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Hakala S, Vakkari V, Bianchi F, Dada L, Deng C, Dällenbach KR, Fu Y, Jiang J, Kangasluoma J, Kujansuu J, Liu Y, Petäjä T, Wang L, Yan C, Kulmala M, Paasonen P. Observed coupling between air mass history, secondary growth of nucleation mode particles and aerosol pollution levels in Beijing. Environ Sci Atmos 2022; 2:146-164. [PMID: 35419523 PMCID: PMC8929417 DOI: 10.1039/d1ea00089f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Atmospheric aerosols have significant effects on the climate and on human health. New particle formation (NPF) is globally an important source of aerosols but its relevance especially towards aerosol mass loadings in highly polluted regions is still controversial. In addition, uncertainties remain regarding the processes leading to severe pollution episodes, concerning e.g. the role of atmospheric transport. In this study, we utilize air mass history analysis in combination with different fields related to the intensity of anthropogenic emissions in order to calculate air mass exposure to anthropogenic emissions (AME) prior to their arrival at Beijing, China. The AME is used as a semi-quantitative metric for describing the effect of air mass history on the potential for aerosol formation. We show that NPF events occur in clean air masses, described by low AME. However, increasing AME seems to be required for substantial growth of nucleation mode (diameter < 30 nm) particles, originating either from NPF or direct emissions, into larger mass-relevant sizes. This finding assists in establishing and understanding the connection between small nucleation mode particles, secondary aerosol formation and the development of pollution episodes. We further use the AME, in combination with basic meteorological variables, for developing a simple and easy-to-apply regression model to predict aerosol volume and mass concentrations. Since the model directly only accounts for changes in meteorological conditions, it can also be used to estimate the influence of emission changes on pollution levels. We apply the developed model to briefly investigate the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on PM2.5 concentrations in Beijing. While no clear influence directly attributable to the lockdown measures is found, the results are in line with other studies utilizing more widely applied approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Hakala
- Aerosol and Haze Laboratory, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing China
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - V Vakkari
- Finnish Meteorological Institute Erik Palmenin Aukio 1 Helsinki Finland
- Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group, Chemical Resource Beneficiation, North-West University Potchefstroom South Africa
| | - F Bianchi
- Aerosol and Haze Laboratory, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing China
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - L Dada
- Aerosol and Haze Laboratory, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing China
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
- Extreme Environments Research Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Valais Sion 1951 Switzerland
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute 5232 Villigen Switzerland
| | - C Deng
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University Beijing China
| | - K R Dällenbach
- Aerosol and Haze Laboratory, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing China
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute 5232 Villigen Switzerland
| | - Y Fu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University Beijing China
| | - J Jiang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University Beijing China
| | - J Kangasluoma
- Aerosol and Haze Laboratory, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing China
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - J Kujansuu
- Aerosol and Haze Laboratory, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing China
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - Y Liu
- Aerosol and Haze Laboratory, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing China
| | - T Petäjä
- Aerosol and Haze Laboratory, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing China
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences, Nanjing University Nanjing China
| | - L Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100029 China
| | - C Yan
- Aerosol and Haze Laboratory, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing China
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - M Kulmala
- Aerosol and Haze Laboratory, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing China
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences, Nanjing University Nanjing China
| | - P Paasonen
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
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Jokinen T, Sipilä M, Kontkanen J, Vakkari V, Tisler P, Duplissy EM, Junninen H, Kangasluoma J, Manninen HE, Petäjä T, Kulmala M, Worsnop DR, Kirkby J, Virkkula A, Kerminen VM. Ion-induced sulfuric acid-ammonia nucleation drives particle formation in coastal Antarctica. Sci Adv 2018; 4:eaat9744. [PMID: 30498779 PMCID: PMC6261657 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat9744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2018] [Accepted: 10/26/2018] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Formation of new aerosol particles from trace gases is a major source of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in the global atmosphere, with potentially large effects on cloud optical properties and Earth's radiative balance. Controlled laboratory experiments have resolved, in detail, the different nucleation pathways likely responsible for atmospheric new particle formation, yet very little is known from field studies about the molecular steps and compounds involved in different regions of the atmosphere. The scarcity of primary particle sources makes secondary aerosol formation particularly important in the Antarctic atmosphere. Here, we report on the observation of ion-induced nucleation of sulfuric acid and ammonia-a process experimentally investigated by the CERN CLOUD experiment-as a major source of secondary aerosol particles over coastal Antarctica. We further show that measured high sulfuric acid concentrations, exceeding 107 molecules cm-3, are sufficient to explain the observed new particle growth rates. Our findings show that ion-induced nucleation is the dominant particle formation mechanism, implying that galactic cosmic radiation plays a key role in new particle formation in the pristine Antarctic atmosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- T. Jokinen
- INAR–Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
- Corresponding author.
| | - M. Sipilä
- INAR–Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - J. Kontkanen
- INAR–Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - V. Vakkari
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Erik Palménin aukio 1, 00560 Helsinki, Finland
| | - P. Tisler
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Erik Palménin aukio 1, 00560 Helsinki, Finland
| | - E.-M. Duplissy
- INAR–Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - H. Junninen
- INAR–Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
- Laboratory of Environmental Physics, Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, Tartu 50090, Estonia
| | - J. Kangasluoma
- INAR–Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - H. E. Manninen
- INAR–Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
- CERN, CH1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - T. Petäjä
- INAR–Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - M. Kulmala
- INAR–Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - D. R. Worsnop
- INAR–Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
- Aerodyne Research Inc., Billerica, MA 01821, USA
| | - J. Kirkby
- CERN, CH1211 Geneva, Switzerland
- Goethe University Frankfurt, Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - A. Virkkula
- INAR–Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Erik Palménin aukio 1, 00560 Helsinki, Finland
| | - V.-M. Kerminen
- INAR–Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
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Venter A, Jaars K, Booyens W, Beukes J, van Zyl P, Josipovic M, Hendriks J, Vakkari V, Hellén H, Hakola H, Aaltonen H, Ruiz-Jimenez J, Riekkola ML, Laakso L. Plume characterization of a typical South African braai. S Afr j chem 2015. [DOI: 10.17159/0379-4350/2015/v68a25] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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