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Abstract. Gasoline vehicles have recently been pointed out as potentially the main source of anthropogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in megacities. However, there is a lack of laboratory studies to systematically investigate SOA formation in real-world exhaust. In this study, SOA formation from pure aromatic precursors, idling and cold start gasoline exhaust from three passenger vehicles (EURO2–EURO4) were investigated with photo-oxidation experiments in a 6 m3 smog chamber. The experiments were carried out down to atmospherically relevant organic aerosol mass concentrations. The characterization instruments included a high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer and a proton transfer mass spectrometer. It was found that gasoline exhaust readily forms SOA with a signature aerosol mass spectrum similar to the oxidized organic aerosol that commonly dominates the organic aerosol mass spectra downwind of urban areas. After a cumulative OH exposure of ~5 × 106 cm−3 h, the formed SOA was 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than the primary OA emissions. The SOA mass spectrum from a relevant mixture of traditional light aromatic precursors gave f43 (mass fraction at m/z = 43), approximately two times higher than to the gasoline SOA. However O : C and H : C ratios were similar for the two cases. Classical C6–C9 light aromatic precursors were responsible for up to 60% of the formed SOA, which is significantly higher than for diesel exhaust. Important candidates for additional precursors are higher-order aromatic compounds such as C10 and C11 light aromatics, naphthalene and methyl-naphthalenes. We conclude that approaches using only light aromatic precursors give an incomplete picture of the magnitude of SOA formation and the SOA composition from gasoline exhaust.

Airborne ultrafine particles (diameter <100 nm) are ubiquitous in the environment and have been associated with adverse health effects. The respiratory-tract deposition of these particles is fundamentally influenced by their hygroscopicity: their ability to grow by condensation of water in the humid respiratory system. Ambient particles are typically hygroscopic, to varying degrees. This article investigates the influence of hygroscopicity, exercise level, gender, and intersubject variability on size-dependent deposition of fine and ultrafine particles during spontaneous breathing. Using a novel and well-characterized setup, respiratory-tract deposition in the range 12-320 nm has been measured for 29 healthy adults (20 men, 9 women). Each subject completed four sessions: rest and light exercise on an ergometer bicycle while inhaling both hydrophobic (diethylhexylsebacate) and hygroscopic (NaCl) particles. The deposited fraction (DF) based on dry diameters was two to four times higher for the hydrophobic ultrafine particles than for the hygroscopic. The DF of hygroscopic ultrafine particles could be estimated by calculating their equilibrium size at 99.5% relative humidity. The differences in average DF due to exercise level and gender were essentially less than 0.03. However, the minute ventilation increased fourfold during exercise and was 18-46% higher for the men than for the women. Consequently the deposited dose of particles was fourfold higher during exercise and considerably increased for the male subjects. Some individuals consistently had a high DF in all four sessions. As an example, the results show that an average person exposed to 100-nm hydrophobic particles during exercise will receive a 16 times higher dose than a relaxed person exposed to an equal amount of hygroscopic (NaCl) particles.

In urban environments, airborne particles are continuously emitted, followed by atmospheric aging. Also, particles emitted elsewhere, transported by winds, contribute to the urban aerosol. We studied the effective density (mass-mobility relationship) and mixing state with respect to the density of particles in central Copenhagen, in wintertime. The results are related to particle origin, morphology, and aging. Using a differential mobility analyzer-aerosol particle mass analyzer (DMA-APM), we determined that particles in the diameter range of 50-400 nm were of two groups: porous soot aggregates and more dense particles. Both groups were present at each size in varying proportions. Two types of temporal variability in the relative number fraction of the two groups were found: soot correlated with intense traffic in a diel pattern and dense particles increased during episodes with long-range transport from polluted continental areas. The effective density of each group was relatively stable over time, especially of the soot aggregates, which had effective densities similar to those observed in laboratory studies of fresh diesel exhaust emissions. When heated to 300 °C, the soot aggregate volatile mass fraction was ∼10%. For the dense particles, the volatile mass fraction varied from ∼80% to nearly 100%.

Airborne dispersal of microalgae has largely been a blind spot in environmental biological studies because of their low concentration in the atmosphere and the technical limitations in investigating microalgae from air samples. Recent studies show that airborne microalgae can survive air transportation and interact with the environment, possibly influencing their deposition rates. This minireview presents a summary of these studies and traces the possible route, step by step, from established ecosystems to new habitats through air transportation over a variety of geographic scales. Emission, transportation, deposition, and adaptation to atmospheric stress are discussed, as well as the consequences of their dispersal on health and the environment and state-of-the-art techniques to detect and model airborne microalga dispersal. More-detailed studies on the microalga atmospheric cycle, including, for instance, ice nucleation activity and transport simulations, are crucial for improving our understanding of microalga ecology, identifying microalga interactions with the environment, and preventing unwanted contamination events or invasions.