Open AccessGrowth of freshly nucleated particles in the troposphere: Roles of NH 3 , H 2 SO 4 , HNO 3 , and HCl
Author(s) -
Kerminen VeliMatti,
Wexler Anthony S.,
Potukuchi Sudhakar
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/96jd02974
Subject(s) - cloud condensation nuclei , sulfuric acid , troposphere , condensation , ammonia , evaporation , hydrochloric acid , nitric acid , aerosol , atmosphere (unit) , particle (ecology) , flux (metallurgy) , water vapor , chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , atmospheric sciences , inorganic chemistry , meteorology , environmental chemistry , physics , geology , organic chemistry , oceanography
Growth of airborn, nanometer‐size nuclei was examined in a H 2 SO 4 ‐HNO 3 ‐HCl‐NH 3 ‐H 2 O system using a single‐particle condensation model. Under conditions typical of the lower troposphere, growth is driven initially by the flux of sulfuric acid, followed by thermodynamic equilibration by the more abundant water and ammonia vapors. Pure sulfuric acid‐water‐ammonia condensation was shown to be rather slow and unable to produce cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in the atmosphere. Under favorable conditions and after reaching a certain size, nuclei may start to absorb large quantities of nitric or hydrochloric acid together with ammonia, which produces CCN‐size particles over a timescale of a few minutes. The resulting CCN are susceptible to evaporation as the ambient conditions change but may become stable via cloud processing. The fast, HNO 3 ‐HCl‐NH 3 ‐driven condensation was estimated to occur frequently in continental aerosol systems. Marine CCN production cannot be explained by this process; it requires either the participation of other condensable vapors, such as organics, or a different growth mechanism.