Abstract
Abstract. The contribution of new particle formation (NPF) to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentration (NCCN) varies largely under different environments and depends on several key factors such as formation rate (J), growth rate (GR), distribution of preexisting particles, and properties of new particles during NPF events. This study investigates the contribution of NPF to the NCCN and its controlling factors based on measurements conducted at the Heshan supersite, in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of China during fall 2019. The size-resolved cloud condensation nuclei activity and size-resolved particle hygroscopicity were measured by a cloud condensation nuclei counter (CCNc) and a hygroscopic tandem differential mobility analyzer (HTDMA), respectively, along with a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and a diethylene glycol scanning mobility particle sizer (DEG-SMPS) for particle number size distribution (PNSD). A typical NPF event on 29 October was chosen to investigate the contribution of the NPF to NCCN under several supersaturation (SS) ratios. Two particle properties (hygroscopicity and surface tension) affect CCN activation with the latter being more important in terms of the CCN concentration (NCCN). A lower value of surface tension (i.e., 0.06 N m−1) than the pure-water assumption (0.073 N m−1) could increase the NCCN at SS = 1.0 % by about 20 % during the nonevent period and by about 40 % during the event. In addition, an earlier peak time corresponding to a lower critical diameter (D50) was also observed. The results show that high formation rate, growth rate, and low background particle concentration lead to high number concentrations of newly formed particles. The high growth rate was found to have the most significant impact on the NCCN, which can be attributed to the fact that a higher growth rate can grow particles to the CCN size in a shorter time before they are scavenged by preexisting particles. Two other NPF events (an event on 18 October in this campaign and an event on 12 December 2014 in Panyu) were chosen to perform sensitivity tests under different scenarios (growth rate, formation rate, and background particle concentration). The calculated NCCN at SS = 1.0 % on 12 December 2014 was significantly lower than that from the other two events. The event on 12 December was re-simulated using the growth rate taken from the event on 18 October which resulted in similar CCN concentrations between the two events (12 December and 18 October), implying that the growth rate is the major impact factor for CCN activation. Our results highlight the importance of growth rate and surface tension when evaluating the contribution of NPF to the NCCN.
Highlights
Atmospheric particles have direct effects on the global climate by adsorbing and scattering solar radiation while they can act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and exert influences on cloud formation, life cycle, and albedo and indirectly affect the global radiation balance
The CCN concentration (NCCN) at 1.0 % SS increased from 5000 cm−3 at around 10:00 LT to 11 000 cm−3 at about 15:00 LT, when the nucleated particles grew to the CCN size (Fig. S2)
The contribution of new particle formation (NPF) to the number concentration (NCCN) was investigated based on three chosen New particle formation (NPF) events including two (29 October and 18 November 2019) from this field campaign and one (12 December 2014) from a previous campaign in Panyu
Summary
Atmospheric particles have direct effects on the global climate by adsorbing and scattering solar radiation while they can act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and exert influences on cloud formation, life cycle, and albedo and indirectly affect the global radiation balance. The relationship between the CCN number concentration (NCCN) and its climatic effect represents one of the major uncertainties. The extent to which newly formed particles can contribute to the NCCN is controlled by many factors, including formation rate (J ), growth rate (GR), background particle number size distribution (PNSD), and properties of the particles. The growth rate (GR) represents the diameter change of the particles in a certain time period, and particles with a higher GR will grow to the CCN sizes in a shorter time. The background PNSD controls the scavenging of the newly formed particles, and the high concentration of preexisting particles will efficiently scavenge these particles before they can grow to the CCN sizes. The contribution of NPF to NCCN is difficult to be quantitatively evaluated, and currently the major impact factors are not fully understood, which becomes a challenge for quantification of the climatic forcing of NPF events
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