Articles | Volume 2, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2-49-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2-49-2024
Opinion
 | 
27 Mar 2024
Opinion |  | 27 Mar 2024

Opinion: A paradigm shift in investigating the general characteristics of atmospheric new particle formation using field observations

Markku Kulmala, Diego Aliaga, Santeri Tuovinen, Runlong Cai, Heikki Junninen, Chao Yan, Federico Bianchi, Yafang Cheng, Aijun Ding, Douglas R. Worsnop, Tuukka Petäjä, Katrianne Lehtipalo, Pauli Paasonen, and Veli-Matti Kerminen

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Cited articles

Ahlm, L., Liu, S., Day, D. A., Russell, L. M., Weber, R., Gentner, D. R., Goldstedin, A. H., Di Gangi, J. P., Henry, S. B., Keutsch, F. N., Van den Boer, T. C., Markovic, M. Z., Murphy, J. G., Ren, X., and Scheller, S.: Formation and growth of ultrafine particles from secondary sources in Bakersfield, California​​​​​​​, J. Geophys. Res., 117, D00V08, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD017144, 2012. 
Aliaga, D., Tuovinen, S., Zhang, T., Lampilahti, J., Li, X., Ahonen, L., Kokkonen, T., Nieminen, T., Hakala, S., Paasonen, P., Bianchi, F., Worsnop, D., Kerminen, V.-M., and Kulmala, M.: Nanoparticle ranking analysis: determining new particle formation (NPF) event occurrence and intensity based on the concentration spectrum of formed (sub-5 nm) particles, Aerosol Research, 1, 81–92, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-1-81-2023, 2023. 
Asmi, E., Kivekäs, N., Kerminen, V.-M., Komppula, M., Hyvärinen, A.-P., Hatakka, J., Viisanen, Y., and Lihavainen, H.: Secondary new particle formation in Northern Finland Pallas site between the years 2000 and 2010, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 12959–12972, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-12959-2011, 2011. 
Brean, J., Beddows, D. C. S., Shi, Z., Temime-Roussel, B., Marchand, N., Querol, X., Alastuey, A., Minguillón, M. C., and Harrison, R. M.: Molecular insights into new particle formation in Barcelona, Spain, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10029–10045, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10029-2020, 2020. 
Brean, J., Beddows, D. C. S., Harrison, R. M., Song, C., Tunved, P., Ström, J., Krejci, R., Freud, E., Massling, A., Skov, H., Asmi, E., Lupi, A., and Dall'Osto, M.: Collective geographical ecoregions and precursor sources driving Arctic new particle formation, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 2183–2198, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2183-2023, 2023. 
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Short summary
Atmospheric new particle formation (NPF), together with secondary production of particulate matter in the atmosphere, dominates aerosol particle number concentrations and submicron particle mass loads in many environments globally. In this opinion paper, we describe the paradigm shift to understand NPF in a continuous way instead of using traditional binary event–non-event analysis.
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