Abstract
Abstract. The condensational growth rate of aerosol particles formed in atmospheric new particle formation events is one of the most important factors influencing the lifetime of these particles and their ability to become climatically relevant. Diameter growth rates (GR) of nucleation mode particles were studied based on almost 7 yr of data measured during the years 2003–2009 at a boreal forest measurement station SMEAR II in Hyytiälä, Finland. The particle growth rates were estimated using particle size distributions measured with a Differential Mobility Particle Sizer (DMPS), a Balanced Scanning Mobility Analyzer (BSMA) and an Air Ion Spectrometer (AIS). Two GR analysis methods were tested. The particle growth rates were also compared to an extensive set of ambient meteorological parameters and trace gas concentrations to investigate the processes/constituents limiting the aerosol growth. The median growth rates of particles in the nucleation mode size ranges with diameters of 1.5–3 nm, 3–7 nm and 7–20 nm were 1.9 nm h−1, 3.8 nm h−1, and 4.3 nm h−1, respectively. The median relative uncertainties in the growth rates due to the size distribution instrumentation in these size ranges were 25%, 19%, and 8%, respectively. For the smallest particles (1.5–3 nm) the AIS data yielded on average higher growth rate values than the BSMA data, and higher growth rates were obtained from positively charged size distributions as compared with negatively charged particles. For particles larger than 3 nm in diameter no such systematic differences were found. For these particles the uncertainty in the growth rate related to the analysis method, with relative uncertainty of 16%, was similar to that related to the instruments. The growth rates of 7–20 nm particles showed positive correlation with monoterpene concentrations and their oxidation rate by ozone. The oxidation rate by OH did not show a connection with GR. Our results indicate that the growth of nucleation mode particles in Hyytiälä is mainly limited by the concentrations of organic precursors.
Highlights
New particle formation (NPF) by gas-to-particle-conversion followed by condensational growth of the freshly-formed nanoparticles is a frequently observed phenomenon in the atmosphere (e.g. Kulmala et al, 2004a)
The core of the dataset used in this study are the charged and total particle size distributions measured with a Differential Mobility Particle Sizer (DMPS), a Balanced Scanning Mobility Analyzer (BSMA) and an Air Ion Spectrometer (AIS)
The diameter growth rates of nucleation mode particles were determined for the years 2003–2009 from the particle size distributions measured with DMPS, BSMA and AIS with the maximum concentration method
Summary
New particle formation (NPF) by gas-to-particle-conversion followed by condensational growth of the freshly-formed nanoparticles is a frequently observed phenomenon in the atmosphere (e.g. Kulmala et al, 2004a). New particle formation (NPF) by gas-to-particle-conversion followed by condensational growth of the freshly-formed nanoparticles is a frequently observed phenomenon in the atmosphere Recent studies suggest that these secondary aerosol particles form a notable fraction of atmospheric aerosol particle number concentrations (Spracklen et al, 2008; Merikanto et al, 2009) and potentially have a substantial contribution in the effect of aerosol particles on climate. Atmospheric aerosol particles affect the Earth’s climate in two ways. They scatter and absorb the solar radiation and have a direct effect on the Earth’s radiation balance. Aerosol particles have an indirect effect on the climate, as they can act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and determine optical properties of the clouds and affect the cloud life time. The effect of aerosols is the largest source of uncertainty in the estimation of the radiative forcing (Solomon et al, 2007)
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