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Molar mass, surface tension, and droplet growth kinetics of marine organics from measurements of CCN activity
Author(s) -
Moore R. H.,
Ingall E. D.,
Sorooshian A.,
Nenes A.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2008gl033350
Subject(s) - surface tension , kinetics , organic matter , seawater , chemistry , molar concentration , mineralogy , analytical chemistry (journal) , materials science , environmental chemistry , thermodynamics , geology , oceanography , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics
The CCN‐relevant properties and droplet growth kinetics are determined for marine organic matter isolated from seawater collected near the Georgia coast. The organic matter is substantially less CCN active than (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , but droplet growth kinetics are similar. Köhler Theory Analysis (KTA) is used to determine the average organic molar masses of two samples, which are 4370 ± 24% and 4340 ± 18% kg kmol −1 . KTA is used to infer surface tension depression, which is in excellent agreement with direct measurements. For the first time it is shown that direct measurements of surface tension are relevant for CCN activation, and this study highlights the power of KTA.