| 1. |
- Boy, M., et al.
(författare)
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Interactions between the atmosphere, cryosphere, and ecosystems at northern high latitudes
- 2019
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 19:3, s. 2015-2061
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Nordic Centre of Excellence CRAICC (Cryosphere-Atmosphere Interactions in a Changing Arctic Climate), funded by NordForsk in the years 2011-2016, is the largest joint Nordic research and innovation initiative to date, aiming to strengthen research and innovation regarding climate change issues in the Nordic region. CRAICC gathered more than 100 scientists from all Nordic countries in a virtual centre with the objectives of identifying and quantifying the major processes controlling Arctic warming and related feedback mechanisms, outlining strategies to mitigate Arctic warming, and developing Nordic Earth system modelling with a focus on short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs), including natural and anthropogenic aerosols. The outcome of CRAICC is reflected in more than 150 peer-reviewed scientific publications, most of which are in the CRAICC special issue of the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. This paper presents an overview of the main scientific topics investigated in the centre and provides the reader with a state-of-the-art comprehensive summary of what has been achieved in CRAICC with links to the particular publications for further detail. Faced with a vast amount of scientific discovery, we do not claim to completely summarize the results from CRAICC within this paper, but rather concentrate here on the main results which are related to feedback loops in climate change-cryosphere interactions that affect Arctic amplification.
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| 2. |
- Dalirian, Maryam, et al.
(författare)
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CCN activation of fumed silica aerosols mixed with soluble pollutants
- 2015
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 15:7, s. 3815-3829
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Particle-water interactions of completely soluble or insoluble particles are fairly well understood but less is known of aerosols consisting of mixtures of soluble and insoluble components. In this study, laboratory measurements were performed to investigate cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity of silica particles mixed with ammonium sulfate (a salt), sucrose (a sugar) and bovine serum albumin known as BSA (a protein). The agglomerated structure of the silica particles was investigated using measurements with a differential mobility analyser (DMA) and an aerosol particle mass analyser (APM). Based on these data, the particles were assumed to be compact agglomerates when studying their CCN activation capabilities. Furthermore, the critical super-saturations of particles consisting of pure and mixed soluble and insoluble compounds were explored using existing theoretical frameworks. These results showed that the CCN activation of single-component particles was in good agreement with Kohler- and adsorption theory based models when the agglomerated structure was accounted for. For mixed particles the CCN activation was governed by the soluble components, and the soluble fraction varied considerably with particle size for our wet-generated aerosols. Our results confirm the hypothesis that knowing the soluble fraction is the key parameter needed for describing the CCN activation of mixed aerosols, and highlight the importance of controlled coating techniques for acquiring a detailed understanding of the CCN activation of atmospheric insoluble particles mixed with soluble pollutants.
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| 3. |
- Dalirian, Maryam, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
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Cloud droplet activation of black carbon particles coated with organic compounds of varying solubility
- 2018
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7367 .- 1680-7375. ; 18:16, s. 12477-12489
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Atmospheric black carbon (BC) particles are a concern due to their impact on air quality and climate. Their net climate effect 15 is, however, still uncertain. This uncertainty is partly related to the contribution of coated BC-particles to the global CCN budgets. In this study, laboratory measurements were performed to investigate cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity of BC (Regal black) particles, in pure state or coated through evaporating and subsequent condensation of glutaric acid, levoglucosan (both water-soluble organics) or oleic acid (an organic compound with low solubility). A combination of Soot Particle Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (SP-AMS) measurements and size distribution measurements with Scanning Mobility 20 Particle Sizer (SMPS) showed that the studied BC particles were nearly spherical agglomerates with a fractal dimension of 2.79 and that they were coated evenly by the organic species. The CCN activity of BC particles increased after coating with all the studied compounds and was governed by the fraction of organic material. The CCN activation of the BC particles coated by glutaric acid and levoglucosan were in good agreement with the theoretical calculations using shell-and-core model, which is based on a combination of the CCN activities of the pure compounds. The oleic acid coating enhanced the CCN 25 activity of the BC particles, even though the pure oleic acid particles were CCN inactive. The surprising effect of oleic acid might be related to the arrangement of the oleic acid molecules on the surface of the BC cores or other surface phenomena facilitating water condensation onto the coated particles. Our results show potential in accurately predicting the CCN activity of atmospheric BC coated with organic species by present theories, given that the identities and amount of the coating species are known. Furthermore, our results suggest that even relatively thin soluble coatings (around 2 nm for the compounds studied here) are enough to make the insoluble BC particles CCN active at typical atmospheric supersaturations and thus be efficiently taken up by cloud droplets. This highlights the need of an accurate description of the composition of atmospheric particles containing BC to unravel their net impact on climate.
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| 4. |
- Dalirian, Maryam, 1978-
(författare)
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Investigating parameters governing liquid-phase cloud activation of atmospheric particles
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Aerosol-cloud interactions are one of the main sources of uncertainties in modeling and predicting the Earth’s climate. To overcome this uncertainty, we need to improve the understanding about the processes and parameters defining how aerosol particles turn into cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) or ice nuclei (IN) to produce cloud droplets or ice crystals. The focus of this dissertation is on liquid phase cloud droplets. The thesis investigates the effect of water solubility and surface tension on the CCN activity of atmospheric aerosol particles. These parameters are among the key properties defining how an aerosol particle can turn into a cloud droplet. The main goals of this thesis are to investigate 1) the CCN activity of aerosol particles containing both water soluble and insoluble substances and 2) the contribution of molecular-scale surface structure to the surface tension and CCN activity of atmospherically relevant aqueous mixtures.In the first part of this thesis, the CCN activity of water-insoluble aerosol constituents coated by water-soluble or sparingly soluble species was investigated. The results showed that the CCN activity of the insoluble silica and black carbon particles, with sizes between 100 and 300 nm, increased with the amount of the coating on the insoluble cores and at thick enough coating approached the CCN activity of the soluble species. Moreover, controlled dry coating of the insoluble BC cores yielded a size-independent distribution of the coating material on the insoluble cores, which was not achieved by wet coating of the silica particles. The results also confirmed that by knowing the fraction of soluble material (coating thicknesses), the existing theories gave a reasonable estimate of the CCN activity for the mixed soluble-insoluble particles. Finally, the results highlight the need for including the impacts of co-emitted or later condensed compounds in estimates of the climate impacts of atmospheric insoluble aerosol species.In the second part of the thesis, surface propensity of succinic acid, pure or mixed with soluble inorganic salts in the aqueous droplets, were quantified via molecular-level surface composition measurement by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The XPS and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations of succinic acid aqueous solutions showed strong enrichment of the succinic acid at the surface of the liquid droplets compared to the bulk solution. This effect was more pronounced in the presence of the highly soluble inorganic salts like NaCl and (NH4)2SO4 in the system. The modeled surface tension of the pure organic or mixture of organic and inorganic substances, using surface enrichment factors derived from the XPS experiments were in good agreement with the experimental surface tension data. This demonstrates the high potential of XPS for direct measurements of the surface composition of atmospherically relevant aqueous mixtures. The results suggest that for modeling the phase-state and water content of the atmospheric particles, the contribution by the surface layer needs to be considered, because aqueous droplet can contain larger amounts of organic compounds than the bulk solubility limit of the solutions. However, the effect of the aqueous surface composition on the CCN activation of particles consisting of the studied mixtures was estimated to be very small.The results presented in this thesis provide new insights into the relationship between aerosol particle composition and cloud condensation nuclei activity. However, the effect of more realistic complex mixtures will require more research. The results showed that for modeling semi-volatile species, the partitioning between the gas and condensed phase needs to be considered. In addition, along with the liquid-phase cloud activation, the ice nucleation ability of the particles made of soluble and insoluble species requires to be further investigated.
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| 5. |
- Dalirian, Maryam, 1978-
(författare)
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On the liquid-phase cloud activation of insoluble and slightly soluble particles
- 2014
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Aerosol-cloud interactions are among the largest sources of uncertainty in understanding climate change and predictions of the future climate. Besides the physical dimensions of aerosol particles, their water-solubility and surface tension are the key properties needed to describe their potential to act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). This thesis aims to improve the understanding of the role of atmospherically relevant aerosol mixtures in cloud formation by 1) cloud activation measurements of aerosol particles containing both water-soluble and insoluble components; 2) molecular-level measurements of the surface properties of aqueous solutions for atmospherically relevant organic compounds.In the first part of our study the cloud activation of particles containing ammonium sulfate, sucrose or BSA (bovine serum albumin), and their mixtures with insoluble silica was investigated through laboratory experiments. The CCN activity of the particles was governed by the fraction of soluble material in them. If the soluble fraction could be reliably estimated, the CCN activation of these particles could be successfully predicted with existing theoretical frameworks. Our results showed an uneven distribution of soluble material on the insoluble silica cores in our wet-generated particles. This highlights the need for controlled particle generation and coating techniques.In the second part of this work, the microscopic surface structure of aqueous succinic acid (an atmospherically relevant organic compound) solutions were determined and connected to the macroscopic surface tension of the solution. The molecular data derived from the combination of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) experiments and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations allowed for derivation of surface enrichment factors for succinic acid in aqueous solutions. These enrichment factors were used for direct estimations of the surface tensions of these mixtures, which showed a good agreement with experimental data. This study thus confirmed the connection between microscopic surface structure and macroscopic surface tension.Despite our effort to investigate the aerosol properties controlling CCN activation and cloud formation, there is still much to learn about cloud activation of complex atmospheric aerosol particles. In this regard, further examining the CCN activation of other insoluble materials like soot or dust, developing controlled coating techniques, investigating the molecular properties of particles consisting organic and inorganic compounds, as well as studying the ice nuclei activity of mixed particles are of particular importance.
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| 6. |
- Werner, Josephina, et al.
(författare)
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Succinic acid in aqueous solution : connecting microscopic surface composition and macroscopic surface tension
- 2014
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Ingår i: Physical Chemistry, Chemical Physics - PCCP. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1463-9076 .- 1463-9084. ; 16:39, s. 21486-21495
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The water vapor interface of aqueous solutions of succinic acid, where pH values and bulk concentrations were varied, has been studied using surface sensitive X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. It was found that succinic acid has a considerably higher propensity to reside in the aqueous surface region than its deprotonated form, which is effectively depleted from the surface due to the two strongly hydrated carboxylate groups. From both XPS experiments and MD simulations a strongly increased concentration of the acid form in the surface region compared to the bulk concentration was found and quantified. Detailed analysis of the surface of succinic acid solutions at different bulk concentrations led to the conclusion that succinic acid saturates the aqueous surface at high bulk concentrations. With the aid of MD simulations the thickness of the surface layer could be estimated, which enabled the quantification of surface concentration of succinic acid as a multiple of the known bulk concentration. The obtained enrichment factors were successfully used to model the surface tension of these binary aqueous solutions using two different models that account for the surface enrichment. This underlines the close correlation of increased concentration at the surface relative to the bulk and reduced surface tension of aqueous solutions of succinic acid. The results of this study shed light on the microscopic origin of surface tension, a macroscopic property. Furthermore, the impact of the results from this study on atmospheric modeling is discussed.
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| 7. |
- Werner, Josephina, et al.
(författare)
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Surface Partitioning in Organic-Inorganic Mixtures Contributes to the Size-Dependence of the Phase-State of Atmospheric Nanoparticles
- 2016
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 50:14, s. 7434-7442
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Atmospheric particulate matter is one of the main factors governing the Earth's radiative budget, but its exact effects on the global climate are still uncertain. Knowledge on the molecular-scale surface phenomena as well as interactions between atmospheric organic and inorganic compounds is necessary for understanding the role of airborne nanoparticles in the Earth system. In this work, surface composition of aqueous model systems containing succinic acid and sodium chloride or ammonium sulfate is determined using a novel approach combining X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, surface tension measurements and thermodynamic modeling. It is shown that succinic acid molecules are accumulated in the surface, yielding a 10-fold surface concentration as compared with the bulk for saturated succinic acid solutions. Inorganic salts further enhance this enrichment due to competition for hydration in the bulk. The surface compositions for various mixtures are parametrized to yield generalizable results and used to explain changes in surface tension. The enhanced surface partitioning implies an increased maximum solubility of organic compounds in atmospheric nanoparticles. The results can explain observations of size-dependent phase-state of atmospheric nanoparticles, suggesting that these particles can display drastically different behavior than predicted by bulk properties only.
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