Influence of Aerosol Chemical Composition on Condensation Sink Efficiency and New Particle Formation in Beijing.

Relatively high concentrations of preexisting particles, acting as a condensation sink (CS) of gaseous precursors, have been thought to suppress the occurrence of new particle formation (NPF) in urban environments, yet NPF still occurs frequently. Here, we aim to understand the factors promoting and inhibiting NPF events in urban Beijing by combining one-year-long measurements of particle number size distributions and PM chemical composition. Our results show that indeed the CS is an important factor controlling the occurrence of NPF events, with its chemical composition affecting the efficiency of the background particles in removing gaseous HSO (effectiveness of the CS) driving NPF.

Condensation sink of atmospheric vapors: the effect of vapor properties and the resulting uncertainties.

Aerosol particles affect the climate and human health. Thus, understanding and accurately quantifying the processes associated with secondary formation of aerosol particles is highly important. The loss rate of vapor to aerosol particles affects the mass balance of that vapor in the atmosphere.