Abstract
Highly time-resolved particle number size distributions (PNSDs) were evaluated during 5 years (2013–2017) at four background stations in the Czech Republic located in different types of environments—urban background (Ústí nad Labem), industrial background (Lom), agricultural background (National Atmospheric Observatory Košetice), and suburban background (Prague-Suchdol). The PNSD data was used for new particle formation event determination as well as growth rate (GR) and condensation sink (CS) calculations. The differences or similarities of these parameters were evaluated from perspectives of the different pollution load, meteorological condition, and regional or long-range transport. The median growth rate (4 nm h−1) is very similar at all stations, and the most frequent length of growth lasted between 2 and 4 h. Condensation sink reflects the pollution load at the individual station and their connection to the environment type. The highest median, CS = 1.34 × 10−2 s−1, was recorded at the urban station (Ústí nad Labem), and the lowest (CS = 0.85 × 10−2 s−1) was recorded at the agricultural station (National Atmospheric Observatory Košetice). Conditional probability function polar plots illustrate the influence of source location to GR. These primary potential emission sources involve traffic, operation of a power plant, and domestic heating.
Highlights
Atmospheric aerosols are ubiquitous particles, and their presence in the atmosphere contributes to climate change patterns (Kulmala et al 2004a)
The goal of the study was to investigate differences and/or similarities influencing the formation of aerosol particles and their consequent growth in different types of the background environments
This evaluation is based on growth rate (GR) and condensation sink (CS) characteristic during new particle formation (NPF) events
Summary
Atmospheric aerosols are ubiquitous particles, and their presence in the atmosphere contributes to climate change patterns (Kulmala et al 2004a). Aerosols affect the climate through direct and indirect effects. Atmospheric aerosols can directly scatter and/or absorb solar radiation and directly affect the Earth’s radiation balance. The role of aerosols in the climatic system still includes uncertainties strongly influencing model simulations (Zhao et al 2018). One of the uncertainties is caused by the secondary aerosol formation and its consequent growth, called new particle formation (NPF) event. The process of NPF is favored by the presence of sulfuric acid, and low-volatile oxidized organic vapors; on the contrary, the NPF suppressing factor can be a high amount of pre-existing particles in the atmosphere (Dada et al 2017; Ling et al 2019). The favoring or suppressing NPF conditions are very closely connected with the behavior of the particle growth rate (GR) and condensation sink (CS)
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