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    Aqueous phase oxidation of sulphur dioxide by ozone in cloud droplets
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2016) Hoyle, C.R.; Fuchs, C.; Järvinen, E.; Saathoff, H.; Dias, A.; El Haddad, I.; Gysel, M.; Coburn, S.C.; Tröstl, J.; Bernhammer, A.-K.; Bianchi, F.; Breitenlechner, M.; Corbin, J.C.; Craven, J.; Donahue, N.M.; Duplissy, J.; Ehrhart, S.; Frege, C.; Gordon, H.; Höppel, N.; Heinritzi, M.; Kristensen, T.B.; Molteni, U.; Nichman, L.; Pinterich, T.; Prévôt, A.S.H.; Simon, M.; Slowik, J.G.; Steiner, G.; Tomé, A.; Vogel, A.L.; Volkamer, R.; Wagner, A.C.; Wagner, R.; Wexler, A.S.; Williamson, C.; Winkler, P.M.; Amorim, A.; Dommen, J.; Curtius, J.; Gallagher, M.W.; Flagan, R.C.; Hansel, A.; Kirkby, J.; Kulmala, M.; Möhler, O.; Stratmann, F.; Worsnop, D.R.; Baltensperger, U.
    The growth of aerosol due to the aqueous phase oxidation of sulfur dioxide by ozone was measured in laboratory-generated clouds created in the Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets (CLOUD) chamber at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Experiments were performed at 10 and −10 °C, on acidic (sulfuric acid) and on partially to fully neutralised (ammonium sulfate) seed aerosol. Clouds were generated by performing an adiabatic expansion – pressurising the chamber to 220 hPa above atmospheric pressure, and then rapidly releasing the excess pressure, resulting in a cooling, condensation of water on the aerosol and a cloud lifetime of approximately 6 min. A model was developed to compare the observed aerosol growth with that predicted using oxidation rate constants previously measured in bulk solutions. The model captured the measured aerosol growth very well for experiments performed at 10 and −10 °C, indicating that, in contrast to some previous studies, the oxidation rates of SO2 in a dispersed aqueous system can be well represented by using accepted rate constants, based on bulk measurements. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first laboratory-based measurements of aqueous phase oxidation in a dispersed, super-cooled population of droplets. The measurements are therefore important in confirming that the extrapolation of currently accepted reaction rate constants to temperatures below 0 °C is correct.
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    Characterization of aerosol properties at Cyprus, focusing on cloud condensation nuclei and ice-nucleating particles
    (Göttingen : Copernicus GmbH, 2019) Gong, X.; Wex, H.; Müller, T.; Wiedensohler, A.; Höhler, K.; Kandler, K.; Ma, N.; Dietel, B.; Schiebel, T.; Möhler, O.; Stratmann, F.
    As part of the A-LIFE (Absorbing aerosol layers in a changing climate: aging, LIFEtime and dynamics) campaign, ground-based measurements were carried out in Paphos, Cyprus, to characterize the abundance, properties, and sources of aerosol particles in general and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice-nucleating particles (INP) in particular. New particle formation (NPF) events with subsequent growth of the particles into the CCN size range were observed. Aitken mode particles featured k values of 0.21 to 0.29, indicating the presence of organic materials. Accumulation mode particles featured a higher hygroscopicity parameter, with a median k value of 0.57, suggesting the presence of sulfate and maybe sea salt particles mixed with organic carbon. A clear downward trend of k with increasing supersaturation and decreasing dcrit was found. Super-micron particles originated mainly from sea-spray aerosol (SSA) and partly from mineral dust. INP concentrations (NINP) were measured in the temperature range from-6:5 to-26:5 °C, using two freezing array-type instruments. NINP at a particular temperature span around 1 order of magnitude below-20 °C and about 2 orders of magnitude at warmer temperatures (T >-18 °C). Few samples showed elevated concentrations at temperatures >-15 °C, which suggests a significant contribution of biological particles to the INP population, which possibly could originate from Cyprus. Both measured temperature spectra and NINP probability density functions (PDFs) indicate that the observed INP (ice active in the temperature range between-15 and-20 °C) mainly originate from long-range transport. There was no correlation between NINP and particle number concentration in the size range> 500 nm (N>500 nm). Parameterizations based on N>500 nm were found to overestimate NINP by about 1 to 2 orders of magnitude. There was also no correlation between NINP and particle surface area concentration. The ice active surface site density (ns) for the polluted aerosol encountered in the eastern Mediterranean in this study is about 1 to 3 orders of magnitude lower than the ns found for dust aerosol particles in previous studies. This suggests that observed NINP PDFs such as those derived here could be a better choice for modeling NINP if the aerosol particle composition is unknown or uncertain.