They also play a role in the formation
of secondary organic aerosols — air pollutants produced when sunlight, organic molecules and airborne chemicals come together and interact.
This study focuses
on secondary organic aerosols, formed in the atmosphere through interactions that are much more difficult to represent in models.
Laboratory chamber walls have been stealing vapors, causing researchers to underestimate the formation of
secondary organic aerosol in the atmosphere.
, Kilcoyne, A.L.D., Moffet, R.C., Weigand, M., Martin, S.T., Pöschl, U., and Andreae, M.O.: Biogenic potassium salt particles as seeds
for secondary organic aerosol in the Amazon, Science, 337, 1075 - 1078, 2012.
Even though open windows bring in more ozone from outside, the reduction in the indoor limonene concentration and SOA formation strength more than make up for it, as
less secondary organic aerosol is formed inside.
Using aircraft to measure air pollution over the Alberta tar sands region, the researchers found that tar sands production emitted between 55 and 101 metric tonnes of
secondary organic aerosols per day.
With 18 different scenarios tested, the team calculated a range of peak formation of
secondary organic aerosols when typical concentrations of limonene were introduced to ozone - rich environments with a range of air exchange rates.
Shiraiwa, M., Y. Li, A. P. Tsimpidi, T. Berkemeier, S. N. Pandis, J. Lelieveld, T. Koop and u. Pöschl: Global distribution of particle phase state in
atmospheric secondary organic aerosols: Nature Communication 8, 15002, doi: 10.1038 / ncomms15002, 2017.
These have garnered more than 600 citations advancing our understanding of what the research field
calls secondary organic aerosols — or SOA for short — and how the carbon - containing aerosol particles mix in the atmosphere.
BC FF is for black carbon from fossil fuel and biofuel, POA FF is for primary organic aerosol from fossil fuel and biofuel, BB is for biomass burning aerosols and SOA is
for secondary organic aerosols.»
And while researchers are still striving to fully understand the health and environmental impact of increased levels of
secondary organic aerosols in the atmosphere, studies have linked exposure to outdoor aerosols generally to morbidity and mortality outcomes.
Carbonaceous PM is made up of black carbon, primary organic aerosol (POA) and, especially,
secondary organic aerosol (SOA), which is known to contain harmful reactive oxygen species and can damage lung tissue.
The identification of this new reaction pathway in the atmosphere is of great importance for climate research, as it is another piece of the puzzle in the search for not yet fully understood sources in the formation of
the secondary organic aerosol and the subsequent cloud formation.
The rapidly formed reaction products are usually very non-volatile and are precursors for
the secondary organic aerosol, which is important for the earth's climate.
Secondary organic aerosols are formed primarily through chemistry that occurs in the gas phase.
A study published April 7 in PNAS Online Early Edition describes how a team of scientists, including researchers from the University of California, Davis, showed that vapor losses to the walls of laboratory chambers can suppress the formation of
secondary organic aerosol, which in turn has contributed to the underprediction of SOA in climate and air quality models.
In one of the first studies of its kind, scientists have found that tar sands production in Canada is one of North America's largest sources of
secondary organic aerosols — air pollutants that affect the climate, cloud formation and public health.
The resulting mass concentration of
secondary organic aerosols was roughly between five and 100 μg / m3.
According to the researchers, the extended model in the study is the first global aerosol model that combines the formation processes of
secondary organic aerosol (SOA) with the ELVOC production from experiments.
Secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) are microscopic particles created when ozone reacts with volatile organic gases such as limonene - the chemical name for the smell of oranges - or its cousin α - pinene, which is part of the smell of pine trees.
In research recently published in Environmental Science & Technology, Waring describes the role of limonene, the organic compound that gives cleaners and air fresheners an orange scent and acts as a solvent, in the formation of
secondary organic aerosols.
By adjusting elements of the test, such as the air exchange rate, which is the number of times per hour indoor air is replaced by outdoor air, as well as the concentrations of terpene and ozone in the chamber, the group was able to ascertain how those variables each affected the formation of
secondary organic aerosols.
What's next: Scientists are now working on using new field and laboratory measurements to better understand the physical and chemical processes controlling the formation and atmospheric lifecycle of
secondary organic aerosols.
Yet these particles, called
secondary organic aerosols, are a dominant atmospheric component in most megacity locations.
Like rust forms on iron,
secondary organic aerosols are formed in the atmosphere when emitted organic vapors react with sunlight, a process called photochemical oxidation.
The team injected citric, adipic, and fulvic acid into the chamber as seed aerosols, and then introduced
a secondary organic aerosol from α - pinene, a carbon - containing compound derived from pine trees.
A large portion of
secondary organic aerosols - tiny particles in the air we breathe that contribute to cloud formation and precipitation - arise from a combination of man - made pollution and molecules given off by plant matter.
Characterization of chemical composition of
secondary organic aerosols (SOA).
The CARES field campaign was designed to increase scientific knowledge about the evolution of black carbon, primary organic aerosols (POA), and
secondary organic aerosols (SOA) from both human - caused and natural (biogenic) sources.
Recently, the team tackled how the particles, called
secondary organic aerosols (SOAs), evaporate when the relative humidity is high.