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Atmospheric science

Unexpected player in particle formation

Nature volume 533, pages 478–479 (2016)Cite this article

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Three studies find that a family of organic compounds affects the formation and initial growth of atmospheric aerosol particles in clean air — with implications for our knowledge of the climate effects of aerosols. See Letters p.521 & 527

Cloud droplets form when water condenses on microscopic aerosol particles1. A key source of new particles in the atmosphere is nucleation — the formation and growth of molecular clusters, which must then grow about 50 times larger if they are to act as efficient cloud seeds. Sulfuric acid has long been recognized as the key player in particle formation2. But two studies in this issue3,4, and another published in Science5, suggest that molecules called highly oxidized multifunctional organic compounds (HOM compounds) have an under-appreciated role in driving both particle formation and the initial growth of particles, especially in environments largely unaffected by anthropogenic pollution.

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Figure 1: The Jungfraujoch research station in Switzerland.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chris Cappa is in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA.,

    Chris Cappa

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Correspondence to Chris Cappa.

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Cappa, C. Unexpected player in particle formation. Nature 533, 478–479 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/533478a

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