, 2023
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Planar differential mobility analyzers (DMAs) have higher ion transmission efficiency and sizing resolution compared to cylindrical DMAs and are more suitable for use with mass spectrometers (MSs). Performance of the latest planar DMA (P5) was characterized. Sizing resolution and ion transmission efficiency were 5–16 times and ∼10 times higher than cylindrical DMAs. Sulfuric acid clusters were measured by DMA(P5)-MSs. This technique can be applied for natural products and biomolecule analysis.
Virginia Vernocchi, Elena Abd El, Marco Brunoldi, Silvia Giulia Danelli, Elena Gatta, Tommaso Isolabella, Federico Mazzei, Franco Parodi, Paolo Prati, and Dario Massabò
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5479–5493, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5479-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5479-2023, 2023
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Bioaerosol are airborne particles or droplets that contain living organisms or biological materials, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, pollen, or other organic matter. The study of the relationship between bioaerosol viability and air quality or meteorological conditions is an open field, and running experiments of the bioareosol viability in an atmospheric simulation chamber gives the possibility to set up well-defined conditions to evaluate the interaction between bioaerosol and pollutants.
Mohit Singh, Stephanie Helen Jones, Alexei Kiselev, Denis Duft, and Thomas Leisner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5205–5215, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5205-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5205-2023, 2023
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We introduce a novel method for simultaneous measurement of the viscosity and surface tension of metastable liquids. Our approach is based on the phase analysis of excited shape oscillations in levitated droplets. It is applicable to a wide range of atmospheric conditions and can monitor changes in real time. The technique holds great promise for investigating the effect of atmospheric processing on the viscosity and surface tension of solution droplets in equilibrium with water vapour.
Sophie A. Mills, Adam Milsom, Christian Pfrang, A. Rob MacKenzie, and Francis D. Pope
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4885–4898, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4885-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4885-2023, 2023
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Pollen grains are important components of the atmosphere and have the potential to impact upon cloud processes via their ability to help in the formation of rain droplets. This study investigates the hygroscopicity of two different pollen species using an acoustic levitator. Pollen grains are levitated, and their response to changes in relative humidity is investigated. A key advantage of this method is that it is possible study pollen shape under varying environmental conditions.
Alireza Moallemi, Robin L. Modini, Benjamin T. Brem, Barbara Bertozzi, Philippe Giaccari, and Martin Gysel-Beer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3653–3678, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3653-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3653-2023, 2023
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Polarimetric data, i.e., the angular and polarization dependence of light scattering by aerosols, contain ample information on optical and microphysical properties. Retrieval of these properties is a central approach in aerosol remote sensing. We present a description, calibration, validation, and a first application of a new benchtop polar nephelometer, which provides in situ polarimetric measurements of an aerosol. Such data facilitate agreement between retrieval results and independent data.
Taomou Zong, Zhijun Wu, Junrui Wang, Kai Bi, Wenxu Fang, Yanrong Yang, Xuena Yu, Zhier Bao, Xiangxinyue Meng, Yuheng Zhang, Song Guo, Yang Chen, Chunshan Liu, Yue Zhang, Shao-Meng Li, and Min Hu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3679–3692, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3679-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3679-2023, 2023
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This study developed and characterized an indoor chamber system (AIR) to simulate atmospheric multiphase chemistry processes. The AIR chamber can accurately control temperature and relative humidity (RH) over a broad range and simulate diurnal variation of ambient atmospheric RH. The aerosol generation unit can generate organic-coating seed particles with different phase states. The AIR chamber demonstrates high-quality performance in simulating secondary aerosol formation.
Marife B. Anunciado, Miranda De Boskey, Laura Haines, Katarina Lindskog, Tracy Dombek, Satoshi Takahama, and Ann M. Dillner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3515–3529, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3515-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3515-2023, 2023
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Organic sulfur compounds are used to identify sources and atmospheric processing of aerosol. Our paper evaluates the potential of using a non-destructive measurement technique to measure organic sulfur compounds in filter samples by assessing their chemical stability over time. Some were stable, but some evaporated or changed chemically. Future work includes evaluating the stability and potential interference of multiple organic sulfur compounds in laboratory mixtures and ambient aerosol.
Shipeng Kang, Tongzhu Yu, Yixin Yang, Jiguang Wang, Huaqiao Gui, Jianguo Liu, and Da-Ren Chen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3245–3255, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3245-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3245-2023, 2023
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A new aerosol electrometer, the thermal precipitation aerosol electrometer (TPAE), was designed for particles in sizes less than 300 nm, and its prototype performance was experimentally evaluated. The TPAE combines the thermal precipitator in the disk-to-disk configuration with a microcurrent measurement circuit board (i.e., pre-amplifier) for measuring the current carried by collected particles. Our performance study shows that the TPAE performance is consistent with the reference.
Battist Utinger, Steven John Campbell, Nicolas Bukowiecki, Alexandre Barth, Benjamin Gfeller, Ray Freshwater, Hans-Rudolf Rüegg, and Markus Kalberer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2641–2654, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2641-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2641-2023, 2023
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Exposure to atmospheric aerosols can lead to adverse health effect, but particle components responsible for this are unknown. Redox-active compounds, some with very short lifetimes, are considered to be a toxic class of compounds in particles. We developed the first online field instrument to quantify short-lived and stable redox-active compounds with a physiological assay based on ascorbic acid and a high time resolution and detection limits to allow measurements at unpolluted locations.
Ella Häkkinen, Jian Zhao, Frans Graeffe, Nicolas Fauré, Jordan E. Krechmer, Douglas Worsnop, Hilkka Timonen, Mikael Ehn, and Juha Kangasluoma
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1705–1721, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1705-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1705-2023, 2023
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Highly oxygenated compounds contribute to the formation and growth of atmospheric organic aerosol and thus impact the global climate. Knowledge of their transformations and fate after condensing into the particle phase has been limited by the lack of suitable detection techniques. Here, we present an online method for measuring highly oxygenated compounds from organic aerosol. We evaluate the performance of the method and demonstrate that the method is applicable to different organic species.
Julia Pikmann, Lasse Moormann, Frank Drewnick, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1323–1341, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1323-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1323-2023, 2023
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Aerosols measured in complex environments are usually a mixture of emissions from different sources. To characterize sources individually, we developed a sampling system for particles and organic trace gases which is coupled to real-time data of physical and chemical aerosol properties, gas concentrations, and meteorological variables. Using suitable sampling conditions for individual aerosols which are compared with the real-time data the desired aerosols are sampled separately from each other.
Christopher R. Niedek, Fan Mei, Maria A. Zawadowicz, Zihua Zhu, Beat Schmid, and Qi Zhang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 955–968, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-955-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-955-2023, 2023
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This novel micronebulization aerosol mass spectrometry (MS) technique requires a low sample volume (10 μL) and can quantify nanogram levels of organic and inorganic particulate matter (PM) components when used with 34SO4. This technique was successfully applied to PM samples collected from uncrewed atmospheric measurement platforms and provided chemical information that agrees well with real-time data from a co-located aerosol chemical speciation monitor and offline data from secondary ion MS.
Martin Rauber, Gary Salazar, Karl Espen Yttri, and Sönke Szidat
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 825–844, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-825-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-825-2023, 2023
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Carbon-containing aerosols from ambient air are analysed for radioactive isotope radiocarbon to determine the contribution from fossil-fuel emissions. Light-absorbing soot-like aerosols are isolated by water extraction and thermal separation. This separation is affected by artefacts, for which we developed a new correction method. The investigation of aerosols from the Arctic shows that our approach works well for such samples, where many artefacts are expected.
Alain Miffre, Danaël Cholleton, Clément Noël, and Patrick Rairoux
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 403–417, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-403-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-403-2023, 2023
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The depolarization ratio of hematite, silica, Arizona and Asian dust is evaluated in a lab with a π-polarimeter operating at lidar 180 ° and at (355, 532) nm wavelengths. The hematite depolarization equals (10±1) % at 355 nm for coarser particles, while that of silica is (33±1) %. This huge difference is explained by accounting for the high imaginary part of the hematite complex refractive index, thus revealing the key role played by light absorption in mineral dust lidar depolarization.
Miriam Chacón-Mateos, Bernd Laquai, Ulrich Vogt, and Cosima Stubenrauch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7395–7410, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7395-2022, 2022
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The study evaluates a low-cost dryer to avoid the negative effect of hygroscopic growth and fog droplets in the particulate matter (PM) concentrations of sensors. The results show a reduction in the overestimation of the PM but also an underestimation compared to reference devices. Special care is needed when designing a dryer as high temperatures change the sampled air by evaporating the most volatile particulate species. Low-cost dryers are very promising for different sensor applications.
Svetlana Sofieva, Eija Asmi, Nina S. Atanasova, Aino E. Heikkinen, Emeline Vidal, Jonathan Duplissy, Martin Romantschuk, Rostislav Kouznetsov, Jaakko Kukkonen, Dennis H. Bamford, Antti-Pekka Hyvärinen, and Mikhail Sofiev
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6201–6219, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6201-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6201-2022, 2022
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A new bubble-generating glass chamber design with an extensive set of aerosol production experiments is presented to re-evaluate bubble-bursting-mediated aerosol production as a function of water parameters: bubbling air flow, water salinity, and temperature. Our main findings suggest modest dependence of aerosol production on the water salinity and a strong dependence on temperature below ~ 10 °C.
Kristian J. Kiland, Kevin L. Marroquin, Natalie R. Smith, Shaun Xu, Sergey A. Nizkorodov, and Allan K. Bertram
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5545–5561, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5545-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5545-2022, 2022
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Information on the viscosity of secondary organic aerosols is needed when making air quality, climate, and atmospheric chemistry predictions. Viscosity depends on temperature, so we developed a new method for measuring the temperature-dependent viscosity of small samples. As an application of the method, we measured the viscosity of farnesene secondary organic aerosol at different temperatures.
Sabin Kasparoglu, Mohammad Maksimul Islam, Nicholas Meskhidze, and Markus D. Petters
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5007–5018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5007-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5007-2022, 2022
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A modified version of a Handix Scientific printed optical particle spectrometer is introduced. The paper presents characterization experiments, including concentration, size, and time responses. Integration of an external multichannel analyzer card removes counting limitations of the original instrument. It is shown that the high-resolution light-scattering amplitude data can be used to sense particle-phase transitions.
Nikunj Dudani and Satoshi Takahama
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4693–4707, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4693-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4693-2022, 2022
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We designed and fabricated an aerosol collector with high collection efficiency that enables quantitative infrared spectroscopy analysis. By collecting particles on optical windows, typical substrate interferences are eliminated. New methods for fabricating aerosol devices using 3D printing with post-treatment to reduce the time and cost of prototyping are described.
Mao Du, Aristeidis Voliotis, Yunqi Shao, Yu Wang, Thomas J. Bannan, Kelly L. Pereira, Jacqueline F. Hamilton, Carl J. Percival, M. Rami Alfarra, and Gordon McFiggans
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4385–4406, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4385-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4385-2022, 2022
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Atmospheric chemistry plays a key role in the understanding of aerosol formation and air pollution. We designed chamber experiments for the characterization of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from a biogenic precursor with inorganic seed. Our results highlight the advantages of a combination of online FIGAERO-CIMS and offline LC-Orbitrap MS analytical techniques to characterize the chemical composition of SOA in chamber studies.
Chuan Ping Lee, Mihnea Surdu, David M. Bell, Josef Dommen, Mao Xiao, Xueqin Zhou, Andrea Baccarini, Stamatios Giannoukos, Günther Wehrle, Pascal André Schneider, Andre S. H. Prevot, Jay G. Slowik, Houssni Lamkaddam, Dongyu Wang, Urs Baltensperger, and Imad El Haddad
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3747–3760, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3747-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3747-2022, 2022
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Real-time detection of both the gas and particle phase is needed to elucidate the sources and chemical reaction pathways of organic vapors and particulate matter. The Dual-EESI was developed to measure gas- and particle-phase species to provide new insights into aerosol sources or formation mechanisms. After characterizing the relative gas and particle response factors of EESI via organic aerosol uptake experiments, the Dual-EESI is more sensitive toward gas-phase analyes.
Martin I. Daily, Mark D. Tarn, Thomas F. Whale, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2635–2665, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2635-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2635-2022, 2022
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Mineral dust and particles of biological origin are important types of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) that can trigger ice formation of supercooled cloud droplets. Heat treatments are used to detect the presence of biological INPs in samples collected from the environment as the activity of mineral INPs is assumed unchanged, although not fully assessed. We show that the ice-nucleating ability of some minerals can change after heating and discuss how INP heat tests should be interpreted.
Jiyan Wu, Chi Yang, Chunyan Zhang, Fang Cao, Aiping Wu, and Yanlin Zhang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2623–2633, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2623-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2623-2022, 2022
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We introduced an online method to simultaneously determine the content of inorganic salt ions and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in PM2.5 hour by hour. We verified the accuracy and precision of the instrument. And we got the daily changes in ROS and the main sources that affect ROS. This breakthrough enables the quantitative assessment of atmospheric particulate matter ROS at the diurnal scale, providing an effective tool to study sources and environmental impacts of ROS.
Virginia Vernocchi, Marco Brunoldi, Silvia G. Danelli, Franco Parodi, Paolo Prati, and Dario Massabò
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2159–2175, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2159-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2159-2022, 2022
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The performance of a mini inverted soot generator was investigated at a simulation chamber facility by studying the soot generated by ethylene and propane combustion, together with the number, size, optical properties, and EC / OC concentrations. Mass absorption coefficients and Ångström absorption exponents are compatible with the literature, with some differences. The characterization of MISG soot particles is fundamental to design and perform experiments in atmospheric simulation chambers.
Magdalena Vallon, Linyu Gao, Feng Jiang, Bianca Krumm, Jens Nadolny, Junwei Song, Thomas Leisner, and Harald Saathoff
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1795–1810, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1795-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1795-2022, 2022
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A LED-based light source has been constructed for the AIDA simulation chamber at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. It allows aerosol formation and ageing studies under atmospherically relevant illumination intensities and spectral characteristics at temperatures from –90 °C to 30 °C with the possibility of changing the photon flux and irradiation spectrum at any point. The first results of photolysis experiments with 2,3-pentanedione, iron oxalate and a brown carbon component are shown.
Danaël Cholleton, Émilie Bialic, Antoine Dumas, Pascal Kaluzny, Patrick Rairoux, and Alain Miffre
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1021–1032, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1021-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1021-2022, 2022
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While pollen impacts public health and the Earth’s climate, the identification of each pollen taxon remains challenging. In this context, a laboratory evaluation of the polarimetric light-scattering characteristics of ragweed, ash, birch and pine pollen, when embedded in ambient air, is here performed at two wavelengths. Interestingly, the achieved precision of the retrieved scattering matrix elements allows unequivocal light scattering characteristics of each studied taxon to be identified.
Kanishk Gohil and Akua A. Asa-Awuku
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1007–1019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1007-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1007-2022, 2022
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This work develops a methodology and software to study and analyze the cloud-droplet-forming ability of aerosols with an aerodynamic aerosol classifier (AAC). This work quantifies the uncertainties in size-resolved measurements and subsequent uncertainties propagated to cloud droplet parameterizations. Lastly, we present the best practices for AAC cloud droplet measurement.
Yunqi Shao, Yu Wang, Mao Du, Aristeidis Voliotis, M. Rami Alfarra, Simon P. O'Meara, S. Fiona Turner, and Gordon McFiggans
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 539–559, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-539-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-539-2022, 2022
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A comprehensive description and characterisation of the Manchester Aerosol Chamber (MAC) was conducted. The MAC has good temperature and relative humidity homogeneity, fast mixing times, and comparable losses of gases and particles with other chambers. The MAC's bespoke control system allows improved duty cycles and repeatable experiments. Moreover, the effect of contamination on performance was also investigated. It is highly recommended to regularly track the chamber's performance.
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Short summary
A portable dual-smog-chamber system was developed using two identical pillow-shaped smog chambers surrounded by UV lamps. The system has been designed to use ambient air as the starting point of the experiments. It can be easily disassembled and transported, enabling the study of various atmospheric environments and it can be used with natural sunlight. The results of test experiments using ambient air are discussed as examples of applications of this system.
A portable dual-smog-chamber system was developed using two identical pillow-shaped smog...
