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

Related authors

Effect of planetary boundary layer evolution on new particle formation events over Cyprus
Neha Deot, Vijay P. Kanawade, Alkistis Papetta, Rima Baalbaki, Michael Pikridas, Franco Marenco, Markku Kulmala, Jean Sciare, Katrianne Lehtipalo, and Tuija Jokinen
Aerosol Research, 3, 139–154, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-139-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-139-2025, 2025
Short summary
Opinion: Influence of mean free path of air on atmospheric particle growth
Runlong Cai and Markku Kulmala
Aerosol Research Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2025-8,https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2025-8, 2025
Revised manuscript accepted for AR
Short summary
Insights into new particle formation in Siberian boreal forest from nanoparticle ranking analysis
Anastasia Lampilahti, Olga Garmash, Diego Aliaga, Mikhail Arshinov, Denis Davydov, Boris Belan, Janne Lampilahti, Veli-Matti Kerminen, Tuukka Petäjä, Markku Kulmala, and Ekaterina Ezhova
Aerosol Research Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2025-5,https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2025-5, 2025
Preprint under review for AR
Short summary
Differential characterization of air ions in boreal forest of Finland and megacity of eastern China
Tinghan Zhang, Ximeng Qi, Janne Lampilahti, Liangduo Chen, Xuguang Chi, Wei Nie, Xin Huang, Zehao Zou, Wei Du, Tom Kokkonen, Tuukka Petäjä, Katrianne Lehtipalo, Veli-Matti Kerminen, Aijun Ding, and Markku Kulmala
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3370,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3370, 2025
Short summary
Parameterization of particle formation rates in distinct atmospheric environments
Xinyang Li, Tuomo Nieminen, Rima Baalbaki, Putian Zhou, Pauli Paasonen, Risto Makkonen, Martha Arbayani Zaidan, Nina Sarnela, Chao Yan, Tujia Jokinen, Imre Salma, Máté Vörösmarty, Tuukka Petäjä, Veli-Matti Kerminen, Markku Kulmala, and Lubna Dada
Aerosol Research Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2025-3,https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2025-3, 2025
Preprint under review for AR
Short summary

Related subject area

Atmospheric Aerosols (AA)
Unchanged PM2.5 levels over Europe during COVID-19 were buffered by ammonia
Nikolaos Evangeliou, Ondřej Tichý, Marit Svendby Otervik, Sabine Eckhardt, Yves Balkanski, and Didier A. Hauglustaine
Aerosol Research, 3, 155–174, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-155-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-155-2025, 2025
Short summary
Effect of planetary boundary layer evolution on new particle formation events over Cyprus
Neha Deot, Vijay P. Kanawade, Alkistis Papetta, Rima Baalbaki, Michael Pikridas, Franco Marenco, Markku Kulmala, Jean Sciare, Katrianne Lehtipalo, and Tuija Jokinen
Aerosol Research, 3, 139–154, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-139-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-139-2025, 2025
Short summary
Opinion: Influence of mean free path of air on atmospheric particle growth
Runlong Cai and Markku Kulmala
Aerosol Research Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2025-8,https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2025-8, 2025
Revised manuscript accepted for AR
Short summary
Linking biogenic high-temperature ice nucleating particles in Arctic soils and streams to their microbial producers
Lasse Z. Jensen, Julie K. Simonsen, Ada Pastor, Christof Pearce, Per Nørnberg, Lars Chresten Lund-Hansen, Kai Finster, and Tina Šantl-Temkiv
Aerosol Research, 3, 81–100, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-81-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-81-2025, 2025
Short summary
New particle formation dynamics in the central Andes: contrasting urban and mountaintop environments
Diego Aliaga, Victoria A. Sinclair, Radovan Krejci, Marcos Andrade, Paulo Artaxo, Luis Blacutt, Runlong Cai, Samara Carbone, Yvette Gramlich, Liine Heikkinen, Dominic Heslin-Rees, Wei Huang, Veli-Matti Kerminen, Alkuin Maximilian Koenig, Markku Kulmala, Paolo Laj, Valeria Mardoñez-Balderrama, Claudia Mohr, Isabel Moreno, Pauli Paasonen, Wiebke Scholz, Karine Sellegri, Laura Ticona, Gaëlle Uzu, Fernando Velarde, Alfred Wiedensohler, Doug Worsnop, Cheng Wu, Chen Xuemeng, Qiaozhi Zha, and Federico Bianchi
Aerosol Research, 3, 15–44, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-15-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-15-2025, 2025
Short summary

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. 
Download
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.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint