Preprints  

In remote environments, atmospheric amines are involved in new particle formation processes. In anthropized areas, they readily react to form secondary aerosol. These particles may have relevant environmental (climate) and health effects. Together with instrumental techniques (PTR-MS, AMS) for the on-line determination of these compounds, the developing of simple methods for their accurate quantification represents a scientific target aimed at obtaining more significant environmental data.

This article presents observations of aerosol particles in the horizontal and vertical distribution measured with unmanned aerial systems in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. The field campaign was carried out during the snow melting season, when ultrafine aerosol particles (UFP) with a size between 3 and 12 nm occurred frequently. A high variability of the measured UFP was identified in the spatial and temporal scale which was strongly associated with different atmospheric boundary layer properties.

Aerosol number concentration is fundamental for aerosol science. A condensation particle counter (CPC) is able to provide this information in a robust way. Butanol is often used as a working fluid for CPC. We could show that the new working fluid behaves equivalent to butanol in terms of the instrument's counting efficiency, cut-off diameter and concentration linearity. We tested this on different types of aerosols including sodium chloride, ammonium sulphate and fresh combustion soot.