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

New particle formation contribution to aerosol mass: regimes and implications for future urban environments
Runlong Cai, Shimeng Xu, Veli-Matti Kerminen, and Markku Kulmala
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 16003–16012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-16003-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-16003-2026, 2026
Short summary
Sensitivity Analysis for a Statistical Prediction Model Utilized for Particle Number Concentrations with a Focus on Submicron Size Fractions
Adeeb Ktaish, Nahid Atashi, Ola Surakhi, Yu Zhao, Tianyi Zhao, Martha Arbayani Zaidan, Tuukka Petäjä, Tuija Jokinen, Wei Du, Markku Kulmala, and Tareq Hussein
Aerosol Research Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2026-42,https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2026-42, 2026
Preprint under review for AR
Short summary
Design and performance of a FLOw TUbe System, FLOTUS, for the CERN CLOUD chamber
Eva Sommer, Mattia Busato, Pedro Rato, Hannah Klebach, Nirvan Bhattacharyya, Yuanlong Huang, Didier Lombard, Bernhard Mentler, Zhensen Zheng, Theodoros Aivaliotis, João Almeida, Louis-Philippe De Menezes, Ilia Krasin, Robert Kristic, Giulio Malaguti, Pierre Minginette, Sylvain Ravat, Emiliano Urrutia, Stefan Karl Weber, Lubna Dada, Jenna De Vivo, Milin Kaniyodical Sebastian, Paap Koemets, Felix Kunkler, Wiebke Scholz, Prashant Tripathi, Jens Voigtländer, Theodoros Christoudias, Joachim Curtius, Neil Donahue, Imad El Haddad, Roberto Guida, Armin Hansel, Hartwig Harder, Xu-Cheng He, Liine Heikkinen, Heikki Junninen, Markku Kulmala, Katrianne Lehtipalo, Ottmar Möhler, Mira Pöhlker, Rainer Volkamer, Paul Martin Winkler, Richard C. Flagan, Antti Onnela, Serge Mathot, and Jasper Kirkby
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-6281,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-6281, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Ion and particle size distribution measurements in the Indo-Gangetic Plain: seasonal insights and challenges in new particle formation event characterization
Gaurav Kumar Srivastav, Aasif Ahmad Wagay, Janne Lampilahti, Jaswant Rathore, Ravi Kumar Kunchala, Dilip Ganguly, Markku Kulmala, Tuukka Petäjä, Pauli Paasonen, Roseline C. Thakur, and Shahzad Gani
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 14917–14938, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-14917-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-14917-2026, 2026
Short summary
Blowing snow at coastal Antarctica: a source of ions and sodium chloride clusters
Lisa J. Beck, Rolf Weller, Totti Laitinen, Markku Kulmala, Douglas Worsnop, Janne Lampilahti, Heikki Junninen, and Mikko Sipilä
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-6198,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-6198, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
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