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| Open AccessAtmospheric isoprene measurements reveal larger-than-expected Southern Ocean emissions
High atmospheric concentrations of isoprene have been observed in the Southern Ocean. The authors investigate their potential marine sources and show how these emissions impact the modelling of atmospheric processes and composition in remote environments.
- Valerio Ferracci
- , James Weber
- & Neil. R. P. Harris
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| Open AccessMechanistic insight into the competition between interfacial and bulk reactions in microdroplets through N2O5 ammonolysis and hydrolysis
The authors report a computational strategy to simulate the hydrolysis and ammonolysis of N2O5 in aerosols using high-level quantum chemical methods. The computational results reveal a complete picture of the reactive uptake of N2O5 by atmospheric aerosols with or without NH3.
- Ye-Guang Fang
- , Bo Tang
- & Wei-Hai Fang
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Article
| Open AccessCost-effectiveness uncertainty may bias the decision of coal power transitions in China
China’s use of coal is complex to establish a clean and low-carbon transition for the country. With an uncertainty assessment framework, this study displays the risks of missing opportunities in obtaining cumulative positive net benefits and identifying an optimal transition strategy.
- Xizhe Yan
- , Dan Tong
- & Yu Lei
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| Open AccessReactive aldehyde chemistry explains the missing source of hydroxyl radicals
Hydroxyl radicals (OH) determine the tropospheric self-cleansing capacity. This study reveals that reactive aldehyde chemistry plays an important role in OH formation and helps narrow the gap between ambient OH observations and model simulations.
- Xinping Yang
- , Haichao Wang
- & Yuanhang Zhang
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| Open AccessProcess-evaluation of forest aerosol-cloud-climate feedback shows clear evidence from observations and large uncertainty in models
This study shows that trees are likely to change clouds in the future and reveals that climate models struggle to accurately represent the relevant processes of aerosol-cloud-climate interactions over forests.
- Sara M. Blichner
- , Taina Yli-Juuti
- & Ilona Riipinen
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| Open AccessNanoscale silicate melt textures determine volcanic ash surface chemistry
Nanotexture-sensitive fracture focusing during magma fragmentation determines the surface chemistry of volcanic ash particles, thereby modifying the reactive interface and subsequent environmental impacts
- Adrian J. Hornby
- , Paul M. Ayris
- & Donald B. Dingwell
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Article
| Open AccessSpectroscopy of a mesospheric ghost reveals iron emissions
Mesospheric ghosts are rare, faint, greenish transient luminous events. Here, the authors show metallic emissions revealed by the spectrum of a mesospheric ghost.
- María Passas-Varo
- , Oscar Van der Velde
- & Joan Montanyà
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Article
| Open AccessSynthesizing evidence for the external cycling of NOx in high- to low-NOx atmospheres
External cycling regenerates nitrogen oxides from the NOx oxidative reservoir, NOz. Aircraft observations reveal NOx external cycling compensates for NOx aging, sustaining NOx distribution and production of OH radicals far from NOx emission sources
- Chunxiang Ye
- , Xianliang Zhou
- & Shaojie Song
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Article
| Open AccessPotential drivers of the recent large Antarctic ozone holes
The record-breaking ozone holes of recent years contribute to a steady decline of mid-spring ozone in the Antarctic, contrary to signs of early-spring recovery. Changes in descending air at the core of the ozone hole might be the driver.
- Hannah E. Kessenich
- , Annika Seppälä
- & Craig J. Rodger
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| Open AccessAerosols overtake greenhouse gases causing a warmer climate and more weather extremes toward carbon neutrality
Future aerosol reductions significantly contribute to climate warming and increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather toward carbon neutrality. Aerosol impacts far outweigh those of greenhouse gases and tropospheric ozone.
- Pinya Wang
- , Yang Yang
- & Hong Liao
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Article
| Open AccessDirect detection of atomic oxygen on the dayside and nightside of Venus
Atomic oxygen is important for the photochemistry and energy balance of Venus’s atmosphere, but it was not directly observed on the dayside of Venus. Here, the authors show direct detection of atomic oxygen on the both dayside and nightside of Venus by measuring its ground-state transition at 4.74 THz.
- Heinz-Wilhelm Hübers
- , Heiko Richter
- & Helmut Wiesemeyer
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Article
| Open AccessThe global and regional air quality impacts of dietary change
Food production, especially of animal products, is a major source of air pollutants. Here, the authors quantify the impacts dietary changes towards more plant-based diets could have for air quality, labour productivity, and human health.
- Marco Springmann
- , Rita Van Dingenen
- & Adrian Leip
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal organic and inorganic aerosol hygroscopicity and its effect on radiative forcing
The effective hygroscopicity of organic matter and inorganic ions in atmospheric aerosols can be efficiently and accurately parameterized by global average values to constrain a critically important aspect in climate and Earth system models
- Mira L. Pöhlker
- , Christopher Pöhlker
- & Ulrich Pöschl
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Article
| Open AccessBlack carbon scavenging by low-level Arctic clouds
Black carbon in the Arctic has pronounced climatic effects, whilst residing in the atmosphere or after being deposited. Here long-term observations of black carbon inside Arctic clouds are used to study their seasonality, sources and links to other meteorological parameters.
- Paul Zieger
- , Dominic Heslin-Rees
- & Radovan Krejci
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessUncertainty and bias in Liggio et al. (2019) on CO2 emissions from oil sands operations
- Long Fu
- & Allan H. Legge
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Article
| Open AccessDecadal decrease in Los Angeles methane emissions is much smaller than bottom-up estimates
Top down atmospheric measurements reveal a large difference between observed methane emissions and those reported from bottom up estimates of natural gas leakage for California.
- Zhao-Cheng Zeng
- , Thomas Pongetti
- & Stanley P. Sander
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| Open AccessReversal of trends in global fine particulate matter air pollution
Global fine particulate matter air pollution recently pivots from increase to decrease as inferred from satellite observations, driven by unprecedented exposure reduction in China and slowed exposure growth in South Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
- Chi Li
- , Aaron van Donkelaar
- & Randall V. Martin
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Article
| Open AccessWeakened AMOC related to cooling and atmospheric circulation shifts in the last interglacial Eastern Mediterranean
The warm last interglacial serves as a period to investigate climate change associated with a weakened AMOC. Here the authors report evidence of Eastern Mediterranean cooling and accompanied atmospheric circulation shifts affecting rainfall.
- Elan J. Levy
- , Hubert B. Vonhof
- & Gerald H. Haug
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| Open AccessEffects of drought and recovery on soil volatile organic compound fluxes in an experimental rainforest
Pugliese et al., show that severe drought and rewetting have a major impact on the capacity of rainforest soil to consume and emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), affecting the atmospheric VOC budget and thereby atmospheric chemistry and climate.
- Giovanni Pugliese
- , Johannes Ingrisch
- & Jonathan Williams
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Article
| Open AccessMolecular rearrangement of bicyclic peroxy radicals is a key route to aerosol from aromatics
The oxidation of aromatics contributes significantly to the formation of atmospheric aerosol. Using toluene as an example the authors demonstrate a molecular rearrangement channel in the oxidation mechanism and show that the bicyclic peroxy radicals are much less stable than previously thought and can lead to aerosol-forming low-volatility products with up to 9 oxygen atoms on sub-second timescales
- Siddharth Iyer
- , Avinash Kumar
- & Matti Rissanen
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| Open AccessNational quantifications of methane emissions from fuel exploitation using high resolution inversions of satellite observations
High-resolution satellite data enables a unique verification of national methane emissions worldwide. Global estimates are 63 Tg a−1 for oil-gas, 30% higher than the UNFCCC reports due to under-reporting by four largest emitters, and 33 Tg a−1 for coal, consistent with previous estimates.
- Lu Shen
- , Daniel J. Jacob
- & Jintai Lin
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| Open AccessDirect sulfuric acid formation from the gas-phase oxidation of reduced-sulfur compounds
Experiments verify that oxidation of organic sulphur compounds, such as DMS, directly yields gas-phase H2SO4. Simulations reveal that this pathway can be competitive with SO2 oxidation over oceans in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Torsten Berndt
- , Erik H. Hoffmann
- & Hartmut Herrmann
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| Open AccessOptimal reactive nitrogen control pathways identified for cost-effective PM2.5 mitigation in Europe
Reactive nitrogen (Nr) contributes strongly to PM2.5 air pollution in Europe. Here, authors identify diverse Nr control pathways for Europe depending on emission and pollution formation and a priority of NH3 control when costs are considered.
- Zehui Liu
- , Harald E. Rieder
- & Lin Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessOccurrence and backtracking of microplastic mass loads including tire wear particles in northern Atlantic air
Microplastics the marine atmosphere are a highly relevant subject, yet barely investigated. This study showed their ubiquity in the nanogram range even in remote Artic regions and depict the ocean acts as both a sink and source for microplastics
- Isabel Goßmann
- , Dorte Herzke
- & Barbara M. Scholz-Böttcher
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| Open AccessNO at low concentration can enhance the formation of highly oxygenated biogenic molecules in the atmosphere
Nitrogen monoxide at low concentrations can promote the formation of highly oxygenated organic molecules, which are crucial precursors to secondary organic aerosol (SOA), rather than inhibit it as traditionally thought.
- Wei Nie
- , Chao Yan
- & Aijun Ding
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Article
| Open AccessAerosol breezes drive cloud and precipitation increases
It is shown here that gradients in aerosol emissions, such as those that occur with wildfires or above cities, drive thermodynamic circulations called “aerosol breezes” that may enhance precipitation and cloudiness in the cleaner regions of the aerosol gradient.
- Gabrielle R. Leung
- & Susan C. van den Heever
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| Open AccessWidespread detection of chlorine oxyacids in the Arctic atmosphere
Observations are reported of HClO3 and HClO4 in the atmosphere and their widespread occurrence over the pan-Arctic during spring, providing further insights into atmospheric chlorine cycling in the polar environment.
- Yee Jun Tham
- , Nina Sarnela
- & Alfonso Saiz-Lopez
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessReply to: No evidence of worsening Arctic springtime ozone losses over the 21st century
- Peter von der Gathen
- , Rigel Kivi
- & Markus Rex
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessNo evidence of worsening Arctic springtime ozone losses over the 21st century
- L. M. Polvani
- , J. Keeble
- & K. H. Rosenlof
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Article
| Open AccessPredictability of fossil fuel CO2 from air quality emissions
The historical changes in country emissions of greenhouse gases and air quality pollutants are classified together as a function of economic development, providing valuable guidance to emission scenario development.
- Kazuyuki Miyazaki
- & Kevin Bowman
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| Open AccessNon-linear effects of secondary organic aerosol formation and properties in multi-precursor systems
Tiny airborne particles play a critical role in two major environmental issues: climate change and air pollution. Our study highlights the important, yet often overlooked non-linear interaction of organic compounds on the formation of such particles.
- Masayuki Takeuchi
- , Thomas Berkemeier
- & Nga Lee Ng
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| Open AccessSignificant contributions of combustion-related sources to ammonia emissions
By integrating nitrogen isotope systematics of ammonia emissions and transformations in the atmosphere, this study quantified the combustion-related ammonia emission and uncovered its importance for mitigating strategies of ammonia pollution.
- Zhi-Li Chen
- , Wei Song
- & Xue-Yan Liu
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Article
| Open AccessRisk of the hydrogen economy for atmospheric methane
H2 has the potential to become the green, low-carbon fuel of the future. However, hydrogen emissions impact atmospheric methane (CH4). Bertagni et al. investigate the fate of atmospheric CH4 in scenarios of H2 economy.
- Matteo B. Bertagni
- , Stephen W. Pacala
- & Amilcare Porporato
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Article
| Open AccessChemistry-driven changes strongly influence climate forcing from vegetation emissions
The modelling of BVOC chemistry strongly affects how doubling of BVOC emissions affects climate. Lower oxidant depletion with state-of-science chemistry leads to 43% smaller positive forcing from smaller methane increases and cloud albedo decreases.
- James Weber
- , Scott Archer-Nicholls
- & Alex T. Archibald
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Article
| Open AccessDrivers of recent decline in dust activity over East Asia
Changes in climatic factors mainly drive the decline of East Asian dust activity in the past two decades. The weakening of surface winds plays a dominant role, and the increasing of vegetation cover and soil moisture also has key contribution
- Chenglai Wu
- , Zhaohui Lin
- & Ying Li
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Article
| Open AccessFine-tuned local coordination environment of Pt single atoms on ceria controls catalytic reactivity
CeO2-supported Pt single atoms with different coordination environments exhibit distinct behaviors in reactant adsorption/activation and product desorption, thus showing different catalytic performance for various catalytic oxidation reactions.
- Wei Tan
- , Shaohua Xie
- & Fudong Liu
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Article
| Open AccessOzone impact from solar energetic particles cools the polar stratosphere
This work reveals a significant energetic particle precipitation (EPP) impact on ozone and stratospheric temperatures during late winter/spring and highlights the need for an improved representation of decadal EPP forcing in climate simulations.
- Monika E. Szela̧g
- , Daniel R. Marsh
- & Niilo Kalakoski
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Article
| Open AccessDust emission reduction enhanced gas-to-particle conversion of ammonia in the North China Plain
Liu et al. found that the formation rate of particulate ammonium is slower in the atmosphere than that observed in the laboratory, while it is sped up due to an increase in aerosol acidity driven by an emission reduction of dust in North China Plain.
- Yongchun Liu
- , Junlei Zhan
- & Markku Kulmala
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| Open AccessEconomy-wide evaluation of CO2 and air quality impacts of electrification in the United States
Electrification is a decarbonization strategy that has the potential to reduce pollutant emissions and improve air quality. Here the authors evaluate CO2 and air quality co-benefits of electrification scenarios in the United States and find that electrification can substantially lower CO2 and improve ozone and fine particulate matter regionally.
- John E. T. Bistline
- , Geoffrey Blanford
- & Greg Yarwood
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Article
| Open AccessAlternate oscillations of Martian hydrogen and oxygen upper atmospheres during a major dust storm
Dust storms on Mars drive water escape to space. Here, the authors show the impact Martian dust storms have on the abundance of atmospheric hydrogen and oxygen, and how this helps to overall oxidize the Martian atmosphere.
- Kei Masunaga
- , Naoki Terada
- & Ichiro Yoshikawa
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Article
| Open AccessUnequal airborne exposure to toxic metals associated with race, ethnicity, and segregation in the USA
A new study assesses differences in exposure to particulate air pollution between racially segregated and racially integrated communities in the U.S, and finds that segregated communities are exposed to higher proportions of toxic and carcinogenic metals.
- John K. Kodros
- , Michelle L. Bell
- & John Volckens
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| Open AccessEthylene industrial emitters seen from space
Combining 13 years of satellite measurements led to the discovery of 300 global hotspots of atmospheric ethylene (C2H4). They are found to be linked to heavy industries and megacities, and are currently misrepresented in emission inventories.
- Bruno Franco
- , Lieven Clarisse
- & Pierre-François Coheur
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| Open AccessTowards fully ab initio simulation of atmospheric aerosol nucleation
Atmosphere aerosol nucleation contributes to climate change, air pollution, and human health, however the mechanisms are complex and elusive. Here the authors propose a general workflow based on deep neural network-based force field, paving the way towards fully ab initio simulation of atmospheric aerosol nucleation.
- Shuai Jiang
- , Yi-Rong Liu
- & Wei Huang
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| Open AccessDiesel soot photooxidation enhances the heterogeneous formation of H2SO4
Potential source of H2SO4 remains unclear in the atmosphere. This work first demonstrates that the formation of photoinduced •OH radical can directly promote the heterogeneous conversion of SO2 to H2SO4 on real diesel soot under light irradiation, extending the known sources of atmospheric H2SO4.
- Peng Zhang
- , Tianzeng Chen
- & Hong He
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| Open AccessA central arctic extreme aerosol event triggered by a warm air-mass intrusion
Warm and moist air-mass intrusions into the Arctic are more frequent than the past decades. Here, the authors show that warm air mass intrusions from northern Eurasia inject record amounts of aerosols into the central Arctic Ocean strongly impacting atmospheric chemistry and cloud properties.
- Lubna Dada
- , Hélène Angot
- & Julia Schmale
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| Open AccessLarge contribution of fossil-derived components to aqueous secondary organic aerosols in China
Isotope fingerprinting is used to track precursor sources and formation pathways of aqueous SOA, such as oxalic acid, finding that fossil fuel precursors contributions have largely been underestimated.
- Buqing Xu
- , Gan Zhang
- & Guoying Sheng
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Article
| Open AccessMercury isotope evidence for Arctic summertime re-emission of mercury from the cryosphere
Arctic warming thaws permafrost, leading to enhanced soil mercury transport to the Arctic Ocean. Mercury isotope signatures in arctic rivers, ocean and atmosphere suggest that permafrost mercury is buried in marine sediment and not emitted to the global atmosphere
- Beatriz Ferreira Araujo
- , Stefan Osterwalder
- & Jeroen E. Sonke
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Article
| Open AccessStrikingly distinctive NH3-SCR behavior over Cu-SSZ-13 in the presence of NO2
Cu-SSZ-13 zeolites are highly active for standard NH3-SCR, but their activity is unexpectedly inhibited in the presence of NO2. This work demonstrates that strong oxidation by NO2 forces Cu ions to exist mainly as CuII species with low mobility, which is responsible for this distinctive behavior.
- Yulong Shan
- , Guangzhi He
- & Hong He
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Article
| Open AccessCoarse sea spray inhibits lightning
Previous hypotheses cannot fully explain the large lightning excess over land compared to ocean. It is found that coarse sea spray that create large drops precipitates cloud water before it can freeze, thus robbing the fuel for cloud electrification
- Zengxin Pan
- , Feiyue Mao
- & Wei Gong