Recent  

Our study explores how tiny plastic particles, known as microplastics (MPs), move through the air. We focus on their journey in a wind tunnel to mimic atmospheric transport. Depending on the air speed and the height of their release, they move downwards or upwards. These results suggest that MPs behave like mineral particles and that we can expect MPs to accumulate where natural dust also accumulates in the environment, offering insights for predicting the spread and impacts of MPs.

Condensed particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic compounds that may be detrimental to human health, even at low (sub-ng m^-3) long-term exposure levels. The CHARON FUSION PTR-TOF 10k is capable of directly detecting PAHs on a chemical composition level at significantly lower mass concentrations. Herein, we report the time series of nine PAHs and identify three associated major sources and physicochemical processes for summertime aerosol in Innsbruck, Austria.

Aircraft are an important source of both soot aerosols and pollutants, like CO₂ and nitrogen oxides (NO_x), which also negatively affect human health and the environment. In many cases, strategies to reduce one pollutant may increase another. So, it is vital to have a quantitative understanding of the contribution of each pollutant to negative outcomes so that trade-offs can be made. Here, we review methods to reduce aircraft soot emissions through the use of fuel, engine design, and operation.

We highlight that the composition dependence of the counting efficiency of condensation particle counters can be immensely reduced by choice of the working fluid. A butanol- and a propylene glycol-based version of the Airmodus A30 was calibrated using a set of four different seed particles. Our study shows that composition-dependent counting efficiencies almost vanish in the case of the propylene glycol-based CPC. Simulations of supersaturation profiles were used to explain the results.

This study addresses challenges in semivolatile organic compound (SVOC) aerosol sampling. Despite its promise, experimental evaluations of the semivolatile aerosol dichotomous sampler (SADS) reveal issues with leakiness, assembly repeatability, and significant wall losses for particles larger than 2 µm. Findings suggest the need for improvements in airtightness, nozzle alignment, and assembly repeatability for the SADS to fulfil its theoretical potential in workplace exposure assessments.

Ambient ice-nucleating particle (INP) concentrations were measured in Israel, which experiences air masses from a variety of sources. We found that the INP activity is typically dominated by K-feldspar mineral dust but that air masses passing over regions of fertile soils correlated with high INP concentrations and indicators of biological activity. This suggests that these fertile regions could be sporadic sources of warm-temperature biogenic INPs and warrants further study of these areas.

In this study, we explored how tiny particles in the air, known as aerosols, have changed over time in two mountainous areas in Austria and Switzerland from 2007 to 2023. By using special instruments that measure sunlight, we tracked these changes and found that the amount of aerosols has been decreasing in both locations. This is important because aerosols can affect both our health and the climate. This work is crucial for understanding air quality trends in mountain environments.

Our study employs advanced tools, including scanning lidar, balloons, and UAVs, to explore aerosol particles in the atmosphere. The scanning lidar offers distinctive near-ground-level insights, enriching our comprehension of aerosol distribution from ground level to the free troposphere. This research provides valuable data for comparing remote sensing and in situ aerosol measurements, advancing our understanding of aerosol impacts on radiative transfer, clouds, and air quality.

Aerosol formation is an important process for our global climate. While inorganic species have been shown to be important for aerosol formation, there remains a large gap in our knowledge about the exact involvement of organics. We present a new quantum chemical procedure for screening relevant organics that for the first time allows us to obtain direct molecular-level insight into the organics involved in aerosol formation.

Multi-annual in situ observations were combined with back trajectory and emissions inventories to study black and brown carbon (BC, BrC) sources in the north of France. Results show BC to be mainly originated from vehicular traffic (31 %), shipping (25 %), and residential heating (21 %). Also, a significant decrease of the BrC component from residential heating is observed after 24 h of atmospheric aging. These results should lead to better climate and air pollution mitigation strategies.

Atmospheric intermediate ions can be used to study atmospheric new particle formation (NPF). Here we aimed to find the optimal ion diameter for this purpose on a local scale. To fulfill our aim, we used ion size number distribution data from the SMEAR II measurement station, Hyytiälä, Finland. We found that concentrations of ions between 2.0–2.3 nm are the best suited for characterization of local intermediate ion formation and could be used to detect and evaluate the strength of local NPF.

This work demonstrates the feasibility of estimating the ultraviolet (UV) dose experienced by aerosols without using virus-containing droplets. We developed a model system using non-evaporating droplets containing UV-sensitive dyes. These dye-containing droplets were generated and then exposed to UV-C light in a custom-built irradiation chamber. The proposed method could aid in understanding the effect of the suspending medium and droplet size on the UV dose required for bioaerosol inactivation.

Our study presents a novel method for quantifying mass spectrometer responses to molecular species in organic aerosols. Traditional calibrations often fail for complex mixtures like secondary organic aerosol. We combined chromatography with statistical component analysis to improve separation and quantification, achieving promising agreement with direct calibration. Our findings offer a new approach to assess aerosol composition, especially beneficial for complex mixtures.