Organic aerosol (OA) particles affect climate forcing and human health, but their sources and evolution remain poorly characterized. We present a unifying model framework describing the atmospheric evolution of OA that is constrained by high-time-resolution measurements of its composition, volatility, and oxidation state. OA and OA precursor gases evolve by becoming increasingly oxidized, less volatile, and more hygroscopic, leading to the formation of oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA), with concentrations comparable to those of sulfate aerosol throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Our model framework captures the dynamic aging behavior observed in both the atmosphere and laboratory: It can serve as a basis for improving parameterizations in regional and global models.
Aerosols of biological origin play a vital role in the Earth system, particularly in the interactions between atmosphere, biosphere, climate, and public health. Airborne bacteria, fungal spores, pollen, and other bioparticles are essential for the reproduction and spread of organisms across various ecosystems, and they can cause or enhance human, animal, and plant diseases. Moreover, they can serve as nuclei for cloud droplets, ice crystals, and precipitation, thus influencing the hydrological cycle and climate. The sources, abundance, composition, and effects of biological aerosols and the atmospheric microbiome are, however, not yet well characterized and constitute a large gap in the scientific understanding of the interaction and co-evolution of life and climate in the Earth system. This review presents an overview of the state of bioaerosol research, highlights recent advances, and outlines future perspectives in terms o fbioaerosolidentification, characterization, transport, and transforma- tion processes, as well as their interactions with climate, health, and ecosystems, focusing on the role bioaerosols play in the Earth system
Abstract. The volatilities of different chemical species in ambient aerosols are important but remain poorly characterized. The coupling of a recently developed rapid temperature-stepping thermodenuder (TD, operated in the range 54–230°C) with a High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) during field studies in two polluted megacities has enabled the first direct characterization of chemically-resolved urban particle volatility. Measurements in Riverside, CA and Mexico City are generally consistent and show ambient nitrate as having the highest volatility of any AMS aerosol species while sulfate showed the lowest volatility. Total organic aerosol (OA) showed volatility intermediate between nitrate and sulfate, with an evaporation rate of 0.6% K−1 near ambient temperature, although OA dominates the residual species at the highest temperatures. Different types of OA were characterized with marker ions, diurnal cycles, and positive matrix factorization (PMF) and show significant differences in volatility. Reduced hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA, a surrogate for primary OA, POA), oxygenated OA (OOA, a surrogate for secondary OA, SOA), and biomass-burning OA (BBOA) separated with PMF were all determined to be semi-volatile. The most aged OOA-1 and its dominant ion, CO2+, consistently exhibited the lowest volatility, with HOA, BBOA, and associated ions for each among the highest. The similar or higher volatility of HOA/POA compared to OOA/SOA contradicts the current representations of OA volatility in most atmospheric models and has important implications for aerosol growth and lifetime. Our results strongly imply that all OA types should be considered semivolatile in models. The study in Riverside identified organosulfur species (e.g. CH3HSO3+ ion, likely from methanesulfonic acid), while both studies identified ions indicative of amines (e.g. C5H12N+) with very different volatility behaviors than inorganic-dominated ions. The oxygen-to-carbon ratio of OA in each ambient study was shown to increase both with TD temperature and from morning to afternoon, while the hydrogen-to-carbon ratio showed the opposite trend.
23 This study addresses, through two types of experiments, the potential for the oceans to act as a 24 source of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles (INPs). The INP concentration via deposition 25 mode nucleation was measured in situ at a coastal site in British Columbia in August 2013. The 26 INP concentration at conditions relevant to cirrus clouds (i.e., -40°C and relative humidity with 27 respect to ice, RHice=139%) ranged from 0.2 L -1 to 3.3 L -1 . Correlations of the INP 28 concentrations with levels of anthropogenic tracers (i.e., CO, SO2, NOx, and black carbon) and 29 numbers of fluorescent particles do not indicate a significant influence from anthropogenic 30 sources or submicron bioaerosols, respectively. Additionally, the INPs measured in the 31 deposition mode showed a poor correlation with the concentration of particles with sizes larger 32 than 500 nm, which is in contrast with observations made in the immersion freezing mode. To 33 investigate the nature of particles that could have acted as deposition INP, laboratory 34 experiments with potential marine aerosol particles were conducted under the ice-nucleating 35 conditions used in the field. At -40°C, no deposition activity was observed with salt aerosol 36 particles (sodium chloride and two forms of commercial sea salt: Sigma-Aldrich and Instant 37 Ocean), particles composed of a commercial source of natural organic matter (Suwannee River 38 humic material), or particle mixtures of sea salt and humic material. In contrast, exudates from 39 three phytoplankton (Thalassiosira pseudonana, Nanochloris atomus, and Emiliania huxleyi) 40 and one marine bacterium (Vibrio harveyi) exhibited INP activity at low RHice values, down to 41 below 110%. This suggests that the INPs measured at the field site were of marine biological 42 origins, although we cannot rule out other sources, including mineral dust. 43 44 thank the University of Denver faculty start-up fund and PROF grant for 463 partial financial support. 464 465 References 466 Alpert, P.A., Aller, J.Y., and Knopf, D.A., 2011a. Ice nucleation from aqueous NaCl droplets with and 467 without marine diatoms, Atmos. Chem. Phys, 11, 5539-5555. 469Alpert, P. A., Aller, J. Y., and Knopf, D. A., 2011b. Initiation of the ice phase by marine biogenic surfaces 470 in supersaturated gas and supercooled aqueous phases, Phys.
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