Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols

Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols is the study of tiny solid and liquid particles suspended in the air—ranging from soot and sea salt to secondary organic compounds formed through gas-phase reactions—and how they interact with sunlight, clouds, and the gases around them. These particles sit at the intersection of two urgent problems: they degrade air quality enough to affect human health at a regional scale, while simultaneously altering Earth's energy balance in ways that remain among the largest sources of uncertainty in climate projections. A central challenge is understanding how black carbon from combustion and organic aerosols from both natural and industrial sources form, age, and mix in the atmosphere, because their chemical evolution determines both their toxicity and their warming or cooling effect. Researchers are actively working to reconcile what emission models predict with what field measurements and satellite observations actually show, particularly for haze-prone regions where sources are complex and atmospheric processing is rapid.

Works

173,818

Total citations

4,282,880

Keywords

Atmospheric AerosolsBlack CarbonOrganic AerosolAir QualityClimate ForcingAerosol Formation