Development of a nano condensation particle counter battery (nano-CPCb) to infer the composition of freshly formed particles down to 1 nm in the boreal forest

Description

Atmospheric particle nucleation is an important environmental nano-scale process, with field measurements and modeling studies indicating that freshly nucleated particles are a significant source of global cloud condensation nuclei. However, our understanding of atmospheric nucleation and its influence on climate is limited as few ambient measurements have been made of either the nucleation rate or the chemical composition of the freshly formed clusters, both of which are necessary to constrain the nucleation mechanism and to develop a process-level model. In this study, a nano condensation particle counter battery (nano CPCb) was developed, characterized, and then deployed during an intensive field campaign to infer the size-resolved composition of freshly formed particles down to 1 nm. The nano CPCb is composed of four CPCs optimized for the detection of sub 3 nm particles, using diethylene glycol, water, and butanol as the CPC working fluids. The nano CPCb was characterized in the laboratory with mono-disperse challenge aerosols of diverse composition. By sampling electrical mobility-classified particles, the nano CPCb accounts for the strong dependence of CPC detection on particle size and charge below 3 nm. Measured differences between the various CPC responses are then attributed to composition-specific interactions between the sampled particles and the various working fluids of the nano CPCb. Characterization results for the composition dependent responses of the nano CPCb will be presented. After characterization, the nano CPCb was integrated as a detector in a Nano-SMPS system optimized for particle detection down to 1 nm. The combined instrument was deployed during an intensive field campaign in the Spring of 2013 to study atmospheric nucleation and initial growth at a long-term measurement site in the boreal forest in Hyytiälä, Finland. Preliminary measurements of freshly nucleated aerosol size distributions and the size-resolved composition-dependent response of the nano CPCb will be presented